ProTeam Victor Campenaerts signs three-year engagement with Lotto Soudal

Victor Campenaerts will sport the Lotto Soudal colours in the coming years as the 29-year-old Belgian signed an agreement of three seasons at the Belgian WorldTeam. In the past, Campenaerts was already part of the team for two seasons, in which he, amongst others, became Belgian and European time trial champion and set a new World Hour Record. Campenaerts is now ready to write a new chapter at Lotto Soudal.

“Of course, I was charmed by the many interested teams but the interesting project and the clear ambitions of Lotto Soudal convinced me”, says Victor Campenaerts. “I immediately noticed the confidence the team gave me and of course, it’s also nice that I still know several riders and a lot of staff members. Therefore, I am looking forward to contributing to the attractive style of racing at Lotto Soudal, it is really exciting! It’s with great pleasure that I look back on the past two years at Team Qhubeka. It is more than a cycling team. The good cause that’s attached to the team - to give kids a better chance for education with bikes – is something that will be in my heart for my entire life.”

Also John Lelangue, General Manager at Lotto Soudal, is delighted with the transfer of the 29-year-old Belgian.

“With Victor Campenaerts, we strengthen our roster with a very complete rider. This season, he really impressed in both the one-day Classics and stage races. His aggressive way of racing also delivered some big results like a stage win at the Giro and a third place overall at the Benelux Tour. Victor believes in the Lotto Soudal project and is a perfect match for the team.”

The past season, Victor Campenaerts had a first taste of the Classics but the holder of the World Hour Record is definitely hungry for more.

Victor Campenaerts: “I really fell in love with the spring Classics and I want to continue down this road. This means to race attractively but also obtain results. Those two things often go hand in hand because sometimes it’s possible to create a scenario from which you can win races. And with many young riders like Brent Van Moer or Florian Vermeersch, there’s a lot of talent within the team. We can definitely play a role in the business end of the races.”

“Obviously, I’ve taken a step back in time trialing but I still have the knowhow, of course. I want to pass this experience onto the young guys with ambitions in stage races. If I notice just a small margin for improvement, I won’t hesitate to share my expertise. Besides, I want to be an important tutor for the young riders to sharpen their race audacity. But I can also still learn a lot within Lotto Soudal from for example Philippe Gilbert, who’ll ride his final season next year.”

“I realise that I won’t be able to compete for the win in let’s say the Ronde van Vlaanderen as I don’t have the distance in the legs just yet. That is why the main focus on training will be on improving my endurance. I want to evolve from a time trial effort of about an hour to a rider who can deal with the distance of the biggest Classics. Next season, I will thus mainly focus on the semi-Classics and short stage races.”

Also John Lelangue is already looking forward to next season.

“Of course, it will be nice to have Victor back in the team. In 2019, we worked together on one of the most challenging projects within cycling as he set a new World Hour Record. Victor evolved into a real baroudeur, but there is no doubt that he will be an important part for our performance department as well. With his broad time trial experience, he will definitely bring something extra to the team. The past year, he really showed bravoure during his first Classics’ campaign, but Victor wants to set results as well. He already proved to be able to do this by taking a beautiful stage win at the Giro. Within Lotto Soudal, we will do everything to make his dreams come true. We really look forward to Victor joining the team and we cannot wait for the new season to kick off!”