Berckmoes and Lotto have first-week stages of Tour de France on their minds: 'It's very French'

Belgian team Lotto-Dstny will start the Tour de France in Lille on Saturday with three homegrown leaders: Lennert Van Eetvelt, Arnaud De Lie and Jenno Berckmoes. While Van Eetvelt and De Lie already have some Grand Tour experience, this will be Berckmoes’ first-ever three-week race. On Wednesday evening, the punchy 24-year-old shared his expectations with the media.

Much like his co-leaders, Berckmoes has had a challenging season so far. His spring campaign was delayed due to an infection, and a hard crash in the Tour of Flanders further derailed his plans. As a result, we haven’t yet seen the best version of the Belgian this year.

What is Berckmoes expecting from his Tour debut? “Chaos — but that’s the Tour de France, isn’t it?” he laughed. “I do think there’ll be plenty of opportunities for our team. I just need to take it day by day and soak it all in. Since December, the plan has always been for me to ride the Tour.”

He’s already done some recon, especially for the first week. “Like Lennert said: as a team, we’ll always have chances and we can also support one another — me, Lennert, and Arnaud. That gives us options every day. We’ll need to communicate well and make smart decisions together.”

So what did those recon rides teach him? “It’s very French,” he said with a grin. “Lots of small villages, narrow roads, constant twisting and turning. It really helps to have seen it beforehand. Knowing where we need to be up front — before a climb or key moment — will make a huge difference. It’s going to be hectic, but now we have a clearer picture.”

Berckmoes appears to be hitting top form just in time for his Grand Tour debut. He won the queen stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour to Durbuy in convincing fashion and placed seventh at the Belgian National Championships last Sunday — clear signs that he’s ready.

Positioning is often far more aggressive in the Tour than in other races. So how does a relatively smaller team like Lotto-Dstny plan to handle that? “We haven’t gone over it yet, but I think we’ll wait just behind the front line,” he explained. “That’s kind of the new way of racing — even in bunch sprints. It’s all about finding the right moment.”

Succeeding as a non-superteam in the 2025 Tour is tougher than ever, but Berckmoes remains optimistic. “With our tactics, we can still make something happen. Just look at Quebec last year — we had three guys up there with Tadej Pogačar. We didn’t win, but if we can race with three strong cards here as well… well, he can’t win all 21 stages.”

Berckmoes doesn’t hide the fact that he’s feeling strong. “I think I’m in even better shape than I was at Quebec last year. Lately, everything has been going really well — things just come naturally. After a win like the one in the Baloise Belgium Tour, everything starts to click. Training gets easier, confidence grows… things just flow.”