Van Gils demands guarantees on leadership in Classics, otherwise no deal with new team

While all attention is currently focused on the developments surrounding Tom Pidcock, you would almost forget that Van Gils had his contract terminated a few weeks ago and is now transfer-free. The 25-year-old Belgian still had a two-year contract with Lotto Dstny but ended it before expiration.

On Monday, it was announced that Astana had transferred two riders back to their development team, meaning that the 2025 selection no longer consists of 30 but 28 riders. Room for Van Gils, then? No, not really, because he will not join the Kazakh team. Meanwhile, Astana has only one place left on the team for next season.

Now that Pidcock's departure from INEOS is official, Van Gils seemed the ideal replacement for the British team. Yet INEOS also missed out on the fierce Belgian. It remained primarily tough talk at Movistar without really discussing a serious opportunity. Ultimately, only one serious option seems to remain: Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.

"We’re still awaiting an official confirmation from the team," says Benson. That's when it will be revealed how long Van Gils signs will last. But manager Alex Carera is adamant: “A three-year contract anyway. No more, no less. I guarantee he will sign for three years with his new team." In addition, he also wants to be a leader in the classics. "It is essential for us that his future team guarantees that he will be the leader in the classics. Otherwise, we will not agree. It's not only about the amount and duration but about the team being able to guarantee him many small details. In the end, those small details make a big difference,” Carera says.

It is questionable whether the German team fits into the picture depicted above. With names like Primož Roglič, Laurence Pithie, and Oier Lazkano in the ranks, several serious contenders for leadership are already in the hilly and cobbled classics. As such, the story seems partly motivated by agent talks, but dual leadership can work perfectly well if the balance is fine-tuned.