After Maxim van Gils' departure, Lotto Dstny renews with it's brightest talent for 3 years - "At Lotto, I get all the opportunities I need to further build my career"

Lotto Dstny is losing a title sponsor and has just lost one of it's leaders Maxim van Gils in recent weeks. It's not been the brightest of periods for the Belgian ProTeam, but today they have confirmed to have renewed with Jarno Widar who had been highly hunted down by World Tour teams.

Widar, recently turned 19, impressed tremendously this year with GC wins at the Alpes Isère Tour, under-23 Giro d'Italia and Giro delle Valle d'Aosta at only 18 years of age as a first-year under-23 rider. After developing riders such as Arnaud De Lie, Lennert van Eetvelt and Maxim van Gils amongst others the Belgian team had a diamond in Widar, who was under the radar of rival teams who were willing to buy out his contract.

Widar was also 7th at the under-23 Worlds, and battled for the win at the Tour de l'Avenir, until stage 5 where he began to crack and criticized the team for putting him under a very busy schedule. At the time, this comment was what triggered a lot of attention, but ultimately they have surpassed these issues. He signed a new three-year contract, still racing for the development team in 2025 but moving to the elite team (likely at this time World Tour level again) in 2026.

"At Lotto, I get all the opportunities I need to further build my career. Over the next three years, we can continue to develop a great project together, the foundation of which was already laid last season," Widar said in a press release. "The Giro Next Gen and Tour de l'Avenir, as well as the European and World Championships, will be key objectives for next season. Next to that, I’ll be able to experience some big races at my own pace. I feel that the team is doing everything possible in terms of performance to make this a success and I look forward to the upcoming season."

"Jarno Widar proved this past season that he has exceptional potential," team manager Stéphane Heulot said. "Not only did he become the first Belgian ever to win the Giro Next Gen, but he also claimed victory in the tough Alpes Isère Tour and the Giro della Valle d'Aosta. His development within the team is the result of a targeted approach and close guidance from our performance team, where talent, ambition, and science come together. He, along with our other promising riders, is proof that we must continue to promote our core philosophy – supporting young talent."