Belgian Lennert Van Eetvelt set for important year in 2025: "He will make his debut in the Tour de France"

Belgian rising star Lennert Van Eetvelt is set to make his highly anticipated Tour de France debut in 2025. The 23-year-old Lotto Dstny rider has had a breakthrough year in 2024, claiming overall victories at the UAE Tour and the Tour of Guangxi, where he showed his talent despite struggling with injuries the rest of the year.

Van Eetvelt's inclusion in the 2025 Tour de France squad marks another significant milestone in his young career. Speaking to CyclismActu, Lotto Dstny team manager Stéphane Heulot expressed optimism about Van Eetvelt’s potential while emphasising the importance of a healthy and injury-free season.

"We hope that Lennert Van Eetvelt will be spared from all the injuries he has had in 2025. He will make his debut in the Tour de France. Whether he will go for the general classification, I don't know. He may be more interested in discovering the race and will choose suitable stages."

While it remains unclear whether Van Eetvelt will target the GC, the Belgian's ability to compete in a variety of terrains makes him a wildcard for stage wins in what will undoubtedly be a valuable learning experience at cycling's most famous race.

Van Eetvelt's Tour debut reflects the growing ambitions of Lotto Dstny, a team that continues to build a talented roster of riders capable of competing at the highest level. The inclusion of Arnaud De Lie in the 2024 Tour de France highlighted the team's confidence in developing young talent.

Heulot also reflected on De Lie's performance, describing him as a versatile sprinter, "Arnaud De Lie is not a pure sprinter. That is to say: the hillier, the better. Of course, I am talking about difficult finishes, not about mountains. And I think that some stages of the upcoming Tour de France are designed in such a way that the peloton will thin out. I think Arnaud is one of the sprinters who is able to overcome the obstacles."