Dries De Bondt describes his choice to leave Alpecin-Deceuninck: "I hope to find that freedom in the classics"

Dries De Bondt has chosen a new adventure. The Belgian rider left Alpecin-Deceuninck after five years and signed a contract with the French Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, as the team will be called next year. The 32-year-old De Bondt hopes to pursue his own results, he tells WielerFlits.

"My new team will approach things differently than before, much more scientifically. When I went to talk to them in July, I was very curious. They immediately captured my interest. I was given a nice place in the project they had in mind and they made me feel like they really wanted me there."

De Bondt explains his choice as a 'choice of freedom'. "When I was at the start with Mathieu van der Poel or Jasper Philipsen, they never let me in the breakaway. Going in the early break is my way of racing, so it became difficult to take my chances."

"I certainly hope to find that freedom in the classics. Furthermore, they also made me a nice financial proposal, I shouldn't lie about that. I'm certainly not worn out yet, but when you're 32 years old, maybe you should start thinking about that too. Of course, you won't remain an athlete forever. At some point you also have to redeem your career."