“I don’t think it has happened before” - Julien Vermote on signing for Team Visma | Lease a Bike after a year of racing independently

After a year on the sidelines racing as an independent rider, Julien Vermote has rejoined the WorldTour ranks as a professional rider in 2024 with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, as he completed their roster for this season.

The Belgian rider last rode professionally for Alpecin-Deceuninck in 2022 and according to him, the team had promised him another contract for 2023, as in an interview with Rouleur, he stated that “in June of 2022, Alpecin told me I could continue with the team in 2023 and then at the beginning of September, there was no place. But by then, it was late”.

However, he still held out hope of finding a team during the season, stating that “at first, I was still hopeful to pick something up in the spring Classics, but when that didn’t work, I decided to focus on the Belgian National Championships”.

Vermote finished in a rather unremarkable 19th place at the National Championships, but the event served a larger purpose for him, as he said that “the championships gave me motivation and a goal. It was also a chance to prove to myself that I was still good enough, that my place was still in the pro peloton. But that said, there was nothing. It wasn’t like I knew I was going to come back a year later”.

It is very rarely seen that an athlete can take a year out of professional sport and return to the highest level the following season, especially in cycling.

“I don’t think it has happened before” said Vermote, “occasionally, a guy will return to the amateur ranks for a year and re-sign with a professional team, but to basically race independently as I did for a year, I don’t think that has been done before”.

On how his contract with Team Visma | Lease a Bike came about, Vermote went on to say that “I called Merijn Zeeman when I learned the fusion with Soudal wasn’t going to happen, but they were still waiting. He told me to call him back in 10 days. That gave me just enough hope. When I called back, there was still nothing, but I could tell I was in the conversation”.

When one of the team’s coaches, Maarten Wynants, called him back to see if he was still interested, Vermote’s response was simple, as he said “I was like Maarten, I want to race”. This was enough for the team to agree to sign him and within a few weeks, he had a contract and was back in the WorldTour once again.

At 34 years old, Vermote turned professional with Quick-Step in 2011, making him a veteran in the current peloton. However, he still has ambitions in professional cycling, as he stated that “I’d love to do a Grand Tour again, but we will see. I’m not taking anything for granted. I only have a one-year contract. That’s normal. But I am sure that if I prove myself, I’ll be able to ride for a couple of more years. Mostly, though, I am just grateful. I didn’t believe my story as a professional was over in 2022. And now I have a chance to prove it”.

Vermote is set to ride the Clásica Almería later this month, with the Volta ao Algarve, Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo also on his current schedule, but no signs of a Grand Tour call-up at the moment.