"I love the classics" - Gianluca Pollefliet talks about his goal to be successful in spring classics

Gianluca Pollefliet recently signed a three-year contract with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, the WorldTour team led by Vincent Lavenu. The 21-year-old enters the big league relatively early, but the young Belgian doesn't seem to be nervous about his big debut at all in an interview for In de Leiderstrui.

"I love the classics and have a high intrinsic speed," he emphasizes what type of rider he wants to become. However, it may be a bit too early to ride Monuments in his first WorldTour year, he realizes. "It would be nice if I could start in a race like Le Samyn or the GP Denain and put my nose to the window. In the bigger races it seems only normal to me to just do my bit for the team. So ride in a domestique role, and perhaps see how far I can get."

However, Pollefliet does not rule out Monument participation completely. "It could be possible for me to be able to compete in races such as Paris-Roubaix, but all that still needs to be discussed. I will have a meeting with my manager soon. After that I will have more information about my program. In addition to the races I already mentioned, races such as Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Ghent-Wevelgem are also races that I like."

Grand Tours don't seem to be Pollefliet's radar just yet. "I think I will get more opportunities with this team in spring classics. The fact that I ride here together with gentlemen like Oliver Naesen and Dries De Bondt also really appeals to me. They have a lot of experience. I'm going to be able to learn a lot from them. I also suspect that once I start performing at a high level, I will increasingly get my own chance. And that may be a bonus," he does not completely hide his own ambitions.