"I probably like the first two stages of the Tour the best of the entire tour" - Maxim Van Gils signs up for the battle for first yellow jersey

Lotto Dstny will go for stages during the 2024 Tour de France - that part is not very different from their previous participations. However their hopes for a result will be on their homegrown talent; Arnaud De Lie and Maxim Van Gils. The 24-year-old Van Gils looks back at the best spring of his career as he enters his second Grande Boucle.

Van Gils is one of the most successful riders this year. "Maxim rode very well in the Tour last year, where he came close to a stage win. That is also the goal now, but of course we know it won't be easy," said sports director Kurt Van de Wouwer during a press conference.

Van Gils himself make it clear he would like to win a stage this year, having come terribly close to the victory at Grand Colombier last year: "I probably like the first two stages of the Tour the best of the entire tour. They are not too long, steep climbs, those are the profiles that suit me. Hopefully we will go to the finish in a group and then I will also have a fast sprint."

"I feel good at the moment, so I am at the start with great ambitions. My form is good, even though I was a bit ill and therefore skipped the Belgian championship. However, that is nothing serious, I was able to do my training," said Van Gils. "Now I hope that I will still have good legs in the third week, because stages seventeen and eighteen should also suit me."