“I'm sorry that I won't be his teammate. He's a great talent” - Jonas Gregaard discusses departures from Lotto team heading in to 2025
Cycling
Danish cyclist Jonas Gregaard, 28, is gearing up for a promising season with Lotto in 2025. In a recent interview with Feltet.dk, Gregaard shared his plans for the start of the season and his ambitions to compete in a Grand Tour.
Gregaard’s campaign will kick off at the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise on 2nd February. Following this, he will line up for the five-day Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard, a race that will feature high-profile riders such as Mads Pedersen, Magnus Cort, Filippo Ganna, and Gregaard's teammate Arnaud De Lie. While his schedule is shaping up, Gregaard expressed his hope that the season will include a Grand Tour appearance, either the Tour de France or the Vuelta a España, as ProTeam Lotto has once again opted out of the Giro d’Italia.
"I hope to ride a Grand Tour. I also felt that I showed the team that I have the strength and experience they can use when I rode the Vuelta (in 2024)," says Gregaard.
The off-season has brought significant changes to Lotto, most notably the departure of Maxim Van Gils to Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe. Gregaard reflected on his former teammate’s move with mixed emotions.
"I really liked Maxim, so I'm sorry. But I can understand him in some ways. Of course, I'm sorry that I won't be his teammate. He's a great talent. The opportunity he's been given is probably very good for him," he shared.
However, Gregaard also voiced concerns about the ease with which larger teams can acquire riders. "I may feel that it is a bit of a shame that the big teams can so easily take riders wherever they want. But it is up to the big powers that be to discuss how they can resolve that situation."
Despite the changes within the team, Gregaard remains optimistic about the atmosphere at Lotto and the relationships he has built with his teammates. "The team still seems to have a good atmosphere. We still have Lennert, who I'll probably do a lot of races with. So for me, it probably won't change much."
He also acknowledged the natural turnover in elite sports, with some teammates leaving and others joining the team. "Of course there are some new faces, but it will probably be many of the same ones gathered around Lennert. Of course Andreas and some others are out, and that's a shame, but that's how it is in elite sport."
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