"It appears once again that cycling has no mercy" - Timothy Dupont still out of contract after devastating year

With a new generation of riders popping up in pro cycling at a very high level, the situation becomes difficult for many veterans to remain in the peloton. Timothy Dupont, sprinter for Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB is not yet signed for 2023 and he talks of a very difficult year but big urge to keep competing.

"Mentally, that was really hard," he shared in a recent interview with Sporza. The Belgium, lost in the space of five weeks, his father, father-in-law and mother-in-law. "I was able to get over there and ride pretty well despite everything. Shortly after those deaths I won the 4th stage in the ZLM Tour. I then beat Olav Kooij and Elia Viviani in the sprint."

It was a rough year for the Belgian who didn't manage to have the same level as prior years. Although he net an impressive win, he couldn't achieve the same consistency of previous seasons, however he was expected to stay with the ProTeam as he had been one of it's leaders.

"That was a surprise to me. Because after everything I'd been through, I was still doing well," he shared. "I was also told for a while that I would be lead-out for someone, but that rider did not come to our team in the end. So that role was suddenly superfluous."

Now, with no apparent role in the team and few teams looking to sign him, Dupont currently sits on the verge of retirement from pro cycling. "But the course is hard. Now it appears once again that cycling has no mercy. I am no longer in the picture as a sprinter. I then offered myself as a lead-out to teams, but that also had little success," he explains. 

"Most team managers give my age (35, ed.) as the reason. But I think I can certainly participate at the highest level for another 4 years or so, especially since I later became a professional cyclist," Dupont continued.

With Stanislaw Aniolkowski also moving away from Bingoal, the Belgian team will rely and support Matteo Malucelli into 2023. Dupont is still uncertain of his future, which hangs in the balance currently.

"Most professional cyclists live 100 percent like a professional between the ages of 18 and 26. That was not the case with me and that means I can still run for a few more years. I still train like a pro. There would still be room in a team here and there. But we are already mid-November, then it will be difficult to remain a professional. I am open to anything and will listen to anything. But at some point I will have to decide. If I still don't have a team by December 1, then it will be clear," he concluded.