Lotto-Intermarché continues to re-build its team for 2027 amidst key departures

Lotto-Intermarché are certainly not slacking off on the transfer market. After all, they need to make up for two high-profile departures this winter with neither Arnaud De Lie nor Lennert Van Eetvelt expected to be part of the 2027 lineup.

And yet, we shouldn't expect any actual stars to join the Belgian team which instead focuses on efficiency in its aim to remain in WorldTour at the end of the 2026-28 UCI cycle.

But to kick things off, Lotto-Intermarché announced a promotion of three young riders from its development team; Milan Donie (21), Kamiel Eeman (21) and Victor Vaneeckhoutte (20). All three have committed their futures to Lotto-Intermarché at least through the 2028 season.

This triple-promotion is a testament to the Belgian team's commitment to youth development. All three riders have entered the Lotto's programme straight from junior category and through a steady progress secured a WorldTour promotion after three years of hard work.

Lotto's development structure, currently known as Lotto-Groupe Wanty, has a deeply rooted traditional of producing quality professionals. Current Lotto riders Jarno Widar, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Arnaud De Lie and many many other professionals have made their baby steps with Lotto's under-23 team before becoming a household name of WorldTour peloton. Either as a part of Lotto, or another team.

The first promoted name is familiar, especially to future teammate Jarno Widar. The two have formed an inseparable duo through their junior and under-23 ranks.

Although Widar was always the more talented one, Donie seemed to be well on the way to follow his friend to WorldTour ahead of this season when his debut season saw him triumph at Fleche Ardennaises with a monster 80-kilometer solo. In 2025, Donie kicked off his season with a 4th place overall at Tour of Rwanda and reportedly already earned a WorldTour contract at that point.

But as Lotto underwent a massive transformation overnight to merge with Intermarché-Wanty, Donie's promotion has been postponed by a year. The 2026 campaign has objectively been a brutal rollercoaster for Donie, but the team continues to believe in his talent which could blossom when he links up with Widar in 2027.

Whereas Donie's season would not suggest at a WorldTour promotion, the same cannot be said about Kamiel Eeman. The freshly 21 years old Belgian has been a stable force in hilly and medium mountain races, securing an overall title at the Peace Tour (U23) and a second place at Mur de Huy Classic (U23) after a miracle recovery from mechanical problems early into the race.

Finally, the last promoted rider is fellow 2005-born rider Victor Vaneeckhoutte. Unlike his two teammates, Vaneeckhoutte is yet to leave a strong impression at UCI-organized events. Apart from an overall title at chaotic debut edition of West Bohemia Tour in 2024, Vaneeckhoutte mostly stuck to a lower-level programme and his steady progress is docummented by national-level victories at highly contested hilly one-day races Monts et Chateaux Classic and Hel van het Heuvelland.

Where there's no doubt Eeman deserved a WorldTour contract, a logical question emerges whether Lotto will manage to secure the futures of their other highly-talented riders who have been left out by the initial announcement.

These doubts concern primarily Lotto's hottest prospect Niels Driesen who competed with the greatest under-23 talents at Ronde de l'Isard or Valle d'Aosta and came out on top multiple times. The 20-year-old was also expected to step up to WorldTour with Lotto next season, but most recent rumours point to another destination instead - Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling.

To conclude, Lotto-Intermarché also announced one contract extension for Lars Craps. The 24-year-old will stay with the Belgian team through 2028.

Craps saw his season delayed by knee injury, but later made an outstanding return at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes to finish 14th overall - even surpassing his 15th place at Tour of Guangxi year prior. This result ensured his debut nomination for Tour de France, but the Belgian rider abandoned on the second rest day with a breakaway 17th place on stage 13.