Lotto team CEO Stephane Heulot hopes to bounce-back with a new sponsor with view of WT return: "It would be great to have news by the Tour de France"
Cycling
Lotto is one of the teams with tightest budgets at the professional level. The traditional Belgian formation has been struggling to find a stable co-sponsor for few years now and now enters the 2025 season with the lottery company as lone title sponsor. CEO Stephane Heulot knows very well that in order to fulfill their dream of WorldTour comeback, more will be necessary. Not only money-wise, but also on the human side.
"As with every year, the counter is set to zero," Heulot said in a press release. "You must always approach a cycling season with humility. Our group has changed significantly, so we’ll see how things unfold. But we’re determined to continue along the positive path we started on last year."
That path included 25 triumphs over the course of 2024, with highlights such as a Belgian national championship, overall victories in the UAE Tour and the Tour of Guangxi, and a stage win in the Tour de France.
"Thanks to all our great performances, we’ve been in the UCI World Ranking top 10 for two years now. The points we’ve accumulated exceeded our expectations. Even with a team that seems less strong on paper, we aim to maintain our position. We’ll try to achieve this by adding more one-day races to our calendar. For example, we won’t compete in the Giro d’Italia, Paris-Nice, or Tirreno Adriatico, as we hope to gather more UCI points in one-day races. Our ultimate goal remains to return to the World Tour in 2026."
In the meantime, the Belgian PRT team is hoping to attract interest of a much-needed new co-sponsor which would back their WorldTour ambitions. "Of course, we are eager to welcome new partners. It takes time, and these are not the easiest economic times, but we remain confident in the value of our team. It would be great to have news by the Tour de France. In the meantime, we are fortunate to have the continued support of Lotto and our other sponsors."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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