Ramon Sinkeldam will be one of Alpecin-Deceuninck's new riders as the Belgian team enter their maiden World Tour season. He's talked about the signing and background details in a recent interview, discussing the emotions and reasons behind it.
“It is very cool. The SEG management was already working on plan b and c, and my own manager also made some phone calls," Sinkeldam revealed in the Live Slow, Ride Fast podcast. "He then received a phone call from Philip Roodhooft. At first it wasn't very serious, a bit exploratory. But when the talks really started last week, it came around quickly.”
As B&B Hotels-KTM, where he had signed to be a leadout man for Mark Cavendish and Cees Bol, didn't manage to save their initial plans of a big budget increase, all riders were allowed to look for contracts elsewhere. The former Dutch champion was the first to find it, as he looks to become Jasper Philipsen's leadout man in 2023 as the team has been racing with inferior leadouts in relation to the competition.
“Roodhooft (Alpecin-Deceuninck's general manager, ed.) expressed a lot of confidence in me. They really needed me and I also needed a team. It's just one plus one equals two. It really is a top match," Sinkeldam continued, having signed a two-year contract, where he will also meet up with young Australian sprinter Kaden Groves who was brought in from Team BikeExchange - Jayco.
“I have always opted for security throughout my career. First years at Spekenbrink (Giant - Alpecin, ed.), then at Madiot (Groupama - FDJ, ed.). Now I stepped into a new project, but it gave me confidence that the team had been around for a while. Moreover, I was involved in the project with SEG, the management of Cees (Bol, ed.). But it was postponed. Every time you read something, you got another good story. I hope it all falls into place after all. If not, then a large number of riders really have a big problem," he continued.
Sinkeldam talks of plans that have been in the making for a long time, with current Team DSM sprinter Cees Bol who also signed for the French team - and is now looking for a new team. “I gave my agreement months ago, especially to Cees, to win sprints there together. But it lasted and it lasted, it just didn't get finished," he said.
"At one point it got too hot under my feet. It was very difficult to call Cees. He was sorry, but he totally understood. He wanted me to be patient a little longer, but he understood very well. We had already had so much patience," Sinkeldam continued. As is the case with Bol, the likes of Mark Cavendish, Max Richeze and Nick Schultz are also back to square one, whilst riders like Luca Mozzato and Franck Bonnamour who have led the team this year are likely to find a new home elsewhere aswell.
“I am very happy for myself, but I hope every day that there will be good news from the B&B corner. Otherwise Cees will find something else. He deserves it too," Sinkeldam concluded.
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