"San Sebastian suits me well... I might be able to do something nice" - Maxim Van Gils quietly confident ahead of racing return

Lotto Dstny's Maxim Van Gils has been quietly impressing throughout the 2024 season. After a short break following his Tour de France abandon after stage 15, the Belgian returns to racing at the upcoming Clasica San Sebastian.

After winning Eschborn-Frankfurt,  GP des Kantons Aargau and the shortened  Vuelta a Andalucia, plus podium finishes at Strade Bianche, La Flèche Wallonne, and a 4th placed finish at  Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Van Gils headed to the Tour de France, confident of taking a stage win on his 4th Grand Tour appearance. Sadly though, Covid put an end to any such ambitions. 

"I was sick in bed for three days and was off the bike for almost a week. So it's a bit of a guessing game," says Van Gils the day before Clasica San Sebastian 2024 in quotes collected by Sporza. "San Sebastian suits me well. One-day races are more my thing than the Tour, I know by now. I need a full battery to really get the most out of it. And mine is slowly getting back to 100 after the recent period of rest and training. If I have good legs, then I might be able to do something nice."

As an added bonus for the Lotto Dstny team, Van Gils isn't the only member of the team heading to the race full of ambition. "I think Lennert Van Eetvelt will also be very good," says Van Gils, with the Dane, Andreas Kron also a potential dark horse for success. "But that will be a lot of riders. Some come from altitude, others from the Tour de France. There will be a lot of them in good shape."

Among those coming from the Tour de France is none other than Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader, Jonas Vingegaard. Whether the likes of Van Gils can compete with the two-time Tour winner in the Basque Country? We will soon find out.