"They wanted to keep me" - New UAE Team Emirates rider Florian Vermeersch reveals negotiation difficulties with Lotto Dstny

Florian Vermeersch is changing teams over the winter, from Lotto Dstny to UAE Team Emirates, and the Belgian recently opened up about his difficult 2024 to Het Nieuwsblad. From the report, it appears that the 25 year old had some difficulties negotiating his way out of the team.

"I have always been treated very correctly. The team has always supported me very well,” he said. “But there is one thing that I was very disappointed about. It is not that the team wanted me to leave, because we had negotiations in which they said that they wanted to keep me."

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Vermeersch, who has two silver medals in the gravel world championships continued, “In the end, they did not offer me anything. The choice was actually made for me. That is the only thing that makes me a little sad, that it had to happen this way. But look, that is also the course. I can understand that.”

Now he has managed to sign his contract with his new team, he can get ready to team up with the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Adam Yates and Joao Almeida next year.

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“Let me say that I will earn more than what I have earned so far. But I did not sign for the money. I also had other opportunities where I could earn just as much, but I honestly chose the team. 25 is the ideal age to get out of your comfort zone. It is also the best team in the world and they still had a gap in their spring core. All that together, actually, it was a no-brainer .”