Maxime Monfort rides last race and becomes sports director
Oct 06 2019 09:02 pm CET
Image: Lotto Soudal logo
Lotto-Soudal's Maxime Monfort will become a sports director in the Belgian team after riding his last race as a pro rider: the Famenne Ardenne Classic.
The Belgian rider arrived to Lotto-Soudal in 2014 and he will finish there his career as a professional. Right away, the 36-year-old will become a sports director.
"Originally, I did not intend to end my professional cycling career this year, but I only received a proposal to renew my contract at the end of August, while at the same time general manager John Lelangue asked me to become a sports director," he explained.
"It came somewhat unexpected, but at that moment, I felt the time was right and besides, the opportunity presented itself. After the Tour de France, I did already think about my future and the idea to retire was already there, independent of the proposition to become sports director. Eventually, it only took two days to make the decision, but I had already put a lot of thought into it."
For the rider, this is a very important opportunity. "Cycling is and will always be my passion," the Belgian commented. "I realized the dream of turning pro, but it was also a personal dream to stay in the world of pro cycling after my career. Now, the opportunity is there, a little earlier than expected, but I have a lot of ideas and I am really looking forward to it. For the past six years, I raced at the Lotto Soudal team, so I know the staff, riders and the way of working. It is nice to start my career as a sports director like that.
"It certainly won’t be easy to immediately make the switch from pro rider to sports director, but I am 100 per cent sure of my decision. For example, during the first training camp, it will maybe feel a bit weird to exchange the bike for the car, but I am fully ready."
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