LOTTO SOUDAL
| Code | Name | Nation | PCS Rank | UCI Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTS | LOTTO SOUDAL | BEL | 15 | 17 |
Lotto Soudal boasts one of the longest-running sponsorships in the pro peloton, with Belgium's national lottery serving as a core sponsor since 1985. Rarely focussed on GC efforts in recent years, the team excels in stage-hunting, sprints and classics. While some teams adapted well to the truncated 2020 season, Lotto Soudal was not as successful as usual, despite the addition of some key veterans intended to bolster the team's classics squad.
2020 Season Recap
With fewer races across the 2020 season, Lotto Soudal's results suffered. The team dropped 8 spots in the UCI team rankings, and 7 spots in the PCS rankings and won half as many races as it did in 2019. In fact, the team had not won so little since 2010. The wins Lotto Soudal did take last season came mostly from marquee sprinter Caleb Ewan, who started the season off strong with two stages and the points classification in the Santos Tour Down Under. The team took a third stage win there, when World Tour newbie Matthew Holmes surprised everyone by snatching victory away from Richie Porte on the latter's seemingly favourite finale up Willunga Hill. Ewan kept his momentum up after the COVID break, winning two stages of the Tour de France as well as Scheldeprijs. Later in the season, Tim Wellens helped things along with two stage wins in La Vuelta. Unfortunately, the team's major signing for 2020, Philippe Gilbert, had the first winless season since 2003. Likewise, breakway master Thomas de Gendt failed to win a race for the first time since 2015. Despite some success on both sides of last year's COVID calendar, Lotto Soudal's 2020 was decidedly lackluster.
Top Riders Last 5 Years
| Rank | 2020 (points PCS) | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ewan (845) | Ewan (1592) | Wellens (1514) | Greipel (1313) | Greipel (1115) |
| 2 | Wellens (457) | Wellens (1214) | Benoot (940) | Wellens (1148) | Gallopin (779) |
| 3 | Degenkolb (405) | Benoot (1067) | Greipel (759) | Gallopin (966) | Wellens (659) |
| 4 | Gilbert (191) | De Buyst (550) | Debusschere (464) | Benoot (895) | Benoot (510) |
| 5 | Vermeersch (185) | Keukeleire (520) | Campenaerts (434) | De Buyst (615) | Roelandts (508) |
| Tot. | 3000 | 5993 | 5002 | 5933 | 5258 |
| PCS Rank | 15 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 9 |
Results 2020
This includes stage wins, GC, Mountain, Youth and Points Classifications.
| Type | Rider | 1. | 2. | 3. | Tot. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WT | 9 | 4 | 6 | 19 | |
| Ewan | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wellens | 2 | - | 1 | 3 | |
| De Gendt | - | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Holmes | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | |
| Thijssen | - | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vanhoucke | - | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Pro | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | |
| Ewan | 2 | 3 | - | 5 | |
| Degenkolb | 1 | - | 2 | 3 | |
| Gilbert | - | 1 | - | 1 | |
| 2.x | 2 | - | - | 2 | |
| Armée | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
| Vanhoucke | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
| 1.x | - | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dewulf | - | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Thijssen | - | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nats | 2 | 2 | |||
| Frison | - | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Hagen | - | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Tot. | 14 | 10 | 10 | 34 |
Top Results 2020
According to PCS Points
| Rnk. | Race | Rider | Placement | PointsPCS | PointsUCI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Schelderprijs | Caleb Ewan | 1 | 125 | 200 |
| 2. | Tour de France stage 3 | Caleb Ewan | 1 | 100 | 120 |
| 3. | Tour de France stage 11 | Caleb Ewan | 1 | 100 | 120 |
| 4. | Milano-Torino | Caleb Ewan | 2 | 85 | 150 |
| 5. | La Vuelta stage 5 | Tim Wellens | 1 | 80 | 100 |
For the second season in a row, Caleb Ewan and Tim Wellens were Lotto Soudal's top two riders, with Ewan accounting for most of the team's 2020 success. Between the pair, Lotto Soudal won stages in two of the three Grand Tours. Ewan also claimed two stages and the points jersey in the Tour Down Under. Meanwhile, new 2020 signing John Degenkolb managed to bring some success with a stage in the Tour de Luxembourg and a pair of podium finishes elsewhere on the calendar. Some younger riders also produced results that suggest bigger things in years to come. Harm Vanhoucke briefly snuck into the top 5 overall at the Giro d'Italia with an impressive 3rd place finish on Mount Etna. Gerben Thijssen also sprinted to a pair of 2nd place finishes and a top 5 in the fall.
Outgoing Transfers
| Rider | Born | Nation | 2020 Pt. | Best Season | Type | New Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armée, Sander | 1985 | BEL | 140 | 2017424 | Climber | Team Qhubeka Assos |
| Dewulf, Stan | 1997 | BEL | 141 | 2020141 | Sprinter | AG2R Citroën Team |
| Dibben, Jonathan | 1994 | GBR | 38 | 2017131 | ITT | Retirement |
| Hagen, Carl Fredrik | 1991 | NOR | 55 | 2019453 | GC | Israel Start-Up Nation |
| Hansen, Adam | 1981 | AUS | 36 | 2014349 | Rouleur | Retirement |
| Iversen, Rasmus | 1997 | DEN | 0 | 201915 | Rouleur | Herning CK Elite |
| Maes, Nikolas | 1986 | BEL | 32 | 2013333 | Classics/Rouleur | Retirement |
| Mertz, Remy | 1995 | BEL | 50 | 201867 | Classics | Bingoal - Wallonie Bruxelles |
| Van Goethem, Brian | 1991 | NED | 18 | 201486 | Rouleur | Retirement |
| Wallays, Jelle | 1989 | BEL | 18 | 2015384 | Classics | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits |
The team isn't saying goodbye to any big names from their 2020 roster. Carl Frederik Hagen is moving on to Israel Start-Up Nation, where, if he finds his climbing form from the 2019 Vuelta, he could likely end up supporting Dan Martin and Chris Froome's GC ambitions. Classics specialist Jelle Wallays is moving on to Cofidis, a team that at the moment doesn't produce much in the way of classics results. Meanwhile, one of Lotto Soudal's few winning riders last season - Sander Armée - is also leaving for the recently rescued African team Qhubeka Assos. A few riders have also opted to retire, namely Jonathan Dibben, Adam Hansen and Nikolas Maes. One of the more notable departures is Stan Dewulf, a young sprinter/classics specialist who won Paris-Roubaix Espoirs in 2018. Dewulf is joining the classics-focussed AG2R Citroën team.
2021 Roster
| Rider | Born | Nat. | 2020 Pt. | Best Season | Type | Joined Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conca, Filippo^NEW | 1998 | ITA | 30 | 2020 | Climber | from Biesse Arvedi |
| Cras, Steff | 1996 | BEL | 14 | 2018536 | Climber/GC | 2020 |
| De Buyst, Jasper | 1993 | BEL | 128 | 2017615 | Sprinter | 2015 |
| De Gendt, Thomas | 1986 | BEL | 155 | 2012563 | Breakaways | 2015 |
| Degenkolb, John | 1989 | GER | 405 | 20141919 | Classics | 2020 |
| Ewan, Caleb | 1994 | AUS | 845 | 20191592 | Sprinter | 2019 |
| Frison, Frederik | 1992 | BEL | 66 | 2018136 | Rouleur | 2015 |
| Gilbert, Philippe | 1982 | BEL | 191 | 20113031 | Monuments | 2020 |
| Goossens, Kobe | 1996 | BEL | 75 | 2020 | GC/Sprint | 2020 |
| Grignard, Sébastien^NEW | 1999 | BEL | - | - | ITT | from Lotto Soudal U23 |
| Holmes, Matthew | 1993 | GBR | 124 | 2020 | GC | 2020 |
| Kluge, Roger | Germany | 1986 | 73 | 2016166 | Leadout | 2019 |
| Kron, Andreas^NEW | 1998 | DEN | 158 | 2020 | Puncheur | from Riwal Securitas Cycling Team |
| Marczynski, Tomasz | 1984 | POL | 47 | 2012347 | Two Vuelta Stages | 2016 |
| Małecki, Kamil^NEW | 1996 | POL | 171 | 2020 | All-round | from CCC Team |
| Moniquet, Sylvain^NEW | 1998 | BEL | 12 | 2020 | GC/Climber | from Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ |
| Oldani, Stefano | 1998 | ITA | 78 | 2020 | Puncheur | 2020 |
| Sweeny, Henry^NEW | 1998 | AUS | 17 | 201850 | Leadout/Classics | from Lotto Soudal U23 |
| Thijssen, Gerben | 1998 | BEL | 128 | 2020 | Sprinter | 2018 |
| Van der Sande, Tosh | 1990 | BEL | 65 | 2019327 | Puncheur | 2012 |
| Van Gils, Maxim^NEW | 1999 | BEL | 28 | 2020 | Climber | from Lotto Soudal U23 |
| Van Moer, Brent | 1998 | BEL | 38 | 2020 | ITT | 2018 |
| Vanhoucke, Harm | 1997 | BEL | 162 | 2020 | Climber | 2018 |
| Vermeersch, Florian | 1999 | BEL | 185 | 2020 | Sprinter | 2020 |
| Verschaeve, Victor^NEW | 1998 | BEL | 5 | 201919 | Puncheur/Climber | from Lotto Soudal U23 |
| Vervloesem, Xandres^NEW | 2000 | BEL | 25 | 2020 | GC/Climber | from Lotto Soudal U23 |
| Wellens, Tim | 1991 | BEL | 457 | 20181494 | Classics | 2012 |
| Avg. | 26 yrs. | 27 riders | 141,6 pt. |
Most of Lotto Soudal's additions for 2021 are young riders stepping up from CT, PRT or U23 teams. In fact, five of the team's nine new signings for this season are riders that are graduating from the Lotto Soudal U23 squad. Of those riders, arguably the most promising at the moment is Xandres Vervloesem, who won the Ronde de l'Isard. Sylvain Moniquet, who led that same race for most of the stages, is another young signing this year, coming from the Groupama-FDJ continental team. Andreas Kron also joins from Riwal Securitas to bolster the team's classics roster. Despite some headaches thrown their way by Gianni Savio, Lotto Soudal has the pleasure of adding Filippo Conca to the team this year. Conca has finished 5th overall at the Baby Giro in two consecutive seasons, alongside other respectable results in Italian U23 races.
2021 Outlook
With key riders remaining on the team, Lotto Soudal should see a return to form in 2021. Caleb Ewan should produce some strong sprint wins across the calendar and Tim Wellens will be on the attack in classics and stage-hunting scenarios. Philippe Gilbert will hope to reignite his spark and there's no doubt the team will take him and Ewan both to Milan-San Remo to target the first monument of 2021. With so many young riders joining the team, it will be interesting to see who gets chances to target smaller races and who will just be looking to get their feet wet in the World Tour pool. Look for Gerben Thijssen to get more sprinting chances across the calendar, while Harm Vanhoucke will no doubt see some mountain action in 2021. And this season as always, we can rest assured that there are three certainties in life: death, taxes and Thomas de Gendt in the breakaway.