Will Gerben Thijssen be teammates with Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen at Alpecin-Deceuninck next year? It's not that far yet, but according to Het Laatste Nieuws, the Belgian team is interested in acquiring the sprinter from Intermarché-Wanty.
The 27-year-old Thijssen still has a contract with his current employer until the end of 2027, but significant changes are underway at the Belgian teams. Everything indicates that Intermarché-Wanty will merge with the Lotto team after the cycling season, which likely gives Thijssen the opportunity to look elsewhere and transfer to another team.
Het Laatste Nieuws reports that Thijssen "is enjoying strong interest" from other teams and "hopes that he can still leave if the merger team materializes." The fast man is therefore on Alpecin-Deceuninck’s radar, although there is another team also vying for his signature.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Thijssen made his pro debut in 2019 in the Lotto kit and has ridden in Intermarché-Wanty colors since 2022. Over the past years, the rider from Genk has established himself as one of the fastest Belgian sprinters of his generation.
Since his debut for Intermarché-Wanty, he has secured nine professional victories, including success at the Volta ao Algarve, Tour of Poland, Bredene Koksijde Classic, Tour of Limburg, and Trofeo Palma. This year, top results have been scarce—partly due to bad luck and physical setbacks.
New faces
Aaron Dockx, Senna Remijn, and Lennert Belmans will definitely be promoted from Alpecin-Deceuninck’s development squad to the pro team. Additionally, we already reported in July that Italian puncheur Francesco Busatto is joining the team of the Roodhooft brothers.
On the other hand, many experienced riders are leaving, including Gianni Vermeersch, Quinten Hermans, Timo Kielich, Xandro Meurisse, Robbe Ghys, and Fabio Van den Bossche.
Another rider from Intermarché-Wanty, Alexy Faure Prost, has reportedly already signed with a competing team. This is said to be Picnic PostNL. The 21-year-old Frenchman was considered a promising climber in his youth—as he finished fifth in the 2023 Giro Next Gen—but this potential has yet to materialize at the pro level.
