Greipel and Lotto Soudal break-up confirmed

After eight seasons and much success, Andre Greipel is leaving Lotto-Soudal, the team confirmed in a one sentence official statement.

Tour de France, Tour de France 2018

Andre Greipel at the 2018 Tour de France presentation (Getty) Source: Getty

The news ends months of rumours about a conscious uncoupling between the team and the 36-year-old.  

A Caleb Ewan move to the Belgian outfit was at the centre of the conjecture, with Greipel demoted to his lead-out train if he stayed. This announcement and Ewan's omission from the Mitchelton-Scott Tour de France team adds oxygen to that part of the theory. 

Greipel moved to Lotto-Soudal in 2011 after he could no longer stomach playing second fiddle to Mark Cavendish at HTC-Columbia. Greipel went on to capture 93 victories for Lotto, 11 of them at the Tour de France.

The German has not won at the world's biggest bike race since 2015, his most successful Tour with four victories including the final stage in Paris. 

While Greipel started this season with early triumphs at the Tour Down Under and four in the middle of the season at Four Days of Dunkirk and the Baloise Belgium Tour, he's failed to fire at this year's Tour de France, relegated on Stage 8 when he finally demonstrated some form. 

He abandoned on Stage 12, as did Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen, adding to the 2018 Tour's mass exit of sprint stars. 

The team said it will provide a further explanation once Greipel has officially announced his future plans.


 

 

 


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2 min read
Published 23 July 2018 8:36am
Updated 23 July 2018 8:43am
By Cycling Central
Source: Lotto-Soudal, Cycling Central


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