Stan Dewulf will return to Lotto-Intermarché in 2027, six years after leaving the Belgian team where his professional career began.
The 28-year-old has signed a two-year contract through the end of 2028 and will leave Decathlon CMA CGM at the end of this season. Lotto see Dewulf as an important part of their spring Classics group, with the Belgian particularly keen to return to a programme built around aggressive racing on the Flemish roads.
“Those Flemish races, that’s what I live for and why I became a cyclist. I’m really looking forward to racing aggressively and offensively.”
The move takes Dewulf back to an organisation he first joined at 18. He spent three seasons with the Lotto-Soudal U23 team, winning Paris-Roubaix U23 during that period, before progressing into the professional squad for 2019 and 2020.
He has spent the six seasons since then within the AG2R and Decathlon structure in France.
Dewulf wanted a return to Flemish racing
The attraction of returning to Lotto is closely tied to the role Dewulf expects to have.
Rather than being used primarily in support of designated leaders, he wants opportunities to race more freely in the Flemish Classics and Belgian one-day programme.
“I really wanted to return to a team where the spring classics are a major focus,” Dewulf said. “The classics, the Flandrien 0.0 Classic, Antwerp Port Epic… I have raced for French teams for the past six years, but throughout that time I have stayed in close contact with sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer.”
That relationship helped bring the transfer together when Lotto approached him about returning.
Dewulf described Lotto-Intermarché as a team of “opportunists”, a description that fits both his own racing style and the direction the team appears to be taking into 2027.
He does not necessarily need a race to be built around him from the start. His best performances often come when the race becomes selective and he can use positioning, endurance and an aggressive move rather than waiting behind a single protected leader.
Fourth at E3 showed what Dewulf can still do
The strongest evidence for giving Dewulf greater freedom came at the E3 Saxo Classic in March.
Dewulf spent much of the race on the attack, survived deep into the decisive Flemish climbs and was initially the only rider capable of staying with Mathieu van der Poel when the eventual winner accelerated on the Paterberg.
He eventually finished fourth behind Van der Poel, Per Strand Hagenes and Florian Vermeersch.
That performance, covered in our E3 Saxo Classic 2026 race report, was more significant than the finishing position alone. Dewulf had been part of the race rather than simply surviving it, first from the breakaway and then alongside the strongest Classics riders when the favourites took over.
He followed that spring with fourth overall at the Four Days of Dunkirk, including second place on the stage to Cassel.
Those results help explain why Lotto view him as a rider who can still improve his own results rather than simply an experienced signing brought in to support younger teammates.
Lotto’s changing leadership structure appeals to Dewulf
Dewulf also pointed towards what he expects to be a relatively open leadership structure at Lotto next season.
“It looks like the team won’t have one absolute leader in its ranks next year, and that will make things all the more interesting. It will be about racing attractively and offensively.”
That situation is partly shaped by Arnaud De Lie leaving Lotto-Intermarché at the end of 2026.
De Lie has been one of the team’s clearest focal points during recent seasons, particularly across the Belgian Classics and harder sprint races. His departure creates room for Lotto to spread responsibility across several riders rather than organising much of the spring around one leader.
Dewulf fits that model well.
He can be protected when the route suits him, sent into dangerous moves when another rider is the nominal leader or used to create pressure before the decisive part of a Classic.
For a team wanting to race with numbers rather than wait for one rider, that versatility has obvious value.
Dewulf still wants another Tour de France
The spring Classics may have driven the move, but Dewulf also has another Tour de France appearance among his targets.
He believes his profile has sometimes made Grand Tour selection difficult within squads constructed around dedicated sprint or climbing trains.
“At the same time, I dream of riding the Tour again. In recent years, with a full sprint and climbing train, it wasn’t always easy for a rider with my profile to earn a spot. I hope to change that this season.”
Lotto could offer a different route into the Tour.
A rider who can work on flat roads, handle difficult rolling terrain and become a breakaway option gives a team several uses across three weeks. He does not require a conventional sprint finish or mountain stage to justify his place.
The eventual make-up of Lotto’s 2027 Tour plans will become clearer next season, but Dewulf has been explicit about wanting to put himself back into that conversation.
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Photo Credit: Getty
Experience will be part of Dewulf’s role
Dewulf is also returning to Lotto in a very different position from the one he occupied when he left in 2020.
He was still establishing himself at professional level then. He comes back with another six seasons of WorldTour racing behind him and considerably more experience of the Classics and Grand Tours.
That matters within a Lotto squad containing a growing group of younger riders.
“I was a young professional back then; in the meantime, I have gained six more years of experience. I want to bring that maturity to the team.”
Dewulf specifically highlighted race craft as an area where he believes he can help.
Van de Wouwer sees the same benefit.
“Stan knows our team, he knows the Flemish races inside out and he knows what it takes to perform at the highest level. With so many young riders in our squad, a profile like his is particularly valuable.”
The important part of Lotto’s thinking is that mentoring younger riders is not being presented as Dewulf’s primary purpose.
Van de Wouwer believes the Belgian can still make another step himself.
Lotto continue rebuilding the 2027 squad
Dewulf’s return is another piece of a Lotto-Intermarché roster that is changing substantially ahead of next season.
The team have already secured several riders through 2028, including Lars Craps, while Juan Sebastián Molano will join Lotto-Intermarché for 2027 to strengthen their sprint options.
The latest confirmed moves can be followed through ProCyclingUK’s men’s cycling transfers hub.
Dewulf gives Lotto something different from those signings. He knows the organisation already, has proven he can still reach the decisive moments of major Flemish Classics and wants the freedom to race rather than simply fill a support role.
His fourth place at E3 this spring showed there is still scope for more than solid domestique performances.
Lotto are bringing him home to find out how much further that can go.
