Sandrine Tas will remain with Lotto-Intermarché for the 2027 season after the Belgian and her team reaffirmed their commitment following a breakthrough first year as a full-time professional cyclist.
The 31-year-old only ended her speed skating career in March, following the World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen. Within weeks she was racing La Flèche Wallonne, and by the end of May she had already collected the first professional road victories of her career.
Tas has since raced the Tour de France Femmes, won medals in both Belgian national championships and earned selection for Belgium at this weekend’s UCI Road World Championships in Montréal.
“I feel at home here and I really want to continue building together with this team,” Tas said. “The team believes in me, and I can feel that in everything.”
Photo Credit: GettyTas made an immediate impact after leaving speed skating
Tas joined the Lotto-Intermarché women’s programme for 2026 while still completing her final winter as an elite speed skater.
The transition to full-time road cycling proved remarkably quick. After retiring from skating in March, she was already lining up at La Flèche Wallonne in April before producing her first major results the following month.
Her breakthrough came at the Bretagne Ladies Tour, where Tas won stage 1 in Plouay ahead of Amalie Dideriksen and Hélène Hesters.
She then added a second victory on the final stage in Laval, confirming that her first win had been more than an isolated result.
Those performances quickly established Tas as considerably more than a former skater experimenting with professional cycling.
Her season has also included silver in the Belgian individual time trial championship and bronze in the road race, while she made her Tour de France Femmes debut during the summer.
Late-season results strengthen Tas’ case
Tas has continued producing results as the season has progressed.
She finished third at the Women’s Cycling GP Stuttgart & Region earlier this month, finishing behind Dominika Włodarczyk and Elisa Balsamo in one of the strongest results of her first professional road season.
She was also central to Lotto-Intermarché’s victory at the inaugural Altebra MuurClassic Women, spending a lengthy period alone at the front before teammate Linda Riedmann ultimately won the race.
That mixture of sprint speed, sustained power and willingness to attack has left Tas and the team with several possible directions to explore in 2027.
“I also haven’t experienced a full spring Classics campaign yet, and that is something we really focus on as a Belgian team,” Tas said.
“I simply see so many opportunities within our team, not only to gain experience and keep learning, but also to continue developing as a rider here and pursue great results together.”
Photo Credit: Bretagne Ladies TourFrom Worlds reserve to Belgian team in Montréal
Tas’ progress has also been recognised by the Belgian national team.
She was originally named as a reserve for the World Championships but was subsequently called into the road race squad after Justine Ghekiere was ruled out with a fractured kneecap.
Tas will therefore end her first season as a full-time road professional by representing Belgium in Saturday’s elite women’s road race in Montréal.
The championship presents another considerable step up. The 180.4km Montréal course finishes with eight laps around Mount Royal and 2,570 metres of climbing, making it one of the hardest one-day races Tas has faced since committing fully to cycling.
Lotto-Intermarché back Tas’ continued development
Lotto-Intermarché CEO Jean-François Bourlart and sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer said the speed of Tas’ development had attracted attention beyond the team.
“Sandrine has made remarkable progress over the past few months,” they said. “Of course, we knew she had that absolute elite athlete mentality, but the way she has managed to make the transition from speed skater to cyclist in such a short period of time only makes us believe that there is still a lot of room for further development.”
Tas was one of the new additions when Lotto-Intermarché revealed its reshaped women’s roster for 2026, alongside riders including Riedmann, Julie Brouwers and Annelies Nijssen.
The team now want to maintain the environment in which Tas has made that initial progress rather than risk interrupting it after only one road season.
“We have consciously invested in her further development and want to provide her with the best possible support to take the next steps in her career,” Bourlart and Van de Wouwer said.
For Tas, continuity appears to have been equally important. She highlighted her relationship with coach Arno Claeys and the opportunity to experience a complete Belgian Classics campaign among the reasons for staying.
“I feel like we are only at the beginning of what we can achieve together,” she said.
After beginning 2026 as an athlete still finishing one sporting career, Tas will start 2027 with a full professional road season, two UCI victories and a World Championships appearance already behind her.
