Mauri Vansevenant will join Lotto–Intermarché for the 2027 season after agreeing a two-year contract with the Belgian WorldTour team. The 27-year-old climber leaves Soudal Quick-Step, where he has spent his entire professional career since making his debut in July 2020, and will remain with his new squad until the end of 2028.
The move had been expected since May, when reports emerged that Vansevenant would not be continuing with Soudal Quick-Step. Lotto–Intermarché have now formally confirmed the signing, adding an experienced Belgian climber to a roster undergoing considerable changes ahead of next season.
Vansevenant arrives with victories at the GP Industria & Artigianato, Tour of Oman and Tour de Luxembourg, alongside several strong results in the Ardennes Classics. He finished fourth at Amstel Gold Race and sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2024, demonstrating his ability to compete in some of the hardest one-day races on the WorldTour calendar.
The move also brings an unusual family connection. His father, Wim Vansevenant, spent the closing years of his professional career riding for Lotto’s predecessor teams, becoming well known for finishing last at the Tour de France on three consecutive occasions.
Vansevenant leaves Soudal Quick-Step after six years
Vansevenant joined Deceuninck–Quick-Step midway through 2020 following a promising under-23 career, during which he won the 2019 Giro della Valle d’Aosta and finished sixth overall at the Tour de l’Avenir.
He quickly established himself as an aggressive climber, standing out for an unconventional riding style and his willingness to attack on difficult terrain.
His first professional victory came at the 2021 GP Industria & Artigianato, where he beat Bauke Mollema and Mikel Landa. That result provided an early indication of his potential in races featuring repeated climbs and selective finishes.
Vansevenant subsequently became a valuable member of the Belgian squad’s stage-racing group, combining opportunities to race for himself with responsibilities supporting team leaders.
In 2023, he won the final stage of the Tour of Oman on Green Mountain, finishing second overall behind Matteo Jorgenson. It was a particularly demanding finish, requiring the ability to sustain a high effort on a long climb rather than relying on a short acceleration.
His strongest season followed in 2024.
Vansevenant finished fourth at Amstel Gold Race and sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, two results that established him among the more competitive Belgian riders in the Ardennes. He also won stage three of the Tour de Luxembourg and finished fourth overall.
Those performances showed his ability to compete across several different race profiles, from the repeated short climbs of the Ardennes to demanding stages where endurance becomes increasingly important.
Strong Ardennes performances continue in 2026
Although Vansevenant has not added another professional victory in 2026, he has continued to produce competitive results in races suited to his strengths.
He finished seventh at Amstel Gold Race in April, following 15th at Strade Bianche and 10th at Trofeo Laigueglia earlier in the spring.
His Ardennes campaign also included 15th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, while eighth overall at the AlUla Tour demonstrated that he remained capable of competing for strong positions in shorter stage races.
The results were less impressive than his 2024 campaign, but they showed enough consistency to make him an attractive signing for another WorldTour organisation.
At Soudal Quick-Step, Vansevenant often had to balance his own ambitions with the team’s broader objectives. The move to Lotto–Intermarché offers the possibility of a different racing programme, although his precise leadership responsibilities for 2027 have not yet been confirmed.
His ability to attack from smaller groups could also make him useful in Grand Tours, particularly on medium-mountain stages where a successful breakaway offers a more realistic route to victory than a direct contest between the leading general classification riders.
Following his father Wim’s footsteps at Lotto
The transfer has a personal connection through Vansevenant’s father, Wim, who represented Lotto’s predecessor teams during the final years of his career.
Wim Vansevenant became one of the Tour de France’s more recognisable domestiques, particularly through his extraordinary record of finishing last overall in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
That achievement earned him the lanterne rouge distinction three times, although his reputation within the peloton was built on years of work supporting other riders.
Mauri has followed a different path, emerging as a rider capable of winning difficult one-day races and mountain stages in his own right.
Nevertheless, both have spent much of their careers in Belgian professional cycling, and Mauri’s move gives the family another connection to the Lotto organisation.
Lotto–Intermarché rebuild their climbing group for 2027
Vansevenant’s arrival comes during a substantial reshaping of the Lotto–Intermarché roster.
The team are losing several established leaders, including Lennert Van Eetvelt, who has signed with NSN Cycling Team through 2029.
Arnaud De Lie is also leaving at the end of 2026, removing one of the squad’s most reliable sources of victories in one-day races and bunch finishes.
Their departures create opportunities for other riders to take greater responsibility, although Lotto–Intermarché are also investing heavily in emerging talent.
Jarno Widar is central to those plans. The Belgian climber has already demonstrated his abilities at WorldTour level, including victory at the 2026 Tre Valli Varesine.
Vansevenant gives the team another rider who can compete on similar terrain while offering considerably more experience of professional racing.
That combination could be particularly useful in the Ardennes Classics. Both riders have the climbing ability to remain competitive on repeated short ascents, potentially allowing Lotto–Intermarché to approach those races with more than one attacking option.
Vansevenant should also be able to contribute in stage races, either as a protected rider targeting individual results or as an experienced climbing team-mate.
The two-year agreement gives him an opportunity to establish a clear role within Lotto–Intermarché’s developing squad while continuing to pursue the sort of victories that first marked him out as one of Belgium’s promising climbers.
After spending his entire professional career with one organisation, 2027 will represent a substantial change for Vansevenant. It also brings him to a team with a significant connection to his family’s racing history.
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Photo Credit: Gaetan Flamme -
Photo Credit: Getty
