A day with the Belgian Lotto team at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya

The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is nothing new to me. It was one of the first World Tour races I attended in person – Stage 7, with the mythical Montjuic Circuit in Barcelona. It was like that in 2023, and in 2025, I returned to this race to spend the day with the Belgian team Lotto.

Versão Portuguesa – Um dia com a equipa belga Lotto na Volta à Catalunha

Lotto is the oldest cycling team still active. Founded in 1985, it has had several names and sponsors, but Belgium’s national lottery – Lotto – has always been the main one. The Belgian team has seen many cyclists pass through its structure. Thomas de Gendt was one of the big names who chose this team, but he retired at the end of last season. It currently has Arnaud de Lie for the classics and sprints, and, in this Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, the bet is on Lennert Van Eetvelt.

The race started with heavy rain, followed by strong winds that even led to the shortening of stage 4, and finally sunshine on the last stage in Barcelona. At the start, Van Eetvelt was the focus of the press. The former UAE Tour winner said he was “annoyed” with his performance, but even more determined to improve it. ‘Today it will be difficult to make a difference to the overall, but we’re going to try to be at the front,’ he said.

The Barcelona stage was shorter than in previous years. However, even 88 kilometres can do justice to the Montjuic circuit, which was a World Cup venue in 1973 and 1986 and an Olympic venue in 1992. The lap itself is around 8 kilometres, marked by the climb to the castle and the descent towards the Olympic Stadium. It suited Van Eetvelt and Lotto very well, so they had a plan. Mario Aerts, the sports director, made it clear: “Today is a good day for him, we might even get the stage win. He’s among the three best climbers in the race. Today the climbs are more explosive, but we can try.”

Mario is already part of the furniture: this has been his home for over 26 years, first as a rider and now as sports director. The ‘Lotto DNA’ is inscribed in his cells; he just has to incorporate it into racing strategies. “The focus is on Arnaud de Lie and, for the stage races, Van Eetvelt; we hope to get UCI points with them,” he explains.

The focus is also on youth. Now, as always, the team is developing young riders to then reap the rewards at the professional level. “Several riders come from our development team. We have a good system and we’ve proved that it works.” However, Mario does have one caveat: “We’re still developing our leaders at the moment. You can’t expect too many results, as it’s part of the process.” A process he defines as “managing the team to adapt to the players.”

To fight for a general classification, one has to manage many factors, and there was only one that Van Eetvelt couldn’t master during the Catalan week: “It was a shame that Lennert lost some time on stage 6, it was difficult with the wind, but I believe that with a little more confidence we could have been on the podium. He’s one of the best climbers; he lacked the confidence and belief that he could get there”, Mario explained.

The wind blew away an opportunity, but confidence would have allowed him to navigate the conditions. That’s why the sports director is concerned about building it in young people: “Sport has changed a lot in recent years. The mental part has become more and more important, especially for the younger ones. Athletes think differently compared to 15 years ago,” he admits. “The races are more attractive, there are lots of names bringing the spectacle, Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel. It’s a different style,” adds the sports director.

When he spoke to me, Mario had already defined the strategy for the day, but he was waiting for the riders to return before presenting it: “Every day is different, it’s challenging. The younger athletes have a lot of personality, and we have to help them grow in the sport,” he concluded.

When the six – Henri Vandenabeele abandoned on stage 3 – returned to the bus, Mario took them inside. It was time to fine-tune the last details of the director’s strategy. It was then that I bumped into the team doctor, Matthias Bertels.

Matthias is in his first year at Lotto. Specialising in general medicine as well as sports medicine, his family is linked to cycling; he himself practised cycling and so couldn’t stay away from the sport. “I’m very excited to be part of a young and dynamic team,” he admitted.

His role involves accompanying the athletes, in direct communication, in order to ensure their health at all times. However, the times when he is most active are the worst for the team: “Our role is crucial when there are falls or sick athletes; we are ‘insurance’ for the team. When we’re not needed, it’s a good sign.”

While working with the athletes, he collaborates with the performance team, following scientific developments and identifying which ones can help them improve. “We’re always looking for the best way to support our athletes,” he summarised.

Anxiety is growing in the Plaza de España. It’s almost departure time, and everyone is working to get everything ready. But before I went with the team staff to the feeding zone area at the foot of Montjuic hill, I met the Patric Hemroulle, the driver and also the team’s masseur.

Patrice Hemroulle, who was preparing the feeding, is known as ‘Tintin’. He has been a member of the team since 2020 and describes his job in a very peculiar way: “My job in the team is to be their mum (athletes), we do everything for them, we look after them,” he says with good humour.

On race day, Tintin doesn’t rest. He wakes up at 7am to prepare the bidons for the stage, the food for the athletes and staff and the car for the parcours. With everything ready, I headed with the rest of the team to the feeding zone.

“After the race, the race begins for us.” This is how Patrice describes his day in his main capacity: masseur. After each race, he has to get to the hotel as quickly as possible, wash the athletes’ clothes and then give them massages, which mark the start of their recovery. It’s a virtuous cycle: “We’re busy from 7am until 9pm. These are long days for us, but we try our best to make life as easy as possible for the athletes!”

He is always there for the athletes and plays a crucial role in their performance. However, this means that he doesn’t spend much time at home: “This year we’ve already covered 80,000 kilometres,” but he also admits that he enjoys life in the off-season. The work of the athletes is widely celebrated, but their performance is directly linked to the work of the various members of the staff.

The riders pass Montjuic for the first time. The breakaway had an important advantage, but the peloton began to fragment. There was more and more space between riders, until we were no longer in the peloton. At the back of the race, the suffering was already noticeable on their faces, and each time they passed through that place emphasised it even more.

It took a few more turns for Primož Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) to play his cards. Nobody was following the Slovenian when he passed near me at the top of the Castle. Lennert Van Eetvelt followed Mario’s strategy, but the race wasn’t about luck. It was about strength, and neither he nor anyone else had the legs to catch the champion of Catalunya. 

Although I didn’t know it at the time, the Lotto youngster had his own ace up his sleeve. He left the other contenders in the vicinity of the Olympic Stadium and crossed the finish line in 3rd position. It’s not certain that the irritation was gone, because a true champion is rarely satisfied. In any case, Van Eetvelt’s 8th place in the Tour of Catalunya is the best indicator of the work of himself, his colleagues and Lotto.

By Juliana Reis