
Thomas De Gendt made a name for himself across 16 seasons racing with ProTeam and WorldTour squads, largely with Lotto-Dstny, as a breakaway artisan. He scored stage victories in all three Grand Tours, including a Tour de France win atop Mont Ventoux, and finished third overall at the 2012 Giro d'Italia.
After retiring last season, he followed the path to gravel racing like many other professionals, making his first starts for the Classified X Rose Team with off-road stage races Santa Vall and Sahara Gravel. Even with just a short introduction to his new career, where he told Cyclingnews "I need to learn everything again", De Gendt did find some familiar turf.