![\"JulienVermote\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/julienvermote-68f4b5f0e2012.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And the veteran is certain he can continue thriving in this task. “If I want to continue next year, it\u2019s because I\u2019m still convinced about my value, I still know I can do something and I still have the passion. But if you\u2019re stressing the whole time, then you don\u2019t switch off and your performance will be less the following year.<\/p>\n
This isn’t Vermote’s first rodeo in the contract hunt<\/p>\n
However it is not the third time the Belgian enters November, where most World Tour riders are enjoying a well-deserved time away from the bike and trying to relax, stressed about his future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second time (looking for a contract last-minute, ed.), it was also crazy because I went to amateur level again, but I was really locked in, and I was kind of convinced that something would come of it. But both times taught me a lot of lessons in life. In cycling, you think you\u2019re part of a big group, but then when you\u2019re out, you\u2019re out\u2026”<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal isn\u2019t just to be a rider next year. I still want to be a rider, but I want to be a good\u00a0rider. I don\u2019t want to be a cyclist just to be a cyclist, I want to add value to a team, and I believe that I can.\u201d But there are less top teams in the Belgian market now with the merger of Intermarch\u00e9 – Wanty and Lotto, both of which could’ve on paper been his new team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vermote racing for Team Visma | Lease a Bike in 2025. @Imago<\/p>\n
But he finds a different problem this time around, in a cycling that often values UCI points more than ever before. \u201cThe smaller teams are looking for young riders to score some points, whereas in bigger teams, they have a leader and they want to give him some support. So I think my value is more for the bigger teams”.<\/p>\n
“They know I have experience and they can use me in races across the whole season. I\u2019m more consistent now than I was in my younger years, and you can\u2019t blame young riders for not being consistent,” he adds. “I just think you need a good mix, so you need experienced riders that can guide the young guys and give them advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
But signing for a continental team at this point in his career is now what he looks for, taking into consideration his skillset. \u201cNo, I won\u2019t do this. In theory, it would be possible, but that was a different time in my life. If I continue, I want to do it at a proper level, and not do it just to keep myself busy. Because there are enough different things in life I can do, there\u2019s another life besides cycling. With my brother, we have like a sports medical centre in Kortrijk, and I have a bike shop with my brother and my brother-in-law, so there are different things to do when it is over,” he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And the veteran is certain he can continue thriving in this task. “If I want to continue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-255475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}