New Zealander Logan Currie has signed a one-year contract at Lotto Dstny, finding a continued pathway in the ProTeam ranks despite the announcement by home team Bolton Equities Black Spoke that it would wind down at the end of 2023.
Currie made the move up to ProTeam level at the start of this season, in step with the New Zealand squad which he had raced with since 2021. However, the team last week announced that it would not only be unable to continue at the ProTeam level beyond its initial year in the category, but couldn't go on as a Continental team either due to a lack of sponsors.
That has left a number of the 22-year-old's teammates without contracts for 2024, but Currie is now among the handful that have confirmed they have found a new home. The Belgian squad is looking for the rider from New Zealand to help strengthen the team across hilly terrain and in smaller stage races.
“I’m still very young, but I consider myself as a GC rider and time trial specialist. I’m not a cobble or classic specialist,” said Logan, who lived in Belgium the past three years.
“I love racing here [Belgium], but I’m more a rider for the GC and a time trial specialist. I want to help the team in hard climbing races or chase the escapees in flat stages for our sprinters. I want to support the team as much as possible and when I get the chance to go for [my] own result, I will grab this opportunity with both hands.”
Currie has proven skills in the race against the clock, having won a junior national title in 2019 and then taking back-to-back U23 time trial gold medals at New Zealand nationals in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he earned the Oceania Continental Championships U23 time trial gold medal and was fourth at Worlds.
Not only does Currie have GC ambitions, but the team sees him as a promising rider to set up sprinters like Arnaud De Lie in one-day races and seek opportunities across one-week events. Last season he won the best young rider classification at International Tour of Hellas and rolled strong into the second half of the year with top 15 overall at 2.Pro Tour of Denmark, taking the best young rider title there as well.
“Logan is still a very young, but a promising rider. We don’t have a lot of riders with his profile and he will strengthen our team in the smaller stage races and in races with a hilly parcours,” said Sports Manager Kurt Van de Wouwer.
With the signing of Currie, the Lotto Dstny squad brought its roster to 29 riders.
