Visma-Lease a Bike have added a 28th rider to their roster for the 2024 season, signing Belgian rider Julien Vermote on a one-year deal.
Vermote, who has previously represented QuickStep, Dimension Data, Cofidis, and Alpecin-Deceuninck, raced at amateur level last season sponsored by Secteur-Duolar after he was unable to find a pro contract. The Belgian now returns to WorldTour level as the final rider on Visma-Lease a Bike's 2024 squad.
There were reports of the 34-year-old Vermote's immiment arrival at Visma appeared in recent days, and the team confirmed the signing on Monday morning. Vermote will take the spot vacated by Lennard Hofstede, who recently announced his retirement.
"With the departure of Lennard, we had to quickly look for a worthy replacement and we are pleased that we were able to secure Julien," said Visma-Lease a Bike directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman.
"He has a wealth of experience and is immediately available to us as a helper. He is very motivated and passionate about his job."
Vermote has collected three wins during his 13-year professional career – the 2012 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and stages at the 2014 and 2016 Tour of Britain. He spent seven years of his career with Belgian squad QuickStep before shorter spells at other top-level teams and then a year as an elite solo rider in 2023.
Last season, Vermote was a regular at the top end of the Belgian kermesse circuit, picking up a win as well as several podium places. He also faced the pros at the Belgian National Championships road race, where he finished 19th.
He will join up with his new teammates at the Visma-Lease a Bike pre-season training camp in Spain on Monday. He is set to be an all-round domestique in the star-studded squad.
"I am very happy to have been given this opportunity," Vermote said. "Team Visma-Lease a Bike is a leading team and I would like to contribute to it. I can't wait to get started during the training camp next week with the team."
Vermote is the eighth and final signing for the squad for 2024. He joins Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), Ben Tulett (Ineos Grenadiers), and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bora-Hansgrohe) among the incoming list, with Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) the big departing names.
