Thomas de Gendt

25-year-old Thomas de Gendt was already known as a talent, but definitely confirmed that expectation in 2011. In the opening stage of Paris-Nice he gave his team a dream start by finishing first in a solo. Later he repeated that feat by riding to a stage victory in the Tour of Switzerland. In the Tour de France, the Belgian showed off his talent and character by finishing the Tour de France despite the fact that he had a small fracture on the head of his collarbone. In the final week he came sixth in the stage to l'Alpe d'Huez and fourth in the final time trial. Test results from the Vacansoleil-DCM medical team show that De Gendt is not pushed to his limits yet. Both the rider and the team look forward with some eagerness to a new cycling season.