Management

OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO (OLO) - BEL

Omega Pharma-Lotto is the new name for the team that was known as Silence-Lotto in 2009 and the Belgian squad also has a new white jersey for 2010.

Omega Pharma-Lotto no longer has World Champion Cadel Evans in its roster but Team Manager Marc Sergeant can rely on exciting classics rider and Belgian national hero Philippe Gilbert for success in 2010.

Gilbert was voted Belgian sportsman of the year in 2009 after his incredible run of successes in the final part of the season. In just two weeks he won Paris-Tours, the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di Lombardia classic. Each time he rode an aggressive race and then beat his rivals with a fast sprint finish.

Gilbert has matured rapidly in recent years and now has a key leadership role at Omega Pharma-Lotto. He is a role model for team mates such as former Belgian National Champion Jurgen Roelandts, Christophe Brandt, Wilfried Cretskens, Kenny Dehaes, Greg Van Avermaet and Jurgen Van Den Broek.

Van Den Broek could be a future stage race contender and is predicted to take Cadel Evans’ stage race role for the major stage races. He was Juniors Time Trial World Champion in 2001 and finished 15th overall in the 2009 Tour de France, despite losing time early in the race.

Riders for the important UCI ProTour one-day spring classics include Belgians Leif Hoste and Mario Aerts, German time trialist Sebastian Lang, hard working Australian climber Matt Lloyd and Britain’s Charly Wegelius. New signings for 2010 are Spain’s Daniel Moreno, Gerben Lowik from Holland and promising young British rider Adam Blythe.