Lotto Belisol have always been committed to the development of young Belgian talents. Today they have announced the signing of Tiesj Benoot who is currently riding as a trainee for the team and will be turning professional at the beginning of the 2015 season.

Tiesj Benoot, who’s a trainee at Lotto Belisol and is rider of the U23 team, will become pro in the team as of January 1st, 2015. The 20-year-old Belgian rider has signed a contract for two seasons. This year Benoot was third in the Tour of Flanders U23, and in the U23 version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège he was fifth. In the Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux he finished second in a stage twice. He was also second in GC and won the points jersey. In the Tour de l’Isard Benoot finished third in the overall classification. His traineeship started in the Tour of Denmark, where he was tenth overall.

“I’m very happy that I can set the step from the U23 category to the pros within the same team," he said. "It’s ideal because it’s in a familiar surroundings. I already know Kurt Van de Wouwer very well, just like Stig Broeckx, Sean De Bie and Louis Vervaeke.

"It’s nice that I’m a trainee in the pro team now. I get to know the other riders and it’s a great experience. The Tour of Denmark was my first race and it went really well. I feel fine in the pro team.
 
“I expect to learn a lot in my first year as pro. With the U23 I rode on all sorts of terrain, from the Pyrenees and Alps to Paris-Roubaix. With the pros it’s a different style of racing and I will have to find my way and see which types of races suit me best. The hill classics should definitely be my cup of tea. I will work for the team and occasionally I’d like to show myself in races where that’s possible.
 
“I take part in the World Championships U23 road race. My ambition for Ponferrada is to end as high as possible in the ranking. The World Championships really is a goal this season. I’ve been thinking about it from the beginning of the year. Belgium has a very strong team. That’s also the case for Australia, you could see that in the Tour de l’Avenir. I expect they will control the race for their sprinter Caleb Ewan. We definitely have the team to make the race hard and we will take our responsibility. I hope to go to the finish with a small group and then I can rely on my sprint.”
 
Personal data:
Name: Tiesj Benoot
Date of birth: 11/03/1994
Place of birth: Ghent (Belgium)
Length: 1m89
Weight: 71 kg
 
Teams and victories:
2012: Avia Fuji Youth Team
2013 - 2014: Lotto Belisol U23
 
2012: Stage 2 Junioren Radrundfahrt Oberösterreich, stage 1 Keizer der juniores Koksijde,
2013: Stage 2 Vuelta a Madrid, Stage 4 Vuelta a Palencia, GC Tour de Moselle
2014: Points classification Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux