Wanty-Groupe Gobert have signed talented sprinter Tom Devriendt as the 21st and final rider on their 2015 roster. The young Belgian hopes to learn from his experienced teammates while playing a role in Roy Jans' lead-out train.

Tom Devriendt will be part of Wanty-Groupe Gobert for the next two seasons. The rider from Otegem, West-Flanders is a sprinter who does well in short, explosive sprints but also handles more difficult, uphill sprints well. Devriendt sees himself mostly as teammate in his first season with the team.

“I want to learn in my first year, especially from the older, more experienced guys,” the 23-year old former 3M-rider explains. “I hope to be a good teammate and do what is asked from me, well. I am thinking mostly about leading out the sprint for Roy Jans. That makes me a better rider too.”

Sports director Hilaire Van Der Schueren has been following Devriendt’s results for a while now.

“Tom fits well in the Wanty-Groupe Gobert system. He can lead out a sprint but is pretty fast himself too. He has potential and I have been following him for a while now. In our team he now gets the chance to show that he has the capabilities to become a procyclist.”

Devriendt’s initial race schedule will comprise of the smaller races.

“From the Three-Days De Panne I had been struggling with a back injury, especially in the second half of the season. Later I was diagnosed with a herniated disc but things are much,much better now.”

Devriendt is the 21st rider for Wanty-Groupe Gobert in 2015. Francis De Greef recently signed a new, one-year contract extension.

“It is widely known that Francis has the class to do more than what he did in 2014. He rode top 20 in Grand Tours many times and we would like to take this towards the top 12. Especially in our ambition to ride a Grand Tour in 2015, Francis is an important rider,” Van Der Schueren concludes.

Wanty-Groupe Gobert 2015

Frederik Backaert (BEL)
Jérôme Baugnies (BEL)
Francis De Greef (BEL)
Tim De Troyer (BEL)
Jan Ghyselinck (BEL)
Roy Jans (BEL)
Björn Leukemans (BEL)
Marco Minnaard (NED)
Danilo Napolitano (ITA)
Frédérique Robert (BEL)
Mirko Selvaggi (ITA)
Kévin Van Melsen (BEL)
James Vanlandschoot (BEL)
Frederik Veuchelen (BEL)

New

Simone Antonini (ITA)
Tom Devriendt (BEL)
Boris Dron (BEL)
Yannick Eijssen (BEL)
Enrico Gasparotto (ITA)
Marco Marcato (ITA)
Lander Seynaeve (BEL)