Kobe Goossens and Laurenz Rex, two Belgian talents who won their first race as a professional and broke through in the jersey of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, extended their contract with the team of Jean-François Bourlart until the end of 2025 and 2026 respectively.
27 year old climber Kobe Goossens made a fantastic start to the season by taking his first win as a pro in the second race of the Majorca Challenge and repeating this stunt the next day, each time by leaving his breakaway companions behind in difficult weather conditions.
He showed himself among the strongest riders in other difficult one day races such as the Trofeo Calvia (7th), the Figueira Champions Classic (10th), the Flèche Wallonne (25th) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (27th). He showed more aggressive racing style in the queen stages of stage races, resulting in a thirteenth place in the final classification of Paris-Nice, his first top 20 in a World Tour stage race, and a sixth final place in the Giro di Sicilia.
Last summer he discovered the Tour de France with Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, two years after his 24th place in his Grand Tour debut in the Tour of Spain. Despite a wrist injury, he remained loyal to his role alongside Louis Meintjes until Paris and joined breakaways in the difficult stages towards Châtel and Alpe d’Huez.
23 year old Laurenz Rex broke through from his first season in the World Tour with ninth place in Paris-Roubaix in April, by accompanying the favorites until the final. He added this first top ten in a Monument to other classics results such as sixteenth in Ghent-Wevelgem (2022), eighteenth in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (2022) or 21st in Paris-Roubaix (2021).
The powerful rider from Raeren led the selections of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty in the most prestigious cobble classics this spring, combining a programme of the World Team with the one of Circus-ReUz-Technord during the first months of the season to recover from injuries. This strategy enabled him to win the Dorpenomloop Rucphen with the development team, his first professional victory.
A couple of days later, Laurenz Rex played a key role in the sprint train which led Gerben Thijssen towards the victory in Bredene-Koksijde. He is currently making his Grand Tour debut in the Tour of Italy, during which he led Arne Marit to the fourth place in the bunch sprint of stage two.
« My progression and the one of the team show that I made the right choice to join Intermarché-Circus-Wanty two years ago. From our first team building at the end of 2021, I felt very familiar with my new environment. This enabled me to work in a more serene way and in the end, it led to my breakthrough in the beginning of 2023. From my first race days of the year I achieved my main goal for the season with my first two professional victories. It was very special and the best way to reward the confidence of the team. »
« I have the ambition to continue like this. I'm convinced that I'm in the right environment to make the next steps. I learn from my own errors, from my experienced teammates and from the experts in our team. Our trainers, sports dietitians, medical staff, .... all do what they can to help me progressing in their domain. Thanks to a tailor-made year plan, Aike Visbeek and my trainer Frederik Veuchelen ensure a perfect synergy between all disciplines. The confidence they place in my capabilities is even reinforced by the coaching of our sports directors such as Dimitri Claeys or Pieter Vanspeybrouck. »
« My next goal is to win a stage in a Grand Tour. The team shares this vision and supports me in my preparation towards these events. I grateful towards the sports direction for enabling me to combine my personal ambition with a support role alongside leaders such as Louis Meintjes. We are on the same page concerning my future. All these factors encouraged me to extend my contract until the end of 2025 with the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty family. »
« Extending my contract with Intermarché-Circus-Wanty was the logical and best option for the rest of my career. I'm gaining a foothold in this team, I'm always looking forward to be reunited with my teammates and the staff at the races. It is essential for me to be surrounded with experimented riders, I learn a lot alongside them. I'm thinking of Adrien Petit in the classics, or Rein Taaramäe currently in my first Grand Tour. They know which details make a difference, they share their advice and I do what I can to put them into practice. »
« The progress we realized, both the team and myself, are the result of an efficient working, for example in terms of nutrition or training. Our Cube bikes and all components are developed to win, partly thanks to the strive for perfectionism of our head mechanic Mikey van Kruiningen. After each race, we share our feedback with our teammates and sports direction, aiming to improve ourselves each time. The medical follow-up of the team is also a determining factor. Despite the physical issues I had in the beginning of the season, the team always kept its confidence in me and encouraged me to focus on the next goals. »
« Together we want to continue building on these basics with a long term vision. I will receive time to develop and to fully integrate in the working of the team. My aim is to become a pillar of the structure, both in the classics and in a role of captain on who my teammates can always count. This Tour of Italy is an important step. I would like to conclude this first Grand Tour stronger, hoping to collect several podiums in the second half of the season and to start the next spring classic with a bigger engine. »
« Since a couple of years, our vision is to find a right balance between our experimented elements and talent development. We clearly chose the right path. We keep benefiting from our investment in the development of young riders. Kobe Goossens and Laurenz Rex are two of the most recent examples, as they broke through in our colors this spring. Just like Biniam Girmay, Lorenzo Rota or encore Gerben Thijssen, they are convinced that they can keep progressing with our approach the next few years. Our young riders choose to stay with us on the long term after their breakthrough, it is the ultimate reward for our efforts. »
« Kobe had quite some bad luck in 2022, his first season with us, as he attracted Covid in the spring and had a wrist injury during the Tour de France. But it never harmed our mutual confidence. We gave him the necessary rest, surrounded him well and thanks to his professionalism he got back to his level. We have all been rewarded with his first victories in the beginning of 2023 or with his thirteenth place in Paris-Nice. Laurenz has the same qualities, he is meticulous in his preparation and collaborates with us in a serious way. With his top ten in a Monument, he joined the list of best Belgian talents. Our mission is to add experience to his big potential and translate it into reference performances such as Paris-Roubaix. »
« Logically, many teams showed their interest in our young Belgian talents. In addition to their achievements in the World Tour, both are examples of perfect teammates. You can think of the numerous kilometers of Kobe Goossens ridden in support of Louis Meintjes, or the role Laurenz Rex played in the sprint trains of Gerben Thijssen and Arne Marit. They grab the opportunities we give them to achieve their own results and at the same time they pay attention to our collective goals. They perfectly embody the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty DNA. I'm convinced that Kobe Goossens and Laurenz Rex will become true pillars of our structure. »
« We are pleased that two Belgian talents made the choice to join our team on the long term. Currently, Kobe Goossens is one of the best Belgian climbers. He has the character of a loyal teammates, but he also confirmed that he has a winner's mentality when he is in top form. We love this kind of riders in Intermarché-Circus-Wanty. I'm looking forward to see him in the difficult stages of the Tour de France this summer. »
« Year after year, Laurenz Rex is discretely building his career on the road. In the cobble classics of 2023 he made an important step in his evolution, with his ninth place in Paris-Roubaix as a fantastic conclusion. Just like Kobe, Laurenz appreciates our structure so it was logical that we pursued the adventure together. The renewal of the contracts of these two talented Belgians confirms the great ambition for the future of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty. »
