Just In: Maxim van Gils may have broken his contract because of Pogacar’s agent: “Alex Carrera drove him crazy” Laurens Ten Dam makes a case

Max van Gils will officially leave Lotto Dstny in the next few days or weeks. He is expected to join a World Tour team, either Astana Qazaqstan Team or Red Bull – BORA – hangrohe, but the details of how he broke his contract are still not clear. Laurens Ten Dam is a gravel racer and podcaster who used to be a professional road racer and is sure that Alex Carrera is behind all of this strange behaviour.

“He was just a good rider last year.” This year he got off to a good start in Mallorca, and in March he signed a new deal. A little more than $500,000 a year, but Van Gils was only one of the top three or four riders in the world at the end of April, Ten Dam said on the Live Slow Ride Fast program. “He kept improving, and Alex Carrera drove him crazy, telling him he should earn one or two million” .

Carrera represents van Gils and other riders, including Tadej Pogacar and Cian Uijtdebroeks, whose contracts were broken in a very public scandal exactly one year ago. Van Gils’ contract was renewed earlier this year, and it’s thought that he will make around €600,000 a year. He could make up for the €1.2 million fine if he gets a millionaire deal with another team.

Het Laatste Nieuws revealed today that Astana could fill this gap since they have a new Chinese sponsor and a lot more money in the budget. “I think that agent just told Stephane Heulot (Lotto Dstny’s manager) that he is now in charge of Van Gils’ business.” “People must have been shocked; they got a good deal at Lotto Dstny for a lot of money,” Ten Dam thinks. “That must be very irritating, Heulot. “All the top guys signed new deals, and then that boy quits at the end of the season?”

“But it’s still stupid, especially after a great year when you sign a new contract.” There’s a lot of money involved, I know that. For Heulot, it will inevitably come down to keeping your word. There is no such thing as a normal person or a word. “Then don’t complain when a flashy new agent shows up,” he said.

One of Lotto Dstny’s stars will be leaving the team. He was one of the most reliable classics riders in 2024 and won races like Eschborn-Frankfurt… They are also developing a large group of young Belgian riders, such as Arnaud De Lie, Lennert van Eetvelt, and Alec Segaert. However, this puts projects like Lotto at risk because riders are being taken by wealthier teams while still under contract.