Stijn Devolder showed he is back to his best shape when he won the Tour of Belgium last weekend, and now the RadioShack team has confirmed that it wants to sign the Belgian.
Devolder previously raced for team manager Johan Bruyneel in US Postal colours in 2004, then as a Discovery Channel rider between 2005 and 2007.
Highlights during that time include eleventh overall in the Vuelta a España, third in the Tour de Suisse, plus victories in the Three Days of de Panne, Osterreich Rundfarht and the Belgian national championships.
He moved to Quick Step in 2008 and while he notched up two Tour of Flanders titles and victory in the 2008 Tour of Belgium, he appeared to stop developing as a potential Grand Tour winner and instead focus on the Classics. He also appeared to be bulkier than when he was with his previous teams.
This year was a disappointing one up until last weekend’s Tour of Belgium success. He didn’t perform in the Classics and Quick Step general manager Patrick Lefevere suggested that the team was losing patience with him.
However his new run of form has turned things around and he has been in talks with BMC Racing Team, Vacansoleil and now RadioShack.
“Even if his spring was quiet, the Tour of Belgium has proved again that Devolder is a winner,” said directeur sportif Dirk DeMol, confirming the squad’s interest in Gazet van Antwerpen. “I really hope that he will be part of our team next year.”
The main force behind the push to sign the Belgian is reportedly Lance Armstrong, who said in the past that he thought the rider might even become a Tour de France contender.
At 30 years of age, it might be too late for that, but what seems certain is that he has not continued the same rate of progress that he showed in the past, and may be keen for a new start.