New Zealander Corey gets a new home in 2024 with a Lotto Dstny contract
“I will grab this opportunity with both hands,” says the two-year National Under-23 Trials Champion as he signs off
New Zealander Logan Currie has signed a one-year contract at Lotto Dstny, finding a steady path through the ProTeam ranks despite local side Bolton Equities Black Spoke announcing the contract will expire at the end of 2023.
Currie moved up to ProTeam level at the start of this season, in line with the New Zealand team he has been racing with since 2021. However, the team announced last week that he would not be able to continue solely at ProTeam level. After its first year in this category, but it was also unable to continue as a continental team due to the lack of sponsors.
That left a number of the 22-year-old’s teammates without a contract for 2024, but Currie is now among the few to confirm they have found a new home. The Belgian team is looking for a New Zealand rider to help strengthen the team on hilly terrain and in smaller stage races.
“I’m still very young, but I consider myself a GC racer and a time trial specialist. I’m not a gravel or classics expert,” said Logan, who has lived in Belgium for three years.
“I love racing here (in Belgium), but I am the best general classification rider and time trial specialist. I want to help the team on difficult climbs or chase escapees on flat stages for our runners. I want to support the team as much as possible, and when I have the opportunity to achieve a special result B, I will seize this opportunity with both hands.
Corey has proven his time trial skills, having won a national junior title in 2019, then winning back-to-back U23 time trial gold medals at the New Zealand National Championships in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he won the Oceania Continental Championship. Championships. Gold medal in the U23 time trial and fourth at the World Championships.
Not only does Corey have GC ambitions, the team sees him as a promising rider to groom sprinters like Arnaud De Lie in one-day races and look for opportunities in week-long events. Last season he was rated Best Young Rider in the Hellas International Tour and started strongly in the second half of the year with top 15 places in the general classification of the 2.Pro Tour in Denmark, and also won the Best Young Rider title.
“Logan is still a very young driver, but he is promising. We don’t have many riders with his profile and he will strengthen our team in smaller stage races and in mountain course races,” said sporting director Kurt van de Voer.
With the signing of Corey, Lotto Dstny has increased its team to 29 contestants.
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