You may not have heard the name Ferre Geeraerts, but the 21 year old Belgian is one of the best TT riders in the country. He has won 2 domestic TTs, as well as the TT at the prestigious Beloften Weekend in the Netherlands. He was also 2nd in the Belgian U23 ITT.
Racing for Belgian domestic team Basso Team Flanders, Ferre is hoping to add some road results to his TT success and get a move either to the pros or a top devo team for his final U23 season in 2025.
I called Ferre while he was on a forced break from racing due to some sickness, and got to know him a bit better.
“The season has been quite good already, I’ve had some good TTs, winning three and coming 2nd in the Nationals. So that side is good. I’d hoped to do more in road races, as you need to do well there to go to a higher level and go pro. I hope to do well in the summer races and show I can race well on the road and not just TTs. I have some results, like 4th in the last stage of Triptyque Ardennes, which was more of a climber stage, which I am not, but I can do well on hard days.”
Ferre told me a bit more about his strengths. He has a good engine, and gets better with each passing day, so is perhaps more suited to stage races than he is to one-day races.
“I can ride hard for a long time, not just for like 2 minutes or something. I have a good motor. I’m more like a Classics rider. I can do well when races are hard from distance, but maybe not all day. In a hard final, I can try and survive and get a good result. I don’t have the weight of a climber, but I like it and can suffer when I am on a good day. I also like stage races, probably more than one-day races as I get better with each stage and need time to find my rhythm.”
Geeraerts;s biggest result was 2nd place at the U23 Belgian ITT, splitting Lotto-Dstny Devo duo Robin Orins and Steffen De Schuyteneer on the podium, and being just 8 seconds behind Orins.
“That was a good day, I had not bad legs, but I was disappointed to lose by just 8 seconds. The main thing was I knew after the first lap we were equal on time. I had to push with all my life to take the jersey, but it was 8 seconds short. That is a lot, but also not a lot in a TT. I gave it my all, two days after the race I knew I could not have given any more and couldn’t have done better. I can be happy to be on the podium next to two devo team guys, which made me proud. I also can say the parcours was not suited that well to me, as there was some climbing compared to other TTs. You know Robin Orins is a good climber, so that makes more of a difference.”
But just days later, he would get his revenge at the Beloften Weekend. Whilst he didn’t finish the race overall, Ferre narrowly defeated Steffen and Robin to get some revenge.
“I came to that race to win the TT and ride well on GC. Doing a good TT there would set me up on GC. Winning that TT showed people I was good and coming 2nd at Nationals a few days before was no fluke. It was also good to win a TT as part of a stage race, not just as a one-off. If you can beat a guy like Steffen De Schuyteneer, who just won at the U23 Giro, that feels good and other teams can see me now. It’s also just nice to win.”
There will be some big domestic tours to come over the summer, as well as Italian racing, before switching back to TT mode as the autumn commences. Geeraerts hopes to be picked by Belgium for the European Champs later this year and have a good go at the TT there.
“Once I recover from sickness, I will do some one-day races and some tours. Fleche Tour, Tour de Namur, Veneto Tour in Italy are all coming. It’s not perfect for me as I have just done my exams, so I will work for the team and try to get some results. There will be a training camp after before Tour of Liege, it is a big goal to do well there and maybe ride GC. The big objective of the season is to win a race. I’m not setting a specific race for that, I will try do well in all races and get a win. There will also again be some TTs at the end of August and the start of September, so I will train more then for that, as I need to prove myself to try and make the section for the Belgian team for the European Championships, which is another main goal.”
With such good results, there has of course been some interest in Ferre from teams, as he looks to step up from the Belgian club scene. Nothing is signed yet, but Ferre hopes he can make a step up to a new level for 2025, even if that level is not yet defined.
“I’ve heard from teams, there is interest, but nothing is signed yet. I will try to work something out for 2025, but I am focussing on getting results and then I can get a contract. A devo team would be nice, as I can try once more to become Belgian TT champion, that might be the best option for me. But you cannot also say no to going pro.”
Despite the race not really suiting him, Geeraert’s shares my love for the Italian gravel at Strade Bianche, selecting that as a dream pro race to start, never mind winning.
“Strade Bianche. It’s maybe not suited to me, but I find it a beautiful race to watch, and I want to do it one day. If I cannot race it, I have told myself I will still go and ride it one day. But of course, other dream races just to ride include De Ronde, the Worlds RR and the Tour de France.”
Ferre Geeraerts is without question one of Belgium’s best TT riders, with 5 wins in his U23 career at the time of writing. I truly think he can make a step up in 2025, and if he can get some road results in the next 6 to 18 months, a good pro career can be there for the 21-year-old.
U23 Cycling Zone wishes to thank Ferre for taking the time to answer my call, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season and beyond. You can find him on both Twitter and Instagram.
U23 Cycling Zone 