Having arrived at Lotto Soudal in 2014, Maxime Monfort will be at the end of the contract in 2017. The Belgian veteran knows that his results will be important next year. 

Despite being 34 years of age, Monfort hopes to continue his career until at least 2019. 

"I still want to ride and I still want to re-sign for two years,” he tells RTBF. “I will then be 37 years old and at that time I will have to think and ask myself, ‘Do I continue or not?’ So it's clear that I think from time to time what I'm going to do after my career. I'm not a champion of the caliber of Cancellara or a Boonen who need an exit through the big door. I find that quite normal but I will probably stop without making a fuss, a bit like my image.”

To continue until 2019, Monfort knows that he will have to achieve some results in order to prove that he can still be useful. For this, he will have to make sacrifices in his racing program. 

"We are in a context where every race is important,” he says. “The Giro is an important race for the general public and for me in recent years. Therefore we prepare for it in a specific way. Without that, it is simply impossible to shine there. So, if I go to the Walloon classics, I will not have the altitude training camp that is paramount in my eyes.”

In 2016, Monfort took fifteenth place at the Giro and he will want to do better even if the field looks to be stronger for the hundredth edition. In order not to leave anything to chance, he will skip the classics in the Ardennes and will line up for the Tour de Romandie to fine-tune his preparation. 

As for the Tour de France, he also wants to do the French race although priority is not given to him. 

"I asked to take part in the Tour de France but I realize that it will be complicated because of the tactics of the team. I am currently in the long list of 15 but everything will be focused on André (Greipel) which I respect very much.”