After two seasons with
Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator, De Gendt joined
Vacansoleil–DCM for the 2011 season. De Gendt won the opening stage of
Paris–Nice and also won stage 7 of the
Tour de Suisse.[14][15] At the
Tour de France, despite suffering a minor collarbone fracture, De Gendt had a strong final week, finishing sixth on stage 19 to
Alpe d'Huez and fourth in the time trial the following day.[16][17] He took one other victory during the season – a stage at the
Circuit de Lorraine[18] – as he extended his contract with the team, until the end of 2013.[19]
In 2012, De Gendt won stage 7 of
Paris–Nice after a 60-kilometre (37-mile) solo attack, having been in a breakaway with
Rein Taaramäe; he won the stage by over six minutes ahead of Taaramäe.[20] In the
Giro d'Italia, he won the penultimate stage at the
Stelvio Pass with a solo breakaway which brought him to fourth in the general classification.[21] The following day he advanced to finish third in the final classification to take his first grand tour podium after passing
Michele Scarponi in the final
individual time trial.[22] He took one further victory for the team, in 2013, winning the final stage of the
Volta a Catalunya.[23]
Omega Pharma–Quick-Step (2014)
In October 2013,
Omega Pharma–Quick-Step announced that they were signing De Gendt for the 2014 season after the
Vacansoleil–DCM outfit folded.[24] However, De Gendt left the team after just one season.[25]
Lotto–Soudal (2015–present)
2015–2019
After an uneventful season with
Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, De Gendt moved to
Lotto–Soudal in 2015 on an initial two-year contract.[26] In his first season with the team, De Gendt won the mountains classification at
Paris–Nice,[27] and following
Stefan Denifl's results being expunged in 2019, was retroactively designated the winner of the mountains classification at the
Tour de Suisse.[28]
At the
2016 Volta a Catalunya, De Gendt led the sprints classification from start to finish, and he also won the mountains classification,[29] having assumed the lead after his stage victory on stage four,[30] the queen stage of the race. At the
Tour de France, De Gendt held a jersey for the first time at a
Grand Tour, taking the polka dot jersey as
mountains classification leader following stage five – where he had finished second to
Greg Van Avermaet.[31] He held the jersey for three stages initially, and then regained the lead for a further three days following stage twelve, after winning on
Mont Ventoux.[32] He ultimately finished second to
Rafał Majka in the mountains classification standings.[33]
In his first start of the 2017 season, De Gendt won the mountains classification at the
Tour Down Under, taking the jersey from
Richie Porte on the final day of the race.[34] He won the opening stage of the
Critérium du Dauphiné, over a hilly route in and around
Saint-Étienne; he soloed clear of his breakaway companions and won the stage by approximately 45 seconds.[35] He held the race lead through until stage six, when he lost more than eight minutes to the stage winner,
Jakob Fuglsang.[36] At the
Vuelta a España, De Gendt won
stage 19 from a breakaway, completing his set of
stage wins in all three Grand Tours.[37]
In 2018, De Gendt won the mountains classification at
Paris–Nice,[38] having taken the lead on the penultimate stage of the race. In his next start, he won the third stage of the
Volta a Catalunya after a solo attack of around 50 kilometres (31 miles); he took the race lead by 23 seconds following the stage,[39] but he would cede the lead the following day, losing 24 minutes.[40] He added to his string of long breakaway victories by winning the second stage of the
Tour de Romandie in solo fashion.[41] He would ultimately go on to win both the points and mountains jerseys at the race.[42] He finished second in the
Belgian National Time Trial Championships in June, losing out to teammate
Victor Campenaerts by a margin of three seconds.[43] At the
Vuelta a España, De Gendt won the
mountains classification,[44] having taken the lead on stage 17 from
Luis Ángel Maté,[45] who had held the lead of the classification from the start of the race.
Just as he did in 2018, De Gendt won the mountains classification at the
2019 Paris–Nice,[46] his third such victory in five years, having taken the jersey on stage four when he finished second to
Magnus Cort on the stage.[47] He then won the opening stage of the
Volta a Catalunya, winning the stage by almost three minutes after a solo move of some 60 kilometres (37 miles), attacking from a six-man breakaway group.[48] He held onto the overall race lead until stage four,[49] but was able to hold onto the mountains classification lead throughout the race. At the
Tour de France, De Gendt took his second career stage win,[50] winning the eighth stage of the race from the breakaway; he attacked on the final categorised climb – the Côte de la Jaillère – dropping
Alessandro De Marchi,[51] and he then held off
Thibaut Pinot and
Julian Alaphilippe to win the stage by six seconds.[52]
2020 onwards
After a winless 2020 – impacted due to the
COVID-19 pandemic – De Gendt took his fifth Volta a Catalunya stage victory on the final stage of the
2021 edition,[53] spending more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) in the breakaway, before attacking with approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) remaining.[54]
At the
2022 Giro d'Italia, De Gendt took his first stage victory at the race for a decade,[55] winning a hilly stage in and around
Naples; he was part of a four-rider move that broke away from a larger breakaway group with approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) remaining, and was assisted by his teammate
Harm Vanhoucke in the final sprint to the line.[56] That July, De Gendt signed a two-year contract extension with
Lotto–Soudal, until the end of the 2024 season.[57]
^In June 2019,
Stefan Denifl was stripped of all his race results recorded from the
2014 Bayern Rundfahrt onwards, following his suspension from cycling for blood doping.[60][61] As a consequence, De Gendt was retroactively promoted one position in the standings.[28]
^Puddicombe, Stephen (12 September 2018).
"Five talking points from stage 17 of the 2018 Vuelta a España". Cycling Weekly.
TI Media. Retrieved 20 October 2023. Whereas a rider like Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) has the king of the mountains jersey to show for his efforts at constantly getting into breakaways (he inherits the jersey from Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) after claiming maximum points on each of today's first five climbs) [...]