Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) will return to Davitamon-Lotto, according to Het Nieuwsblad. He will sign a two year contract with his old team, with everything becoming official this week in the Tour of Belgium. After finishing second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and second (before being disqualified) in Paris-Roubaix, Hoste's signature was sought by several teams, including Rabobank, Cofidis, Caisse d'Epargne and Quick Step-Innergetic. His current team, Discovery Channel, said it was prepared to let him go, as it did not want to be involved in a bidding war.
The 29 year-old Hoste chose Davitamon-Lotto, not only for financial reasons (his pay rise is reportedly €200,000), but also because he had ridden there before. "I know Marc Sergeant from Domo-Farm Frites," said Hoste to HNB. "When Lefevere indicated that it would be better to have a change of air, Sergeant offered my the chance with Lotto-Domo." Hoste also finished second in the 2004 Ronde van Vlaanderen, but left Lotto-Domo at the end of the year because he felt his performance was not sufficiently remunerated, according to HNB.
