Floris Gerts made his debut with BMC Racing at the 2015 RideLondon Classic, finishing in 36th place as teammate Jempy Drucker sprinted to the win. Appearances at a handful of one-day races were complemented by racing Arctic Tour of Norway, Tour of Britain, Tour de l'Eurométropole, and finally the Japan Cup where the 23-year-old was fourth.
It was no surprise then that BMC signed up the Dutchman who first dreamed of a career in speed skating. Gerts made his WorldTour debut for BMC at the Tour Down Under, helping teammate Richie Porte to the stage win on Willunga Hill and second place overall.
"For me personally, it's always hard the first race and especially now the first WorldTour race, which is hard but it is short stages so it's not too bad," Gets told Cyclingnews of his debut in the top tier of men's racing. "It’s very hard to say, last year I did as a stagiaire some races and they were also WorldTour riders, so I got an impression from that," he added when asked if WorldTour racing met his expectations.
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"In the WorldTour the difference between the riders is also very big, the level is very high and completely different to what I am used to."
With the team losing Marcus Burghardt to an elbow fracture, Gerts' responsibilities for the Tour Down Under were increased but he rose to the challenge and ensured the team came away from the race with a win.
"It's already an honour to ride in the team with them and ride in the selection before the Tour Down Under so that was in the first place really special," a humble Gerts said. "For me the goal was to help them and adapt to the group and find my place in the team."
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