This weekend, the various mini-pelotons clad in matching team kits that swarm the coastal roads and inland hills of southeastern Spain may catch a glimpse of the black-clad riders. These are not mere hobby cyclists who politely wave as they pass by, but fellow professionals who pedal with the same power and carve out intervals with the same rigor.

It is Julien Vermote, who after a decade on the World Tour will not have a ride for 2021.

The 31-year-old Belgian rider, whose contract with Cofidis was not renewed, is clinging to the hope that he can continue his career.

And that means doing what all professionals do at this time of year, training camps.

Vermort's boarding pass never arrives in his inbox. His bike is not set up and waiting for him in Calpe; he has to go through two airports and assemble it himself on the other side. There is no spacious hotel buffet waiting for him every night, and he must cook his own meals on AirBnB with ingredients bought from the local supermarket.

"You have to keep moving. If I don't do anything, I definitely won't get anywhere, and I might regret it later," Vermote told Cycling News on Thursday evening, before his flight to Spain.

"It's not a good thing. It's a tough situation, but at the end of the day, I'm a professional and I know what I have to do. But I'm a professional and I know what I have to do. If I get the chance, I have to be ready at a good level."

The two-week stay in the warm, quiet streets of Calpe is actually the second this winter for Vermote, who spent 10 days in December. During that time, he returned to his native Flanders to rack up some basic mileage on last season's race bike purchased from Cofidis, while also doing some basic training at the fitness center where his brother and agent run a bike fitting service.

In December, he surely would have expected to return to Calpe.

"As a cyclist, you are used to doing things on your own. I've camped alone before, but it's different when you know you have a team. This is even more of an investment because you never know when it's going to get better or when it's going to turn around."

"We still have the same coaches, and they've put together a two-week training program, a two-week training program, and they're still working on it, and they're still working on it. If I had to organize all the training on top of everything else, it would be really hard."

Similarly, there are many professional cyclists in southeastern Spain, which alleviates the loneliness. 'In December I trained alone for one day. This time it might be more tricky because most of the teams are doing well-organized team sessions.

Vermote is one of several World Tour riders still looking for a contract for this season. Several have already called off their search and ended their careers.

The Belgian spent seven years at Dečuninck-Quickstep, where he developed a reputation as a tireless domestique and befriended Mark Cavendish. He followed Cavendish to Dimension Data, where he spent two years, an ill-fated year on a one-year contract, and then moved on to the new team, where he spent the next two years as a member of the team.

"When I was told at the end of October that I could not stay at Cofidis, I thought it would probably be a long time, but it was already January.

"There were many contacts, but nothing without a concrete offer, especially in a year like this.

The COVID-19 pandemic certainly wreaked havoc on the transfer market. CCC teams were forced to disband, and Qhubeka Assos. was saved at the last minute.

"The teams are not necessarily full, but the question is whether we want to fill the roster with even more riders," he said, adding that it was mainly young neo-pros who signed up.

"That's the new strategy. If it happens with some teams, other teams will copy it. But I don't think they are all Evenpoel or Pogachar. That has something to do with it, but the team COVID has stopped: ...... It's a combination of a few things that are making it difficult."

"I think it's a good thing that we're not in a position to do this.

This is a situation pro cyclists face all the time, but this is the first time Vermote has seen unemployment in his eyes. He hadn't even begun to contemplate life away from racing, and the mental strain was undeniable.

"It is difficult to express in words how I feel right now. I have many feelings. In the end, there is nothing I can do. The only thing I can do is to stay motivated.

"I can't think about it every day. But you have to be realistic, so it's kind of difficult."

Vermote is looking for no set deadline, and the delayed start of the 2021 season, with only the first race being the GP La Marseillaise on the last day of January, means his situation is not as critical as it usually is at this time of year. However, fellow Belgian and fellow Classicist Guillaume van Kersbulck sees no hope for January into February.

"It would be hard to set a date and be done with it. I don't want to set a date, but I want something to come soon," Vermote says. 'I can't say I really want it to be over in a few days because nothing concrete is in the works and there isn't a proper pipeline, but maybe it could be sooner. You never know what will happen in life."

"About myself, I'm convinced I still have value. I can still do something for the team. It's not over yet. I still love cycling, I'm still physically fit, and I'm only 31, so I believe I can still do something with cycling.