The saga is finally over, Remco Evenepoel is officially joining Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe from 2026, leaving behind the team with which he’s spent his entire senior professional career, Soudal-QuickStep.
Once the Classics and sprinting powerhouse of the peloton, since Evenepoel came into the fold they have slowly evolved to try to help the Belgian with his general classification ambitions. Now he’s gone, where do Soudal-QuickStep go from here?
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Here to stay
A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
Impressive riders still line Soudal-QuickStep’s books for the upcoming seasons. Tim Merlier leads the charge, accounting for almost half (12) of the team’s (25) victories so far this season excluding national championships. One of the fastest sprinters in the peloton, he is guaranteed for double figure success every season these days, with one-day races and Grand Tour stages all but guaranteed for the Belgian at this point in his career.
He is one of six riders contracted through to the end of 2028 in a group that can help mould the squad’s identity over the years to come. Ilan van Wilder is another. Winner of Tre Valli Varesine and the Deutschland Tour, and finishing just off the podium in stage races of the Tour de Romandie and UAE Tour plus 12th overall at the 2023 Giro at 23 years of age, the man is a strong all-rounder talent. While he’s often been pigeon-holed as a domestique for Evenepoel, he’s certainly capable of taking his own chances now there’s a leadership hole.
They have also just announced the signing of two Monument winners for next season. Milan-San Remo winner and true Classics specialist Jasper Stuyven is incoming from Lidl-Trek, while Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle has signed from Visma-Lease a Bike too. While the Dutchman hasn’t quite hit the heights he did at Ineos Grenadiers since going to Visma, if he refinds that form, Soudal-QuickStep have a real pair of aces for the cobbled Classics and beyond.
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For general classification hopes should they still wish to send someone up the road, Mikel Landa extended his contract through 2026. The Spaniard has multiple top ten finishes across all Grand Tours and finishing fourth at the Tour de France just last year. Alongside Landa and Van Wilder are Mont Ventoux stage winner Valentin Paret-Peintre, former Paris-Nice winner Max Schachmann and climbing talents Gianmarco Garofoli, Junior Lecerf and Mauri Vansevenant, who are under contract until the end of 2026.
One of the strongest cards they have to play is the youngest. 21-year-old Paul Magnier has been a revelation this season, winning his first day out at Étoile de Bessèges, and then racing to second at both Omloop Nieuwsblad and Le Samyn. He followed that with a stage podium at the Giro and notched his first WorldTour win in Poland.
Back to their roots
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The Classics are synonymous with QuickStep, their rich history in the one-day races solidified on the shoulders of strongmen like Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert and Niki Terpstra. They didn’t just rally behind one man in races, they packed so much depth that any number of them could’ve realistically won themselves should the leader falter (apart from one particularly memorable day). When it comes to the five prestigious Monuments, they have achieved far greater success than any team still standing in the peloton with 22 wins including eight Tour of Flanders.
This grip has loosened in recent years. Their last Monument win came in 2023 through Evenepoel at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Once a squad to be feared, they are now making up the numbers. Alpecin-Deceuninck packs the biggest punch thanks to Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen and Tadej Pogačar leads the charge pretty much every race he starts, pretty much sharing the spoils in Monuments with Van der Poel over the past two seasons.
But with bolstered firepower and some redirection to refocus, things could turn around. This is certainly a transition period for the team. Patrick Lefevere stepped down from his CEO role at the end of last season after two decades and handed the reigns over to Jurgen Foré, who said at the time, ‘I think we now need to start racing broadly and as a team again.’ Could a reversion to what they once knew best be on the cards? Given the competition it’ll be easier said than done.
Soudal-QuickStep were never a natural GC team. It’s not in their nature. They only achieved one Grand Tour win in their history with Evenepoel at the Vuelta, and he was their best bet for another. By severing that tie, they can now fully commit to what they can do best. It’s time now for Merlier, Magnier, Stuyven and Van Baarle to bring the Wolfpack home.
