{"id":475449,"date":"2026-02-12T16:45:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T16:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/475449\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T16:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T16:45:10","slug":"this-is-not-what-we-are-used-to-soudal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/475449\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is not what we are used to\u201d \u2013 Soudal"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nNear misses, not no showsContext is important. Quick-Step have not been invisible. Paul Magnier<\/a> finished second at the Clasica Comunitat Valenciana<\/a>, the team\u2019s best result so far. Young riders have been active and present in races, while placings in early WorldTour events show a team competing rather than hiding.<\/p>\n

That distinction underpins Fore\u2019s calm. \u201cWinning makes everything a bit more comfortable,\u201d he said, before adding with a laugh that this is not a habit he wants to form. The internal standard remains unchanged, even if the results column has yet to catch up.<\/p>\n

Where it has gone wrong so far<\/p>\n

If there is a common thread to the slow start, it lies in availability rather than ambition. Two of the team\u2019s most reliable sources of early-season victories have barely featured.<\/p>\n

Magnier raced once before illness intervened. \u201cHe didn\u2019t feel at his best and didn\u2019t have his normal sprint speed,\u201d Fore explained, adding that the Frenchman is now training fully again and is set to return in Algarve.<\/p>\n

More significant has been the absence of Tim Merlier<\/a>, who has yet to race in 2026 due to knee problems. \u201cWe miss him enormously,\u201d Fore said. \u201cWith his current deficit, six to eight weeks will quickly need to be factored in before he is truly competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

That alone removes one of the most reliable early-season win guarantees in the peloton.<\/p>\n

Add in illness for Alberto Dainese, a heavy crash for Laurenz Rex, and a string of smaller knocks and stomach issues across the squad, and the picture becomes less mysterious. \u201cIt certainly hasn\u2019t been flawless,\u201d Fore conceded.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Magnier is expected to be a big source of success for Quick-Step in 2026<\/p>\n

Why panic is still premature<\/p>\n

Despite the unwanted record, Quick-Step\u2019s leadership remain adamant that this is not a structural problem. \u201cThey are not major dramas,\u201d Fore said. \u201cApart from Merlier and Rex, nobody is out long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broader context supports that stance. Several established leaders are only now approaching their season debuts. Jasper Stuyven and Dylan van Baarle are due to return after altitude preparation, while others, such as Mikel Landa, Ethan Hayter and Ilan Van Wilder, are only just entering competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to gradually get everyone back, so that we can turn the tide from next week,\u201d Fore said. \u201cThe team from last year, with which we eventually won 56 times, has only been strengthened. I wouldn\u2019t know why it shouldn\u2019t work now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A difficult start, not a defining one<\/p>\n

For a team accustomed to striking early, the wait has been uncomfortable and historically unusual. But the underlying indicators do not yet point to decline. Young riders are stepping up, key leaders are still to appear, and the injury list is already easing rather than growing.<\/p>\n

Quick-Step\u2019s first win of 2026 will arrive sooner or later. When it does, this opening chapter is likely to be remembered less as a crisis, and more as an awkward adjustment period in a season that simply started against the grain.<\/p>\n

For now, Fore\u2019s words capture the mood best. It grates. It is unfamiliar. But it is not yet a verdict.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Near misses, not no showsContext is important. Quick-Step have not been invisible. Paul Magnier finished second at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,221988,214320,17833,85,172711],"class_list":{"0":"post-475449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-jurgen-fore","12":"tag-paul-magnier","13":"tag-soudal-quick-step","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tim-merlier"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}