Despite a strategic reset intended to return the Soudal-QuickStep squad to its Classics roots, the Belgian team have largely ridden under the radar this spring.
In the Classics, which form so much of the team’s history, they have been there or thereabouts so far, with Laurenz Rex’s sixth place at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne their best return in those fabled home races. A far cry from 2014, when Tom Boonen won in the team’s colours and four more of their number finished in the top 10.
It’s not as though they have been completely anonymous in 2026, but two stage wins at the Volta ao Algarve, and a stage and the GC of the Giro di Sardegna are their only wins so far this season and amount to far less than they will have hoped for.
There are valid excuses, though. So far this year, they’ve had to do without the almost guaranteed stream of success from Tim Merlier, the sprinter only now on the comeback trail after injury. And Paul Magnier has suffered his fair share of bad luck, with ill-timed mechanicals taking the young Frenchman out of contention more than once.
What success they have had in the Classics has been little more than modest. Rex – now out following a crash at In Flanders Fields last week – was also eighth at the Ronde van Brugge, and Magnier finished 11th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad at the start of the cobbled campaign. Brought into the team this year to be a player in the cobbled Classics, Jasper Stuyven was 10th last week at In Flanders Fields, also taking seventh place at Milan Sanremo, a race he won five years ago.
With Stuyven, fellow new recruit Dylan van Baarle and Mangier all on the start list for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, the team certainly have options. However, with the likes of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and even former QuickStep rider Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) all ahead of them in the bookies’ form books, the team's management starts in Antwerp with realistic expectations.
"On paper, of course, it's between the big favourites," said team sports director Tom Steels on Friday, according to Het Nieuwsblad. "But it's a race with a lot of a headwinds in the beginning. You never know. A surprise is always possible. We want to make our mark."
Former Paris-Roubaix winner Van Baarle and Stuyven were brought in to help the team return to its glory days in the Classics. Stuyven has had success in Flanders before, finishing 5th last year with two other top 10s to his name, and the 33-year-old remains bullish, despite the opposition.
"I'm not going to wait for an attack on Sunday and certainly compete for the podium," Stuyven said. "It's a very strong generation that I have to fight against, but I couldn't start with the idea that there are four or five riders that I can't follow. That's the wrong approach.
"The big four are rightly talked about, but that doesn't mean they will become one, two, three and four."
A podium for Stuyven would be a massive success for QuickStep and would confirm to the team that they are heading in the right direction, but challenging the big names is a mighty tall order. Anticipating looks to be the best path to success, but with Van der Poel and Pogačar blowing the race up earlier and earlier, he will need to be at his absolute sharpest.
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