As Remco Evenepoel's official departure from Soudal-QuickStep looms ever closer, team CEO Jurgen Foré has recognised the massive contribution made by the Belgian star to his squad, but also highlighted the drawbacks of the protracted saga surrounding Evenepoel's exit.
Soon to leave for new team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe – in fact he is already at their training camp – Evenepoel took 67 wins during his time at Soudal-QuickStep, with the Vuelta a España, a podium finish overall and stages of the Tour de France, and multiple editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège amongst his many triumphs.
However, as Foré told Belgian newspaper Dernière Heure, while Evenepoel's success was a huge part of Soudal's history, he also had the feeling that for part of the outside world, the team "only existed for the rider from Brabançonne [Evenepoel]". On top of that, he said, the lengthy uncertainty about Evenepoel's departure had partly befogged their rider recruitment strategy.
"We're talking about a process that unfolded over several years… I joined the team in January 2024, and this issue was already on the table," Foré told Dernière Heure.
"The uncertainly sometimes got to be a burden; I prefer clarity to a question mark that lingers for too long.
"Last winter, this doubt wasn't helpful when it came to certain recruitment decisions: was it worth continuing to invest around Remco if he was just going to leave a few months later?" Foré asked rhetorically.
When faced with Evenepoel's decision to end his contract a year early, Foré argued that the team had little room for manoeuvre, as Belgian labour law normally favours employee rights in these sorts of situations.
"I've never hidden my opinion that a contract is made to be respected," Foré said. "We're not like football" – a sport where contracts are often terminated early – "and I'm very glad about that.
"But the Belgian labour legislation hasn't helped that because it always puts the Belgian riders in a position of strength."
"We didn't have any choice, in fact, but to accept Remco's departure. If he'd been a different nationality, we'd have been in a better position."
Moving on
Evenepoel is now about to leave, though, and the team has continued, with Foré saying that once it became official, "I turned a page in my head for good."
Looking ahead, he insisted that Soudal-QuickStep would aim to win at least as many races in 2026 as they had in 2025, where the team took 56 victories, a total only beaten by UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
"It's been a huge achievement to work with a superstar like Remco, but a new chapter of the team is now about to open next season," he reasoned.
"These last few years, several of the guys have been able to mature, patiently, in Remco's shadow, but now they're ready to blossom.
"Evenepoel's exit marks a new approach and new responsibilities for these riders, but I'm convinced it can be a fruitful one."
Foré pointed out that Evenepoel's abandon in the 2025 Tour de France in the Pyrenees when ill and injured had already shown how the team could turn things around, with a subsequent triumph on the Ventoux for Valentin Paret-Peintre coming off the back of sterling support from teammates like Pascal Eenkhoorn and Ilan Van Wilder.
Equally, the signing of riders for 2026 like Classics veterans Jasper Stuyven, amongst others, would offer the squad a chance to support their up-and-coming talents such as French sprinter Paul Magnier.
"Above all, and I'll say it again, we're reconnecting with the team. The Tour de France remains the most important event of the year in terms of advertising revenue for our partners, and my primary goal at the start of a new season is to win there. This was a key factor in our recruitment," Foré told Dernière Heure.
In what is surely another encouraging sign for the Soudal-QuickStep squad in the post-Evenepoel era, Foré said that the team's budget was already securely in place for two more years. Most of the principal sponsor contracts were in place until the end of 2027, and the squad was already negotiating to prolong them even further.
