End of an era - The new name Soudal Quick-Step will race under in 2027 as iconic sponsor set to end partnership
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 12:30
One of the peloton’s most iconic and enduring partnerships will end in 2027 in the end of an era. The Soudal Quick-Step team will change its name next season and race as Soudal Safety Jogger, after Quick-Step decided to end its spell as title sponsor.
The Belgian brand’s exit closes a relationship that has shaped more than two decades of success in international cycling. However, Quick-Step will not leave the setup entirely, remaining with the team as a secondary sponsor through 2030.
Quick-Step’s history in professional cycling began in 1999, when the company joined as co-sponsor of the legendary Mapei-QuickStep. Four years later, in 2003, the Quick-Step-Davitamon team was launched under the direction of Patrick Lefevere, starting a trajectory that would turn the Belgian outfit into one of the most successful of the 21st century.
Since then, Quick-Step has always occupied the first or second rung of the team’s title sponsorship, backing a golden era in which the squad dominated the spring Classics, while also collecting victories in all three Grand Tours and numerous wins of international prestige.
The 2027 name change will bring to a close one of the longest-running commercial relationships in modern sport. From next season, Safety Jogger will join Soudal in the team’s official name, taking on a leading role within the Belgian project.
Soudal’s continuity guarantees stability for a structure that will keep aiming to remain among the most competitive teams in the WorldTour, albeit with a renewed identity after Quick-Step’s farewell as title sponsor.
Merlier has strung together two sprint victories on stages 7 and 8 of the Tour de France
Merlier and Magnier will spearhead Soudal’s new project
The announcement comes at a particularly positive moment for the Belgian team. So far in 2026, the squad has already amassed 17 victories, once again consolidating itself among the season’s most successful formations.
The latest two arrived at the Tour de France thanks to Tim Merlier’s spectacular double, winning stages 7 and 8 and confirming his status as one of the peloton’s most dominant sprinters.
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Speed will remain one of the team’s hallmarks in 2027. Tim Merlier will continue as the key reference for bunch finishes after another outstanding season, while Paul Magnier, regarded as one of the brightest prospects in world cycling, will keep developing within the Belgian setup.
With both sprinters as cornerstones, Soudal Safety Jogger will embark on a new chapter aiming to maintain the competitive level that has defined the team over the past two decades.
The name will change, but the ambition stays the same: keep stacking wins and maintain the Belgian squad among the leading references in international cycling.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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