"From the first stage of the season, we were already working with the trainers on the eight-man selection for the Giro," says sports director Klaas Lodewyck

The puzzle that was reassembled with every pedal step. How did Soudal - Quick-Step decide who can help Remco Evenepoel win the pink jersey? Klaas Lodewyck, one of the driving forces behind Project Pink, spoke to Sporza about how did the team come down to the 8-man line-up for upcoming Giro d'Italia.

The riders then told what goals they had in mind for this year and the trainers planned them accurately afterwards. Although there was always a higher good: the Giro. "We already knew from last year that we wanted to go to Italy with Remco. Then you also look for good preparation races with those goals. That's how you put the puzzle together and you end up with a shortlist of 12 who are candidates to come along," Klaas Lodewyck breaks down the details of the selection process.

There was only one certainty at the start of the season: Remco Evenepoel. But 1 quickly became 4. "If you saw the form of Ilan Van Wilder, Louis Vervaeke and Jan Hirt in Catalunya, then - if they were alive and well - they immediately became certainties."

Pieter Serry had already made an impression in Catalunya and proved his high form in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Mattia Cattaneo was also in the spotlight in the Basque Country. Then they were already 6.

"But for those last 2 places, which we left open for quite a long time, there were still 5 or 6 names left. Also - by not making our final selection too early - we wanted to continue to excite the rest of the riders and reserves ."

"Actually, you can roughly divide our team into three", explains Lodewyck. "You have riders for the high mountains, riders for the transition stages and riders for the flat."

Remco Evenepoel, Davide Ballerini, Mattia Cattaneo, Josef Černý, Dries Devenyns, Jan Hirt, Pieter Serry and Louis Vervaeke.