"I hope that my qualities will come to the fore more clearly" - Max Schachmann wants to find his best self in Soudal - Quick-Step

With a 2025 move to Soudal - Quick-Step, it's a return to roots for Max Schachmann, who kicked off his professional career in the Belgian formation. At one point it seemed like the German could enter the top echelons of the cycling guild, but multiple years tainted by recurring illnesses put a stop to his rise. Now 30 years old, Schachmann hopes to turn the switch with the Wolfpack and get back on the right track.

"It was a negotiation, but I felt that the team still had a lot of confidence in me as a rider. Everyone seemed eager to start a project together again and get me back to the level I've had in the past," he explains to In de Leiderstrui. "I know the people there, I know what I'm going to get there. That's why I made the choice."

However, there have also been some changes in the Belgian team, partly due to GC ambitions of their star Remco Evenepoel. "I'm really looking forward to it, because there are still a lot of familiar faces. Especially in the staff, that is. Of the riders, only Yves Lampaert and James Knox are still there, I think, from the time I rode there. It's a young group and I'm really looking forward to it."

Schachmann had been successful on many different terrains and in various types of races, but he's well aware that not everyone can be specialty chameleon just like the aliens Tadej Pogacar or Wout Van Aert. The German rider would like to re-focus next season and chase only results in races that would actually suit him.

"Modern cycling is becoming more and more specialized, so I hope that with the help of Soudal - Quick-Step I can focus on the races that suit me best. Then my qualities could also come to the fore more clearly. We still don't know exactly how we are going to do that, we will see from October onwards. There has already been some talk about it, but we will make those decisions after the current season," he concluded.