New Soudal – Quick-Step rider reveals he still hasn’t trained alongside Remco Evenepoel due to injuries: “Another opportunity to meet that fell through”

Cyclism’Actu recently caught up with Valentin Paret-Peintre during the UCI event in Haute-Savoie, where the 2027 UCI World Championships were officially announced. For the Frenchman, who joined Soudal – Quick-Step at the start of the 2025 season, the upcoming Worlds already carry a special significance.

Speaking about the race’s return to the iconic Côte de Domancy, Paret-Peintre shared his reflections on the hill’s legendary past.

“It brings back a lot of images. For me, it especially brings to mind Chris Froome's crash around France and Romain Bardet's victory right after. They had taken the Domency hill on the downhill that year. And of course, Bernard Hinault's victory, even though I wasn't born yet.”

With the event now two years away, he said the reality of a home World Championships is starting to sink in, “It's not far off, it's going to happen quickly. It's in two years, so it's going to be here quickly, mind you. With this event, we really realize that it's real and that we'll be there soon.”

However, for now, Paret-Peintre is focused on recovery. He revealed he is currently sidelined with a fractured sacrum suffered during the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, an injury that wasn’t immediately diagnosed.

“I'm not on the bike because I fractured my sacrum on the last stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. But it wasn't detected right away. And so, it's been a little over two to three weeks since I last trained. I'm going to have a follow-up X-ray tomorrow to see if I can resume training. And then we'll see about the rest of the season. But it's going to take me a little while to get back to my level, that's for sure.”

Despite the setback, he’s keeping a level-headed perspective, “It's frustrating. Afterwards, that's how it is. It happens in a career. And it's not a major injury either. It's only three weeks out. And the season is still long. There are a lot of goals that will come in the future. I prefer to look ahead and not too far back.”

Originally scheduled to ride the Giro d’Italia, Paret-Peintre admitted that his participation now looks unlikely, “I was supposed to be at the Giro d'Italia. I'm not saying I won't be, but it's going to be very complicated. I think it's very unlikely that I'll be at the Giro d'Italia this year. Even if the door isn't closed yet. Then we'll see which Grand Tour I'll do in the future. It will also depend on when I return to racing.”

A potential appearance at the Tour de France hasn’t been ruled out either, although the team’s plans remain flexible, “Maybe a chance to see me on the Tour, that's for sure. After that, there's no set schedule with the team. We'll see. A return to racing is possible on the Dauphiné, maybe, if all goes well. But even then, it's very vague.

“ We'll just wait and see when I can return. If I can return this week, it won't be bad. We'll be a good month away from the Dauphiné, a month and a half. Yes, a month and a half, plus a month and a half. So, we'll see. But it's definitely going to take me time to come back. And it's difficult at the moment to project a calendar.”

His absence also meant missing an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada, where he had hoped to train alongside Remco Evenepoel in preparation for the Giro.

“I was supposed to be up at altitude in the Sierra Nevada to prepare for the Giro. Remco was part of the training camp to prepare for the classic. So, it was another opportunity to meet that fell through, let's say, because I haven't really seen him yet. And now, I hope he'll shine in the team colorus as soon as he resumes. And we'll see in the future if I can race with him.”