Soudal - Quick-Step approach the 2026 Giro d’Italia with a balanced, ambitious squad built to race on all terrains and uphold the team’s tradition of hunting stage wins. The Belgian outfit lines up with eight motivated riders of varied profiles, ready to make their mark in bunch sprints, the mountains, or breakaways.
Mikel Landa was set to headline the team in the fight for the overall classification, but after last year's disastrous start - he abandoned during the first day of the race with a serious injury - this time around he was prevented from being at the Grand Partenza after suffering a pelvis fracture when he was hit by a medical car at Itzulia Basque Country.
One of the main storylines will be Paul Magnier, set for his second Grand Tour and aiming to confirm his speed in sprint finishes, backed up by Dries van Gestel and Jasper Stuyven who will be backing him up in the bunch sprints. Stuyven, an experienced stage hunter, will also be aiming for be in breakaways throughout the race.
In the mountains, the team is giving space to its home riders Filippo Zana, Gianmarco Garofoli and Andrea Raccagni to hunt for wins, with the three riders all likely to pursue breakaways on the days where differences can be made uphill.
Ayco Bastiaens and Fabio Van den Bossche complete the lineup for the Belgian team, who will wear a special cream vintage-style jersey to mark Castelli’s 150th anniversary.
From the sports director’s chair, Davide Bramati assessed the team’s chances: “It’s one of the best, hardest, and most unpredictable races of the season, but the squad we have for these three weeks, and the ambition the riders bring, make us believe we can have an impact at the Giro. Paul returns after a solid debut last year, targeting a stage win, and he’ll have the backing of an experienced lead-out train capable of guiding him through chaotic finales.”
The Italian directeur added: “Jasper comes in after an impressive Classics campaign and can also fight for strong results, while Filippo will try to post a good general classification. The route is tough and things can change from one day to the next, so he’ll go stage by stage and together we’ll see how it evolves. If you look at our team, you’ll see many riders able to be up there, whether in the sprint or a break, which gives us confidence. There’s a lot of enthusiasm in the team and we’re eager to start.”
Soudal Quick-Step for 2026 Giro d’Italia:
| Rider | Nationality |
| Paul Magnier | France |
| Filippo Zana | Italy |
| Jasper Stuyven | Belgium |
| Ayco Bastiaens | Belgium |
| Gianmarco Garofoli | Italy |
| Andrea Raccagni | Italy |
| Fabio Van den Bossche | Belgium |
| Dries Van Gestel | Belgium |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Rubbing is racing.
santiagobenites06-11-2026 - Throws an elbow, but crashes afterwards and he's upset.
Front24206-11-2026 - There should be nothing but praise for them: 1. Trying to make things safer, and 2. Trying something "new".acem8206-11-2026
- And a bit of a malcontent on top of it all that doesn’t help.mij06-11-2026
- Hopefully it was just a particularly bad year!Lozza05-11-2026
- He has the Twin combo of being vulnerable to germs and prone to crashes on top of not heeding the complaints from his body. Thats just crash and burn career.abstractengineer05-11-2026
- You can't complete a journey without taking next step. He has to do that or start looking for another job. I hope he can get his act together. It's a make or break next season for him. I wish him well.Cyclingsbestfan05-11-2026
- does anyone really think he is taking a next step?mij05-11-2026
- in the team’s defense, Bernal is 29. when he won his first TdF people were talking about him winning a record # of GTs. Where would they be if that crash had never happened. I’m not saying he would compete with Tadej, but he did podium Strade Bianche, and certainly could have won a GT that Tadej wasn’t in.mij05-11-2026
- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
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