20/10/2022

Quick-Step see one of their riders terminate contract in order to join rival team - "A new start and chapter for me"

The transfer season is still rolling hard and a new rumour has emerged regarding the future of one of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team's classics riders, Mikkel Honoré, who is likely moving out of the Belgian team at the end of this year and has already been confimed by the American team.

Honoré currently has a contract until 2023, but is terminating it in order to join EF Education-EasyPost. The news come soon after the announcement that Michael Valgren will be racing for the American team's development ranks in 2023 as he is recovering from injury. A spot has opened within EF, and Valgren's compatriot will fill it, with a similar role.

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EF have had Ruben Guerreiro terminate his contract in order to join Movistar Team, however they look to now benefit from a similar situation. Honoré is a strong puncheur and classics rider who took wins at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and Itzulia Basque Country last year, aswell as podium positions at the Bretagne Classic and Clasica San Sebastian.

The team's focus on Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel, alongside other occasional powerhouses such as Andrea Bagioli and the cobbled classics experts have seen Honoré frequently in a supporting position. In search of more freedom to chase his own results and after a disappointing season, the 25-year old will be moving away to EF where he'll have several compatriots alongside.

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“I am just super excited,” Honoré said in a press release. “It is a new start and chapter for me, and I can’t wait to meet all of the management, riders, and staff and get going for next year... I can race in almost every kind of terrain and hopefully bring a good mood and atmosphere to the team."

"I love to race and attack and am looking forward to getting more opportunities with EF. I am excited to go to races with a plan to take the win. I know I have the level and the capacity to do so. We are going to have a very good team," he concluded.