20/02/2024

“The big goal every year at Soudal - Quick-Step is still the classics" insists sports director Wilfried Peeters

With the 2024 season in full swing, we don't have long to wait for some of the biggest one day races of the year. Although perhaps not the force they once were in such races, Soudal - Quick-Step remain intent on Classics success.

“The big goal every year at Quick-Step is still the classics,” insists the Soudal - Quick-Step sports director, Wilfried Peeters in conversation with Velo. “OK, we lost a little bit, but we are still there. We are not the big favorites. We can race our race.”

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Soudal - Quick-Step reveal lineups for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne

The team recently announced their lineup for the upcoming Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne with Classics stalwarts Julian Alaphilippe and Kasper Asgreen joined by the exciting additions of the likes of American sensation, Luke Lamperti. In recent years though, Quick-Step have lost their spot as the one-day specialists of the peloton thanks to a number of reasons, including a more GC focus alongside Remco Evenepoel and the emergence of the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel among others.

“Sometimes when you fight against a big guy on another team that can also help us with the results. We hope so,” Peeters says optimistically. “Tactically, guys like Julian and Asgreen, they have full freedom to race the way they want. Julian was already strong in Australia and now he is at altitude and Kasper will come in fresh and he wants 100 percent for the classics. We hope what they were missing the last few years they can be back with the best.”

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“We can’t say these races have any more secrets, it will be mostly about finding out where we are at this moment,” Peeters continues, previewing the upcoming weekend's racing. “Most of the guys did a good altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada and will now resume competition, and five of our guys will do both races.”

“People forget we have a lot of guys with experience, and that counts for a lot in the classics,” he concludes. “Asgreen and Alaphilippe are coming back. We have Lampaert. I think we need young guys like this also.”