“There is not yet 100% clarity" - Tim Merlier still unsure of Grand Tour plans in 2024

More and more teams are revealing their provisional plans for the 2024 season. One man who remains in the dark about which if any Grand Tours he'll be racing is Soudal - Quick Step's Tim Merlier.

After a year without Grand Tour action in 2023, the former Belgian national champion was asked by Wielerflits his plans for 2024. “Did I miss that? Not very. This allowed me to set other goals and I managed to achieve them," he says of his lack of three-week stage racing action last year. "I can look back on that with satisfaction. Instead of the Vuelta, I won my stages in the Tour de Pologne and other races.”

With Remco Evenepoel set to make his Tour de France debut, it looks as if Merlier will be aiming towards either the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta a Espana. “There is not yet 100% clarity. They are all great rounds and I have my ambitions for all three. But what it will be... we'll see later. We are still looking at it with the team," he says however. 

“The Vuelta is indeed a plan, but there must still be sprint stages. The Vuelta seems to be very tough this year. If I still have to win a stage in a Grand Tour somewhere, it is the Vuelta. That is an important round for me personally, but we also have to look at what is important for the team.”