"This Tour is too tough for both sprinters": Bakelants calls on Soudal-Quick-Step to select Remco Evenepoel for Tour de France
Cycling
With Soudal - Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere seemingly having the tough decision of choosing between sprint pair Tim Merlier and Fabio Jakobsen for the Tour de France, ex-pro Jan Bakelants and Tom Boonen have come up with a left field solution, take neither.
"The Tour is much too difficult for them (Merlier and Jakobsen) this year. There won't be enough bunch sprints for those kind of sprinters," Bakelants explains. "Jakobsen and Merlier are both riders who have to strike immediately in the sprints in the first week. We saw that last year with Jakobsen, who did not even sprint in Paris."
The solution, Boonen believes is simple. "At Soudal-Quick Step, they gradually have to implement a change in mentality. Now they think they absolutely have to take a sprinter to the Tour," he questions. "The team has the unique opportunity to win the Tour with a Belgian (Evenepoel). But there is still work to be done."
"The difficult Tour start in the Basque Country was immediately the reason why Remco had to ride the Tour this year," Bakelants agrees. "You might get 10 chances in your career to ride the Tour. If you're there, you can win. If you're not there, you can't."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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