“We always love to compete in Slovakia” – Soudal – Quick-Step head to Tour of Slovakia with strong side

The Grand Tour season may be over for 2025, but the calendar still offers plenty of racing before the riders head into the off-season. This week brings the Tour of Slovakia, officially known as Okolo Slovenska, which will be held for the 69th time. Since joining the UCI Europe Tour as a 2.1 event in 2017, it has consistently attracted strong lineups, producing memorable victories and showcasing both local and international talent.

Soudal – Quick-Step have announced their squad for the race, naming Yves Lampaert, Paul Magnier, Martin Svrček, Josef Černý, Andrea Raccagni, and Dries Van Gestel. It is a group with experience, sprinting firepower, and local ties, with Svrček racing on home soil. The Belgian outfit has made Slovakia a regular stop on its program, and with its long association with sponsor Janom, the race has become a symbolic fixture for the team.

Sports director Davide Bramati underlined how much the event means to the squad. “We always love to compete in Slovakia, the country of our sponsor Janom. In the past, we had a lot of success there, with lots of GC and stage victories, and we would like to be again among the protagonists of this race, which has a really nice parcours. The team we are taking there is a strong one, capable of fighting for wins – especially in the bunch sprints, with Paul, who comes here after his impressive win in Forumies – and we hope to get at least a victory this week.”

The parcours features five stages, three of which are expected to end in bunch sprints. That will place Magnier, fresh off a confidence-boosting victory in France, at the centre of the team’s plans, while riders like Lampaert and Černý will provide depth across the course. For local fans, Svrček’s presence will be a highlight, as he represents Slovakia on one of its biggest annual sporting stages. Quick-Step is the most successful squad of the modern era at Okolo Slovenska, the only team to have claimed overall victory five times this century. Their roll of honour includes high-profile names, with Julian Alaphilippe taking the title in 2018 and Yves Lampaert following in 2019.