"We won't need those stickers anymore" - Jo Planckaert uploads and quickly deletes photo of Soudal Quick-Step car with advertising stickers half torn off

Belgian cyclist and Soudal Quick-Step team VIP rider Jo Planckaert sparked a minor stir on social media on Saturday when he posted a photo of a team car without his trademark stickers. However, the image was quickly deleted and followed by a response from Planckaert.

In the original post, Jo Planckaert shared a photo of the Soudal Quick-Step team car, which had lost its identifying stickers. In the description, Planckaert wrote: "We won't need those stickers anymore." The choice of words and the context of the image led to speculation about the future of the Belgian team, especially considering the merger it is currently working on with Jumbo-Visma. In addition, the song added by Planckaert in his post, titled "The End," helped fuel speculation about a possible closure of the team.

However, in a subsequent response on the X platform (formerly Twitter), Jo Planckaert clarified the situation and tried to calm concerns: "All this fuss is unnecessary," he said. "Every year, after my last race, the stickers are removed from the car and this year was no different. This has nothing to do with the hype surrounding the team. I don't know anything."

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Publication in X by  Jo Planckaert which was later removed.