Soudal-Quick-Step have announced their Tour de France lineup this morning and although Remco Evenepoel won't have the same resources at hand as Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, it is not a modest team by any means. The Olympic Champion has shared a statement ahead of his second Grand Boucle.
“It’s my second Tour de France and I’m looking forward to the Grand Depart, which won’t be far from Belgium," he said in a press release.
"I think it’s obvious that I’m aiming for a good general classification, but the most important thing will be to not lose time in the first half of the race, which should be a very nervous one, with lots of traps and tricky roads. Just like last year, I want to win a stage there and do a good GC, while taking it one day at a time”
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The Belgian team will be splitting focus between him and Tim Merlier, but the Belgian sprinter never had much of a leadout and so Evenepoel will overall still have most of the team backing him up. Whilst in the mountains UAE and Visma have a lot of firepower - the same can be said of BORA even though they only bring three climbers to the race - Quick-Step also packs a punch.
Whilst Mikel Landa will not be racing the Tour as initially planned due to injury, Valentin Paret-Peintre (initially scheduled to race the Giro, but forced to miss it because of an injury in the spring) will be supporting Evenepoel in the mountains and could do quite good, alongside Ilan van Wilder who comes directly out of a Top10 results at the Tour de Suisse.
Alongside them will be Mattia Cattaneo, an experienced and strong climber and rouleur who alongside Max Schachmann could be very valuable help with positioning in the hilly stages and towards the bottom of decisive climbs throughout the race.
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𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 🤩
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 1, 2025
Here are the eight Soudal Quick-Step riders ready to show the Wolfpack spirit at the biggest race in the world this July - the fascinating and stunning @LeTour 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mZmod5ECiQ
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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