"With good tactics, they should be beatable": Wolfpack is already prepared to take on Pogacar and Van der Poel in Classics

Sometimes, one step back is what is necessary to make a leap forward. That's the ideology that brings Soudal - Quick-Step back to their Classics roots in 2026, although the transformation cannot possibly be completed after just one winter. Or... can it? Besides significant roster changes, new staff comes aboard the Belgian team as well, although they're far from new faces - Niki Terpstra as a sports director, and Tim Declercq as a coach.

Both men have lived through the prime Wolfpack era. Terpstra in a pivotal role managed to win all the big cobbled Classics, including Paris-Roubaix (2014) and Tour of Flanders (2018). On contrary, Tim "El Tractor" Declercq had far more modest role over those years, usually getting the dirty work done in earlier phases of a race. Now both return to the team, hoping to pass down their experience to the new generation of Wolfpack.

"The team has always appealed to me," Terpstra begins in an interview for Sporza. "This was the most logical choice for me. I don't see myself joining another team anytime soon. Especially now that we're becoming a good classics team again and want to score everywhere. That really appeals to me."

"The hardest part is already done: putting together a good team. We've done a fantastic job," Terpstra is excited about the most recent transfer window.

According to the debuting sports director, team chemistry will be key to writing a successful new chapter: "Now we have to forge a good group that's willing to go the extra mile for each other. We have some top riders, including winners of monuments and classics, and a young talent who is very ambitious."

The weight of expectations will be mainly on two experienced newcomers: Dylan van Baarle and Jasper Stuyven. Furthermore, Laurenz Rex and Yves Lampaert could play a role, while Paul Magnier and Tim Merlier are strong cards to play in sprints. "We also have riders who can support our leaders very well. That's the strength we need, that strength across the board," Terpstra adds.

The question is at hand; will collective strength really be enough to put pressure on Van der Poel or Pogacar? "They can be beaten. But that will have to happen as a group. Individually, they're so strong that it will be very difficult. They're also people, as we saw in the Amstel Gold Race. We have to draw strength from that. With good tactics and a good group, they should be beatable," he believes.

The plan to get the job done is quite simple: "If they go with 120 kilometers to go, we have to follow. The final is still a long way off. If you have enough riders there, you can go back and forth, or make them ride behind you with teammates on their wheel. You have to be able to capitalize on that, but then there have to be enough riders up front."

"Of course, we can look back at the past and how we did it there. But these are different times. We can draw inspiration from how we did it back then, but we'll also have to come up with some new ideas."