Soudal Quick-Step launches mental health charity named 'Part of the Pack'

The three teams - Soudal Quick-Step, AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step women’s team, and the Soudal Quick-Step Devo team - have become increasingly aware of the pressures of modern life and the toll that this has taken on mental health. This is why they are launching Part of the Pack initiative, aimed at encouraging people to look after their mental health, open up conversations about personal mental wellbeing and look after each other’s mental health.

"Our family of teams earned the nickname of The Wolfpack because of its close-knit community, where we all support each other and work as a team and we want to bring this philosophy to the battle against mental health - it is a team effort," reads the official announcement.

"To do this we have teamed up with Tele-Onthaal, who will support the initiative. They are a Belgian based organisation, who offer support and help to those who are struggling with their mental health, as well as partnering similar organisations, based in countries across the world. They will support our team, staff, and fans, as we strive to remove the stigmas of talking about mental health, as well as offering tips on how to look after your own mental health and how to start conversations with those that you think may be suffering."

On the launch of the initiative, Soudal Quick-Step Mental Coach Michaël Verschaeve said: "In the team, we have always tried to be at the forefront of care for our riders and staff, and we have a very close-knit community that is known as The Wolfpack and the Part of the Pack initiative is an extension of that philosophy. This team was one of the first to use a sports psychologist to help our riders, but in recent years we have all become more aware of the importance of our mental health and it is a subject that now transcends sport and wider society. We are hoping that this initiative can help to normalise the conversation around our mental health."