It has been all but official for some time now, but Soudal-QuickStep and Remco Evenepoel have confirmed they will target the Tour de France in 2024, with the Belgian team continuing their evolution to back Evenepoel’s Grand Tour ambitions.
The team still has a strong Classics squad and a Flemish heart but has bigger goals for July, with Evenepoel also targeting gold medals in the road race and time trial at the Paris Olympic Games. He’ll then take aim at another rainbow jersey at the UCI Road World Championships in Zürich in September.
Soudal-QuickStep CEO Patrick Lefevere celebrated the 55 victories of 2023 and hopes for more in 2024 during the team presentation in the Suitopía Sol y Mar Suites Hotel in Calpe.
“This might not be the best way to say it, but winning is the best doping. It’s good for the mind and everything,” Lefevere said.
“I hope we win early and all season in 2024. Last year we won all season but also had a few disappointments, for example in the Giro d’Italia. COVID-19 was our enemy there. We were in the lead, and we could have won.
“You have to invent yourself every few years, otherwise other teams pass you. We’ve invested in riders and staff. We have young people, new ideas, young strategies. There was a need to renew things.”
Lefevere and Soudal-QuickStep endured a difficult 2023 season after Evenepoel’s father suggested his son was not happy and wanted to move to a stronger Grand Tour team, with Ineos Grenadiers a possible destination.
Autumn’s merger/takeover saga with Jumbo-Visma destabilised the team until Richard Plugge backed out of his hostile takeover, with Evenepoel confirming he would respect his contract and stay put.
“It was painful for a period,” Lefevere admitted. “This team has existed for over 20 years. We didn’t want to disappear, but it all happened above us.
“You’re stupid if you make the same mistakes. If you’re intelligent, you turn the page. We won’t forget what happened, but today is a new day. As I like to say, ‘Today is the first day of the rest of my life’. I want to look ahead and win again with these guys.”
The 2024 Soudal-QuickStep riders talked about their hopes and goals on stage alongside Lefevere during the team presentation. Evenepoel was the last on stage, standing with some of his key teammates, though he was clear leader of the team with the biggest goals.
“My season is in function of the country of France,” Evenepoel joked. “I start in Portugal, then Paris-Nice, then the Ardennes, then the Dauphiné,…
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