After ending his QuickStep-AlphaVinyl contract early in order to make the switch to EF Education-EasyPost for 2023, Mikkel Honoré is set for a Classics leadership role at his new team.
The Dane had spent four seasons at QuickStep and enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2021 with stage wins at Itzulia Basque Country and Settimana Coppi e Bartali as well as podiums at Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa and the Bretagne Classic.
His 2022 season was a quieter one, with illness and injury hitting him in the spring before he spent the rest of the year largely at the service of team leaders. However, his new directeur sportif, fellow Dane Matti Breschel, has said Honoré could be in line for a leadership role at EF.
"Slowly and quietly over time, we get our bearings on the program that we believe is the right one," Breschel told Feltet.dk about Honoré, confirming that the cobbles Classics are among his new rider's goals.
"He's a rider we listen to. He is also a rider that we have had to fight to get to the team. It takes a lot to buy a rider. So, it's clear that his words, thoughts and ambitions carry a lot of weight. To not take them seriously would be a mistake.
"I have been a bit surprised that in many races he was a helper rider when in reality, he could perhaps win by himself."
Breschel was previously a Classics leader at the team before retiring at the end of the 2019 season. EF also wave goodbye to the retiring Sebastian Langeveld at the end of this year, while Michael Valgren is heading to the team's Continental squad as he continues a long rehabilitation from pelvis and knee injuries sustained in a June crash.
Those moves open up opportunities for Honoré next spring, while the Dane will also be linking up with countrymen Breschel, Valgren, and Magnus Cort in the EF setup in 2023. The team also has Alberto Bettiol and Owain Doull for the cobbled Classics, plus Neilson Powless and new leader Richard Carapaz for the Ardennes Classics.
"I think the Danes are generally in high demand," Breschel explained. "The ones we already have, with Magnus and Valgren, have made a big impression on not only Vaughters but all of us. And they've also shown a good direction regarding where we want to go ambition-wise.
"I think [Honoré] seems like a smart, bright guy who I think has the qualities to fit in well socially. But beyond that, of course, he also has the physical ability to actually do something even bigger than what he's already accomplished."
Breschel added that the team's new signing is excited to get started at EF, noting that he thinks Honoré can make the step up to a leadership role – likely part of the reason he made the move in the first place.
"I've spoken to him and he's looking forward to it. He's very excited. It's something special to change teams and it gives extra motivation and a good, healthy excitement because you don't really know what to expect.
"He has always been incredibly happy to ride at QuickStep. But I think he's mature enough to be able to ride as a kind of captain in many bike races. So, I think that's why he's made the switch."
Despite struggles earlier in the season, Honoré rounded off his 2023 campaign on a stronger note, finishing sixth at the GP de Québec, 11th at the GP de Montréal, and in the top 20 at Il Lombardia. That more positive conclusion to his year will help through the winter and into the start of next season, Breschel explained.
"I actually think he finished the year really well, and that's been essential for Mikkel, and it's always nice to have something to build on and finish with such confidence. Fortunately, cyclists also put the bad times behind them. They're pretty easy to forget.
"Whereas if you finish badly, you can hardly wait to get going again. I've also tried to push it a bit too hard over the winter. Then you get sick and peak too early."
