Regardless of whether the rumoured Visma-Soudal merger takes place or not, Soudal-QuickStep will certainly look much different next spring.
Even before Sunday's bombshell news that the two teams are discussing joining forces, the Belgian team had already been working on a squad restructure which will leave it without numerous familiar faces for 2024.
The latest rider to confirm his departure next season is veteran Danish lead-out man Michael Mørkøv, who confirmed he'll be racing elsewhere amid heavy links to Astana Qazaqstan.
The 38-year-old established himself as one of the best lead-out men in the peloton, especially during his six-year stint at QuickStep, but confirmed in an interview with Ekstra Bladet that his time at the team is coming to an end.
"I know who I'm going to ride for. It won't be Soudal-QuickStep," he told the Danish paper, before responding to the Astana rumours. "It's a possibility. A good possibility. It hasn't been decided yet, so I can't answer that."
A possible move to the Kazakhstani squad would seemingly confirm that the team will retain Mark Cavendish – who in May announced his retirement at the end of the season – as he attempts to win a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage next summer.
The pair raced together in 2021 and 2022, with Mørkøv helping Cavendish to four stage wins and the points jersey at the Tour two years ago.
This year, Mørkøv helped Fabio Jakobsen – another rider leaving QuickStep for 2024 – to six victories across the Vuelta a San Juan, Tour de Hongrie, Baloise Belgium Tour, and Post Danmark Rundt. He said, however, that he hasn't had the best year.
"It hasn't been the best season for me, and not everything I had hoped for has succeeded."
Fellow veteran Tim Declercq, another of the sport's top domestiques famed for his long stints at the head of the peloton, is also set to depart QuickStep. The 34-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Lidl-Trek and has also received an offer from AG2R Citroën, Het Laatste Nieuws reported.
Meanwhile, Stan Van Tricht, coming to the end of his second year with the team, is destined for a move to Alpecin-Deceuninck. The 24-year-old told Het Nieuwsblad that he's on the move for 2024.
"We weighed all the options and came to the conclusion that Alpecin-Deceuninck was the best choice for me," he said.
"Assisting the leaders in the big races and taking my chances in the 1.1 race. I like that and have already proven that is within my capabilities. The management knows what to expect."
Van Trich said that he wasn't sure how much the possible mega-merger played a role in his departure but noted that the talk around the union is louder in the media than within the team.
"It's a great honour to ride in one of the biggest teams in the world, to have been able to ride beautiful races in the service of stars such as Fabio Jakobsen," Van Tricht said.
"Whether the possible merger between Soudal-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma played a role in my transfer will always remain a question mark. Apparently, it lives more in the outside world than within the group."
Mørkøv, Declercq and Van Tricht join the already confirmed list of outgoing names from Soudal-QuickStep for 2024. Jakobsen is on the way to Team dsm-firmenich as QuickStep builds around Remco Evenepoel's GC ambitions, while Italian pair Davide Ballerini (Astana) and Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) are also leaving.
Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla), Jannik Steimle (Q36.5), Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech), and the retiring Dries Devenyns are also on the outgoing list.
Mikel Landa is the biggest name signed up for next season, moving from Bahrain Victorious. He joins a swathe of neo-pros joining the team – Luke Lampert (Trinity), Antoine Huby (Vendée U), Ayco Bastiaens (Alpecin-Deceuninck development), and Soudal-QuickStep development riders Jordi Warlop, Gil Gelders, Willian Junior Lecerf, and Warre Vangheluwe.
