Soudal-QuickStep CEO Jurgen Foré has dismissed speculation over the future of the team's star rider Remco Evenepoel, with Ineos Grenadiers rumoured to be once again interested in signing the Olympic champion.
The British team has been linked, along with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, with a mid-contract move for Evenepoel in recent seasons before he confirmed his commitment to Soudal-QuickStep at the end of last year.
In an interview with WielerFlits, Foré said, "There are rumours, but there are also contracts, and that's what counts" in reference to Evenepoel.
"Those rumours have always been there, even before I joined the team. But the only thing on the table is a contract with an end date of December 2026. That is the contractual reality at the moment."
Foré also provided more light on the Evenepoel situation to Daniel Benson's substack, especially in relation to them supporting him amid his most recent injury struggle. The CEO also stressed how his focus was on the Belgians' racing, not rumours.
"We just paid him for five to six months to support him in his revalidation to bring him back. So as a team, you pay a big salary for a rider to help him come back, and we did that," said Foré to Daniel Benson.
"We supported him in the best way possible, with all means. Now it’s time to focus on racing. When he’s in the team, it’s calm, it’s quiet, and he goes to altitude and to races, so he does everything that he needs to do. We do that as well, so for now the only thing that’s on my table is the contract, and the end date on that contract is the end of December, 2026."
The Tour de France will be his big goal of the summer, with the Critérium du Dauphiné his next stop on the way to a GC battle with Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Primož Roglič.
He may be unable to count on Mikel Landa, who suffered a fractured vertebra at the Giro d'Italia, in France, but he can count on the likes of Ilan Van Wilder, Mauri Vansevenant, Mattia Cattaneo, and Valentin Paret-Peintre at the Tour. Foré said that the team continues to look for ways to support their star man.
"Our leaders may be on hold for a while, but we are always looking for riders who have many abilities," he said. "I think of strong all-rounders: riders who can perform in the spring classics and win stages in the Tour, but who can also be useful in protecting the GC riders.
"We are looking at that mix. There is not really one priority in the transfer policy, but it is important to strengthen ourselves across the board."
Soudal-QuickStep have 14 riders under contract for 2026 – including Evenepoel, Landa, Vansevenant, Paret-Peintre, and rising Classics/sprint star Paul Magnier.
Foré wouldn't give anything away about the riders they're targeting to bring on board, but he did confirm that the team are seeking to boost their once-dominant Classics lineup.
"I can't confirm names, but we do want to reassert our place in the spring Classics," Foré said. "We've had good results, better than last year, but I would have liked to see a more prominent team. We're really going to work on that in the transfer period.
"We have a very young team, with a number of young talents. Take someone like Paul Magnier – it wouldn't hurt to put some experience around him. We are actively looking for those reinforcements in the market, so there will certainly be movement with us."
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