Experienced sprint ace Tim Merlier is set to carry much of the weight of Tour de France expectations for Soudal-QuickStep this summer, in what will be the Belgian squad's first participation in three years in cycling's biggest bike race without Remco Evenepoel.
After Evenepoel signed for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe over the winter, Soudal-QuickStep have already remodelled their Spring Classics campaign to revive a traditional interest in the cobbled one-day races of the north. Following from that and with Merlier's third win in as many years in Scheldeprijs as the high point, this summer the WorldTour squad were now looking to see what they could achieve in the Tour without their former GC leader.
Whereas before the team looked more at the GC, now the top focus clearly remains on Merlier, with Team Manager Tom Steels saying, "the sprint stages remain our main goal".
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"With the changes that were made in the points classification, he could also get involved in the fight for green, especially as he has a strong squad for the bunch sprints."
There are five to six opportunities for bunch sprints, albeit with the first coming relatively late on stage 5 to Pau. In all of them, Merlier will hope to rely on friend and lead-out men Bert van Lerberghe, Jasper Styuven - already a huge help to Soudal's other top sprinter Paul Magnier in the Giro d'Italia - to add to his current tally of three Tour stage wins.
Talented all-rounder and former Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle, as at home in the Classics as he is in stage races, will also be of prime assistance.
With the team announced on Tuesday, any lingering hopes French fans might have had that talented young racer Paul Magnier would follow up his runaway success at the Giro d'Italia by providing an extra sprint option on home soil were dashed.
But if it made sense that as young a racer as Magnier would not be made to do two Grand Tours in a single year, there was also some disappointment for Basque fans when it emerged that veteran racer Mikel Landa, three times a top-five finisher in the Tour, the last as recently as 2024, would not be taking part either.
“I am very disappointed because I won’t be there after already missing the Giro d’Italia," Landa, now 36 and struggling with a back injury since a crash in his Itzulia Basque Country home race, said in a team press release.
"It’s been a difficult year so far, and after struggling in the Tour de Suisse, I realized there’s no point in trying to go to Le Tour. It’s important now to rest and recover, and hopefully I will be at the start of the Vuelta in two months.”
Other climbers who have made the grade, though, include Valentin Paret-Peintre, last year's winner on the Ventoux, and Belgium's Louis Vervaeke and his compatriot Ilan Van Wilder. A key helper for Paret-Peintre last year on the upper slopes of the Ventoux, Van Wilder was set to take over from Evenepoel for Soudal's GC hopes.
"Valentin, who is incredibly motivated and has improved in this past year, will try to be again a protagonist in the mountains, while Ilan will be our guy for the general classification, but the plan is for him to take it day by day," Steels said.
"I’m happy to be back at the start after my successful debut last year and I hope to get another stage victory, but it would be nice also to fight for the polka-dot jersey," added Paret-Peintre.
"When possible, I will also try to help the team and give my best so that we can get as many victories as possible. Alpe d’Huez stands out as the main attraction of the race, and it would be really nice to win there, especially as there are two opportunities.”
Soudal-QuickStep for the Tour de France
- Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned)
- Tim Merlier (Bel)
- Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra)
- Jasper Stuyven (Bel)
- Dylan van Baarle (Ned)
- Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel)
- Ilan Van Wilder(Bel)
- Louis Vervaeke (Bel)
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