Soudal-QuickStep have got the Classics band back together after Remco Evenepoel left for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, signing Jasper Stuyven and Dylan van Baarle and bringing back former riders Niki Terpstra and Tim Declercq into a growing directeur sportif and coaching group.
Former Classics rival Sep Vanmarcke has also joined the team and will work with Iljo Keisse, Davide Bramati, Geet van Bondt, Tom Steels and Wilfried Peeters to create one of the strongest backroom staff in the WorldTour peloton. Koen Pelgrim opted not to follow Evenepoel to Red Bull and is one of the six team coaches.
Kevin Hulsmans leads the strengthened Soudal-QuickStep development team with Eliot Lietaer and Dimitri Peyskens, as it integrates much more into the WorldTour team and staff work across both squads.
"Each of them brings experience, knowledge of modern racing and a real passion for helping young riders to progress," team manager Jurgen Foré said of the key staff during the Soudal-QuickStep team presentation in Calpe.
Vanmarcke was a historic Soudal-QuickStep rival during his Classics career and he proved his talents as a sports director at Israel-Premier Tech. He worked as a television commentator in 2025 but was itching to get back in the team car.
"I was outside the barriers watching in but I wanted to be back inside the races," he explained.
"I never rode for the Wolfpack but I told my wife that if I ever went back to cycling there was only one team I wanted to work for. They always had strength in numbers and often rode against me when I was pro but I've forgiven them for that."
Soudal-QuickStep have worked strategically to rebuild their roster after Evenepoel decided to break his contract a year early and move to Red Bull for 2026. Foré has used the reported €6 million transfer fee and salary saving to hire Stuyven and Van Baarle, and extended Paul Magnier's contract and that of Tour de France Mount Ventoux stage winner Valentin Paret-Peintre.
The team's racing strategy is built around Tim Merlier's sprinting prowess, Magnier's rapid development as a sprinter and Classics contender, and then Grand Tour and WorldTour stage wins from Paret-Peintre, veteran Mikel Landa, Ilan Van Wilder and others.
The team roster and the team staff are a finely balanced mix of young talent and experience.
"I think Jurgen Foré has worked really well to rebuild the team. Lets hope we can get some big results," Declercq told Cyclingnews in Calpe.
"It's impossible to replace Remco, he's a unique rider but we've worked on the collective and signed some young riders."
'Our core value is that no one is bigger than the team'
As a coach Declercq will spend more time looking at training data than in the team car deciding race tactics but he passed his sports directors exam at the UCI during the winter and so can switch roles. He will coach eight development team riders and WorldTour riders Warre Vangheluwe, Bert Van Lerberghe, and Mauri Vansevenant.
"I studied hard while still a pro rider, so that I could use my sports degree when I retired," Declercq said.
"Now I have the practical experience of being a pro rider but also have the scientific knowledge. It's great to be able to use that at Soudal-QuickStep."
Declercq raced for the team for seven years before two final seasons as a domestique with Lidl-Trek.
"It feels like a family to me," he said.
"Our core value is that no one is bigger than the team. We have talented team leaders but we take collective decisions. When the atmosphere in a team is great, then everyone can perform and we should have a great future."
Terpstra raced for Soudal-QuickStep between 2011 and 2018, winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix when the team was the best Classics squad in the world. He retired in 2022 and raced gravel but is happy to return as Soudal-QuickStep again focus on the Classics.
"It feels great to be back. It feels like a home coming but of course the team has grown a lot since I raced with the Wolfpack," he said.
"This was the most logical choice for me. Especially now that we're becoming a good Classics team again and want to do well everywhere."
Terpstra always raced with confidence and is not afraid to take on Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel in the biggest cobbled Classics.
"They can be beaten. Individually they're strong but we have to take them on as a group. They're also human, as we saw in the Amstel Gold Race, we have to draw strength from how Mattias Skjelmose beat them. With good tactics and a good group, they are beatable."
