Season overview
The season of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl was one with a lot of ups and a lot of downs. The cobbled classics were a disaster for a team like Quick-Step. They only won Kuurne – Bruxelles – Kuurne with Jakobsen. In the traditional classics, their best results were a 9th place for Sénéchal in Omloop and a 10th place for Lampaert in Paris-Roubaix. When Asgreen finished 3rd in the Strade Bianche in March, you would think that his level was rising and that he would definitely play a role in Tour of Flanders or Roubaix. That didn’t happen and outside of a 10th place in E3 and a 6th place in Amstel, there were no high-profile results.
There were some reasons for the poor results, though. There was a wave of illness in the team that plagued many of the classics specialists. In addition, Alaphilippe did not start in the Flemish races. This left them with one less rider in the final and unable to use their beloved tactics. However, their tactics were adopted by another team in the peloton. Jumbo-Visma took over from Quick-Step and the latter team did not have the riders in shape to fight against the yellow bees. Last but not least, the were on track to score a podium in Paris-Roubaix wit Lampaert, but the crash with a fan ruined it.
Fortunately, there were two men who saved Quick-Step's season and still made it a successful one. Fabio Jakobsen's story was like a fairytale and the rider accounted for no fewer than 13 wins this season. Stage 2 of the Tour de France was the most eye-catching of these. Of course, we must also discuss Evenepoel's season: a monument, a grand tour and a world championship title in one year. He’s actually only the 4th rider who’s done it after Binda, Merckx and Hinault and that at the age of 22. Jakobsen and Evenepoel together were responsible for 28 of the 49 wins by Quick-Step this season if you also count the European Championships and Worlds.
Transfers
Transfers IN
With the departure of Cavendish, Quick-Step clearly thought that they needed a new sprinter, so they signed Merlier. But, when Merlier signed, it raised some eyebrows and some questions. Why do you need an extra top high-profile sprinter if you already have arguably the best sprinter in the world with Jakobsen and a talent like Ethan Vernon? Why does Quick-Step get a sprinter when they have one of the best GC-talents and not enough climbing support for him? Maybe the super domestique for Remco was not available this year, but next year, they still have Merlier on a big contract. Merlier will probably ride some of the Belgian classics and the Vuelta and get some wins there. But, will the combination Merlier-Jakobsen work? I don't know. They like to ride the same races and Quick-Step will not go to any race with 2 sprinters.
Mørkøv is getting older, so the team decided to get a new lead-out man in Casper Pedersen. I don't know what to expect of him, but I see two positive points for him: his track background and his nationality. Track cyclists or ex-Track cyclists are often good lead-outs. As a Dane he can learn a lot from his new teammate Michael Mørkøv in his new role.
Last but not least, they have also signed Jan Hirt. The Czech comes over from Intermarché and rode an amazing 2022 season. He won the Tour of Oman, a Giro stage and came 6th in GC in the Giro d'Italia. It’s certain that he will be a domestique for Evenepoel. I think he can be good for him in that role, surely on the steeper sections. The beginning of the mountain train formation has started with the signing of Hirt. There should be more riders coming for this role in the coming years.
Transfers OUT
Cavendish is the most notable departure. The record holder of TDF-stages, together with Merckx, didn't get a renewal of his contract. Merlier is his replacement. A shame that he left, because if he could have become record holder of TDF-stages alone, the media exposure would have been huge, could have brought new sponsors, etc...
Other departures are Honoré to EF and Stybar to Team Jayco Alula (it will take some time to get used to this name). With Honoré and Stybar leaving, their classics squad takes a blow and it already wasn't that good this season. Stybar is surely ageing but he also had a lot of bad luck last season. In the beginning of the season, he was the last rider who could follow Laporte, van Aert and Roglic in that first Paris-Nice stage. I surely don't think he's already washed. Honoré is the coming man and I'm very high on him for the classics. I don't think it was a smart plan to let them go.
With Stijn Steels and Iljo Keisse, two riders also retired. Their experience on the road will surely be missed.
Talent
Ethan Vernon came to the team last season and I think he already surprised some people. A stage win in Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (WorldTour!) and two stages in Tour de Slovaquie. I think he’s a strong sprinter who can get over hills quite easily. That’s an advantage that he has over the two other sprinters in the team. The problem for him is the presence of Jakobsen and Merlier. They are both ahead of him and they will get the best lead-out men of the team. It is difficult to win a sprint against some top guys if you don’t have a good lead-out. Nonetheless, I hope he will get some chances in the biggest races.
Leaders
Remco Evenepoel
Evenepoel is undoubtedly their number 1 leader. His big goals next season are the Giro d’Italia, Clásica San Sebastián, World Champs TT and Il Lombardia. After his first Grand Tour victory this season, he starts as one of the favourites in the Giro. It’s a perfect parcours for him with the TT kilometres. There are always a lot of questions around Evenepoel. Can he do it on the steep climbs? Can he keep it up for three weeks? Can he handle the high-altitude climbs? The next question is: can he handle the severity of the many climbs consecutively in the Giro? I think he can. He has proved last season in the Vuelta that the can make huge steps on training camp. Before the Vuelta, some people thought that he wasn’t good enough on the longer climbs, but he proved his doubters wrong.
He said that he would be happy with a top 3 and a stage in the Giro, but I don’t think he would be happy with that. With his enormous ambition, he is only aiming for one thing: la maglia rosa.
Last thing about Remco: is it smart to ride LBL just two weeks before the start of the Giro? I think it’s possible. He said that LBL is not one of his biggest goals of the season, so he won’t be at the start in his best possible shape. After LBL, he can also go on altitude for a week in preparation for the grand tour.
Fabio Jakobsen
What a season he had! He was really good in the first part of the season and when he won stage 2 of the TDF, I thought he was going to win at least one more stage. That didn't happen, so I think that's his big goal for next season: win at least two stages there.
Julian Alaphilippe
What a bummer of a season he had. Lots of crashes and just when you thought he was back, he crashed again. Lefevere would hope that he would come back to his best level again, but I'm not so sure on that. The 30-year old rider only finished 4th in 'his' race, La Flèche Wallonne. The rest of the season also wasn't good enough, mainly because of the crashes, but I'm not sure he will find his 'superpunch' again. He will go to the Flemish Classics, as well as the Ardennes. I think it’s really good news that he goes to the cobbled classics because Quick-Step will then have two real leaders with him and Asgreen. He proved in 2020 that he can compete there.
Squads
Cobbled classics
Leaders: Asgreen and Alaphilippe
Domestiques: Sénéchal, Lampaert, Declercq, Ballerini, Steimle, Van Tricht, Schmid?
Where is the almighty Quick-Step who won almost every cobbled classic in a season? Last season, that surely wasn’t the case. For 2023, they hope to do better and I think they will. After all, there is no way they are going to have the same amount of bad luck next season. Asgreen and Alaphilippe will surely be the two leaders with the help of superdomestiques Sénéchal and Lampaert. The latter two can surely be leaders in Paris-Roubaix, but I don’t see Lampaert winning any other race. Sénéchal is another case. I hope he can take a step forward and can take his chance when they are with many riders in the final. Stan Van Tricht will take a step forward next season, I think. He can win these 1.1 or 1.Pro races in Belgium when there are some hills in it.
Hilly classics
Leaders: Alaphilippe and Evenepoel
Domestiques: Devenyns, Serry, Vansevenant, Bagioli, Vervaeke, Schmid
A stacked hilly squad. With Alaphilippe and Evenepoel, they have two very strong leaders and with both Bagioli and Schmid two second-tier leaders. Asgreen may also start in Amstel, judging by his 6th place last season. The issue I have here is the fact that some of the riders who will normally ride Flèche and LBL will also start in the Giro d’Italia. Will they all come back from altitude camp or will it just be Evenepoel? They will again start with two leaders in LBL and I think that’s a good decision. Alaphilippe would already have ridden some cobbled classics and Evenepoel’s big target is not far away then. Bagioli and Schmid might smash the autumn Italian classics. They are two big talents who will surely take a step forward next season.
Giro d’Italia
Leader: Remco Evenepoel
Domestiques: Van Wilder, Hirt, Vervaeke, Cavagna, Cattaneo, Masnada and Serry
All in for GC Remco. One of the biggest favourites for the Giro with almost the same team as in the Vuelta. I would add Cattaneo because you need him in the mountains and for the TTT. Roglic’s decision to come to the Giro will have an effect on the race dynamics. It’s for sure that Jumbo’s team is going to be the best. Will Quick-Step be able to counter them? I don’t think so. Hopefully, Van Wilder can improve a bit and he can go with Hirt and Evenepoel on the longer climbs.
Tour de France
Leader: Fabio Jakobsen and Alaphilippe
Domestiques: Lampaert, Sénéchal, Mørkøv, Devenys, Declercq and Asgreen
Stage wins, stage wins, stage wins. With Alaphilippe, the team also has one of the favourites to take the first yellow.
Vuelta a España
Leaders: Tim Merlier, Ilan Van Wilder and Bagioli
Domestiques: Pedersen, Van Lerberghe, Schmid, Hirt and Stan van Tricht.
I think they will surely send Merlier to the Vuelta. Van Wilder is a question mark, but he said that he doesn’t want to be an eternal domestique. He also hopes to ride a classification for himself in a grand tour. But I don’t know if they will send Van Wilder to two grand tours in a year, but I think they must try it. I hope Bagioli and Schmid can go to the last grand tour of the season and that they get somewhat of a free role. In Spain, there will surely be some stages that will suit them both.
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