Remco Evenepoel and Tim Merlier will lead the team at the 112th edition of the race.
Lille gets to host the Grand Depart of the biggest race in the world on July 5, when the peloton will take on a flat stage at the end of which the sprinters should be in the spotlight. It will be just the start of what could be a crazy and extremely nervous first part of the race, one whose short but steep climbs, narrow roads, and tricky finishes will seriously test the riders.
The second half of the Tour de France will bring the big climbs of this edition – Hautacam, Mont Ventoux, Col de la Loze and La Plagne – a demanding mountain individual time trial to Peyragudes and the traditional finish on Paris’ famous Champs-Élysées boulevard, which this year comes after several laps of a circuit inspired by the Olympic Games road race.
Third overall and white jersey winner at last year’s Le Tour, Remco Evenepoel will return at the start of the race – his sixth Grand Tour appearance – and the 25-year-old, the first Belgian in more than four decades to have finished the Tour de France on the podium, is excited ahead of this new challenge.
“It’s my second Tour de France and I’m looking forward to the Grand Depart, which won’t be far from Belgium. I think it’s obvious that I’m aiming for a good general classification, but the most important thing will be to not lose time in the first half of the race, which should be a very nervous one, with lots of traps and tricky roads. Just like last year, I want to win a stage there and do a good GC, while taking it one day at a time”, the double Olympic Champion said.
For European Champion Tim Merlier this will be his first presence since 2021 at the Grande Boucle, which the Belgian fast man will start with a total of ten wins under his belt since the beginning of the season. Soudal Quick-Step’s squad is set to include also Mattia Cattaneo, Pascal Eenkhoorn, German ITT Champion Maximilian Schachmann, Ilan Van Wilder, and Tour de France debutants Valentin Paret-Peintre and Bert Van Lerberghe.
“The race can be divided into two parts. A hectic first half, without a proper mountain stage, but with a flat individual time trial where gaps can be made, and plenty of opportunities for the sprinters and the puncheurs. Tim and Remco will have a couple of chances, but important will be that everybody makes it through those ten stages safely. The many mountain stages and the uphill time trial that come in the second part will make for an incredibly hard race, but also the last stage in Paris should play a role in the general classification. We have a strong and experienced team, capable of some nice things this summer, and so we start with a lot of confidence”, said sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
