Mikel Landa will lead the team at the last Grand Tour of the year, between 23 August and 14 September.
Like every good movie, there has to be a sequel… and now T-Rex is back at the Vuelta!
After featuring on our team’s Castelli jersey for the first time at last year’s Spanish Grand Tour, the famous logo makes a return for the 80th edition, which gets underway in just a few days from Turin. This means that for the next three weeks, as they journey from northern Italy to Madrid, our squad will once again be known as T-Rex Quick-Step and do their best to put the T-Rex in the spotlight and on the top step of the podium.
Nuno Ribeiro, South Europe Regional Director of Soudal NV, said: “We are delighted to see T-Rex back in the peloton! It is an exciting opportunity for us to highlight our T-Rex brand, which stands for durability, power, and innovation – qualities that align perfectly with the spirit of competitive cycling. The rebranding of the team Soudal Quick-Step to Team T-Rex Quick-Step reflects Soudal’s strategic focus on promoting T-Rex as a leading brand in the adhesives and sealants market. Known for its exceptional strength and reliability, T-Rex has become a symbol of the company’s commitment to quality and innovation.”
Mikel Landa will lead the team at his home Grand Tour, where he’ll start for the ninth time in his career. A top-ten finisher on two occasions, the charismatic 35-year-old Basque will have plenty of opportunities to showcase the now-famous T-Rex Quick-Step jersey, together with a strong squad that can play several cards in our quest for victories in Spain.
“I am happy to be back at the start of La Vuelta with this special T-Rex jersey on my shoulders. I would like to get some good results, but the plan is to take it day by day and see how things go. There’s no secret the parcours is a hard one, with plenty of climbs and uphill finishes, but we have a strong and motivated team who are ready to fight all the way to Madrid,” said Mikel ahead of his 24th Grand Tour start.
Gianmarco Garofoli, Czech Tour overall victor Junior Lecerf, Maximilian Schachmann, Valentin Paret-Peintre – winner of the Mont Ventoux stage at the Tour de France one month ago – Grand Tour debutant Pepijn Reinderink, Mauri Vansevenant, and Louis Vervaeke will join Mikel Landa on the Soudal Quick-Step roster for the last major stage race of the season.
After the peloton says goodbye to Italy – which hosts this year’s sixth foreign start in the history of La Vuelta – they will visit three other countries: France, Andorra, and of course Spain. Among the many difficulties of this edition, which features a total of eleven uphill finishes, will be the stage 5 team time trial in Figueres, the insanely steep Angliru, Alto de Farrapona, Bola del Mundo, and also the 26km individual time trial scheduled just before the final weekend.
