Team presentation Soudal-Quick Step: “Giro will be the main goal and that has consequences for classics”

Evenepoel’s big goal for the spring is the Giro. He himself tempered expectations at first. “I’m aiming for a stage win in the first place, top ten in the standings would be nice. You have to be careful in a grand tour, anything can happen for the standings, so it’s better to aim for a stage win first, then did you get that already?” But when the question was taken a little deeper, the Vuelta winner admitted that he dreams of more. “Top five, podium, or overall win. That would be the dream.”

(continue reading below the photo)

So the Giro will be a main goal, with consequences for the classics?

“Undoubtedly, yes. We shouldn’t be silly about that. Unfortunately, I don’t have the cave of Alibaba. I’m not Ineos. We fight with the resources we have, we are very happy with the strengthening of the sponsorship. But the goes so fast that you are sometimes overtaken. But that does not mean that we will omit the classics”, says Patrick Lefevere.

Evenepoel starts his season in the Tour of San Juan where he wants to assist his teammate and sprinter Fabio Jakobsen in the many sprint stages and he himself can make a shot at the final classification in the tough mountain stage. This is followed by the UAE Tour, an altitude training in Tenerife, then the Tour of Catalonia, a new altitude training at an as yet unknown location and Liège-Bastogne-Liège to then shine in the Giro.

Lampaert extended his contract, with a yellow jersey in his pocket and is also aiming for a cobbled classic this year.