Soudal - Quick Step Thread

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CyclistAbi

May 29, 2019
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@Salvarani

If you look at Remco results and what makes him great then you can't argue they changed all that much. Remco saying i want to go to the moon, that doesn't make SOQ the NASA or ESA. Plus Patrick retired and so SOQ of old is out of the question anyway and yes, racing changed. For example whenever i hear the term stage hunting as a viable option, good luck.
 
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Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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CyclistAbi said:
@Salvarani

If you look at Remco results and what makes him great then you can't argue they changed all that much. Remco saying i want to go to the moon, that doesn't make SOQ the NASA or ESA. Plus Patrick retired and so SOQ of old is out of the question anyway and yes, racing changed. For example whenever i hear the term stage hunting as a viable option, good luck.
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The team went from having many riders that won big races and a classics core... to having one leader. They started only signing support for him, rather than replacing aging riders for their classics core.

I dont know what you are even saying anymore tbh.
 
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hayneplane

Sep 4, 2017
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Salvarani said:
They will try to improve on their classics squad and be more present in those races. More riders in the finale etc.

The last part of your post is exactly what I am getting at, but it wont be a big priority. More nice to have, than crucial for them.
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Agreed. It would be more hoping for someone to over perform rather than really making a significant investment. Likely would also need to be a rider who can be a factor for the hilly classics.
 
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proffate

proffate

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Alpecin has already eaten their lunch when it comes to assembling a strong classics squad on a relatively efficient budget. JV also has a strong classics core, although larger budget I think. Trek has a strong core and a plausible contender.

On top of that, we're in an era where a classics team has to compete with super teams for the high performance trucks in the bunch (Pollitt, Wellens).

And I don't see other riders besides Pog and MVDP winning the big classics until those riders decline. Remco maybe can (oops...).

Like his public statements or not, Lefevere probably brought most of the pixie dust to the squad.

For all these reasons it seems hard to go back to the Wolfpack days. So what exactly is the new niche?
 
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Samamba

Samamba

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People act like it's so easy to go back to a dominant classic team like they once were. The reality is that there are now super rich teams that also focus on these kind of races, they also buy up the best classic riders. It's way harder to compete than before Remco existed. Back in the day Quick Step simply had most of the strongest classic riders, but even these riders would not be able to win against Pogacar, Van der Poel, Pedersen, etc.

They can get a lot of good classics riders like Stuyven or Van Baarle but at the end of the day they won't win the big classics. Only thing they can hope if that a supertalent falls in their laps again, just like any other team, but even those chances get smaller and smaller with Red Bull, UAE, Visma, etc just taking them already when they are 17.
 
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Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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Samamba said:
People act like it's so easy to go back to a dominant classic team like they once were. The reality is that there are now super rich teams that also focus on these kind of races, they also buy up the best classic riders. It's way harder to compete than before Remco existed. Back in the day Quick Step simply had most of the strongest classic riders, but even these riders would not be able to win against Pogacar, Van der Poel, Pedersen, etc.

They can get a lot of good classics riders like Stuyven or Van Baarle but at the end of the day they won't win the big classics. Only thing they can hope if that a supertalent falls in their laps again, just like any other team, but even those chances get smaller and smaller with Red Bull, UAE, Visma, etc just taking them already when they are 17.
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It wont be easy and I don’t think anyone has claimed that.

Just that they will probably try to build their squad somewhat similar as they have done in the past.

Focus more on team as a whole for races.

Cycling has changed. More super-teams have emerged and the signings of young riders, definitely. It is hard to compete with smaller budget and resources, but SQS was also at forefront on this for some time and especially with bringing Remco straight from juniors.
 
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hayneplane

Sep 4, 2017
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CyclistAbi said:
@Salvarani

Of course it is. But anyway, lets move to classics & Co. side of things then, who should SOQ sign to remotely replicate results Remco achieved when riding for SOQ? Mathieu?
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The obvious one who might be any kind of realistic possibility is to buy out Tibor Del Grosso from Alpecin if he doesn’t fancy waiting 2-3 years for MVDP to no longer be top dog.
 
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proffate

proffate

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They could build the whole squad around sprinting, I guess. Sprints are almost the only place where an outsider can win these days (not dominated by Mvdp and Pog).

They already have Merlier and Magnier, hopefully the latter can develop into someone who can win at the top races. There must be other hidden gems to be developed. Probably if they are a household name already it's too late (Kooij).
 
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CyclistAbi

May 29, 2019
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hayneplane said:
Their budget isn’t huge so if a decent offer was made they would certainly at least have a conversation.
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Lets say they are successful, that is still long term goal then? For now i feel that they will try with sprinting as plan A and to further explore GC options and if GC leader fails to potentially stage hunt. That is much more feasible in short to mid term in terms of results.
 
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