Magnier leads Soudal Quick-Step into Opening Weekend as Stuyven and Van Baarle also start

Under normal circumstances, Magnier will be the outright leader for Soudal Quick-Step during Opening Weekend, especially after finishing second at Omloop in 2025. But the Belgian team is no longer relying solely on its French sprinter: the Classics core has been strengthened significantly this winter, and those reinforcements will also be on the start line.

First among them is Jasper Stuyven. The Belgian abandoned the Volta ao Algarve due to illness as a precaution for Opening Weekend, and is now fit in time. Alongside Stuyven, Soudal will also look to new signing Dylan van Baarle as a “shadow leader”. Van Baarle already showed promising form in the Algarve, hanging on with the best for a long time on the final stage.

Also starting for Soudal Quick-Step at Omloop are Dries Van Gestel, Casper Pedersen, Yves Lampaert, and Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink. Sports director Tom Steels sounded confident about the group: “We have a strong team and I’m curious to see how the new guys will do. Anything can happen in this kind of race, but I believe in our chances.”

On Wednesday, Lampaert and Soudal Quick-Step were already out on a reconnaissance ride. Speaking to HLN, the Belgian reacted shortly after news broke that Mathieu van der Poel will start Omloop on Saturday. “It’s not a surprise,” said Lampaert. “Everyone could kind of see it coming. Now we immediately know the big top favourite. The only question is how much he wants to make the race hard.”

Lampaert also pointed to Alpecin–Premier Tech’s options. “They also have Jasper Philipsen for the sprint. For them, too, it can go in all directions.” Still, the Quick-Step man believes his own team has multiple ways to play it: “We can count on different scenarios — that’s ideal. It’s not up to us to keep it closed, but it’s also not up to us to make the race hard.”

A day later, Magnier, Van Baarle and Stuyven will also line up at Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. That selection is completed by Laurenz Rex, Bert Van Lerberghe, Jonathan Vervenne, and Ceriel Desal, stepping up from the development team.

Sports director Iljo Keisse says the team will again go all-in for Magnier in Kuurne: “We’ll try to hit the finale with Magnier — we have a strong team for that.” Still, Keisse isn’t convinced Kuurne will automatically end in a bunch sprint: “I think it’s 50/50. If there’s a lot of wind, it will become more selective.”

Paul Magnier

Paul Magnier