Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step) already knows and names his 2 main targets for 2026

Maximilian Schachmann moved back to his old love Soudal Quick-Step last winter after six years with BORA-hansgrohe. The 31-year-old German spoke on the Belgian team's website about his transfer and is already looking forward to the season ahead.

Schachmann started 2025 right away with a fifth-place finish at the Tour of the Algarve. His heyday was at the Tour of the Basque Country, where he won the opening time trial and finished third overall. In the summer, he became German time trial champion and was allowed to ride the Tour and Vuelta.

I think it was a good year. I enjoyed being back in blue with the Wolfpack and that motivated me as I got my season underway in Algarve. It was a solid start there, and getting a top five overall showed that I had strong legs, which gave me confidence for the next races. It was a pity that I got a bit sick before Paris-Nice, a race I love, but even in these conditions, I did my best to help Ilan Van Wilder.

A couple of weeks later, I returned at the start of Basque Country. It’s a race where I had success in the past, and it made me happy I could continue on this road. To win the prologue, enjoy a spell in the yellow jersey, get a few more podiums and finish third on the general classification was really great. The fact that in June I conquered the ITT title at the Nationals – a victory that was missing from my palmares – rounded out what I believe was a solid first part of the season.

Being back at the start of the Tour de France was nice, and I tried to help the team whenever possible. In the first week, I tried to help Remco Evenepoel with positioning, but also Tim Merlies lead-out train. It was a hard Tour, but it ended up being a great one for us, with four wins and lots of beautiful memories.

Now I’m already training for next season, where I have two goals: to continue improving and to hit the level I had last April, in the Basque Country, because I am able to do that, I know I can do some nice things. I’m also looking forward to the Ardennes Classics, and even if it’s a long way until then, I would like to be at the start of the World Championships in Montreal.”