Soudal Quick-Step can score on all terrains with Merlier, Vansevenant and Alaphilippe: "It won't be easy"

On Tuesday afternoon, Soudal Quick-Step announced its selection for the Giro d'Italia. The Belgian WorldTour team is hoping for several stage wins from Tim Merlier but also expects great performances from former world champion Julian Alaphilippe.

The standout in the selection is undoubtedly Tim Merlier. The 31-year-old Belgian was overlooked for the Tour de France, where Quick-Step is fully backing Remco Evenepoel, and will therefore have the full support of his teammate Bert Van Lerberghe in Italy. Merlier has already won seven races this year and single-handedly salvaged the Wolfpack’s lackluster spring, but this is only his second time participating in the Giro. In 2021, he managed to win the second stage for Alpecin-Fenix but returned home after the tenth stage. If Merlier has set his sights on the purple points jersey, he will have to endure almost twice as long.

Soudal Quick-Step can score on all terrains with Merlier, Alaphilippe, and Vansevenant

Two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe is making his debut in the Italian cycling tour and is free to race aggressively. The gravel stage on day six suits him perfectly, as do other hilly stages that are right up his alley. Mauri Vansevenant, perhaps the surprise of the Ardennes classics with a fourth place at the Amstel Gold Race and sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, will be seeking out more high mountain stages, along with Pieter Serry or Jan Hirt. The American debutant Luke Lamperti and the Czech time trial specialist Josef Cerny will need to play more supportive roles for the team.

"We have a strong team for the first grand tour of the season, with riders who can make a difference in the sprints, in the hilly stages, and also in the mountains," team director Davide Bramati explains in the press release. "All the guys are confident and motivated to put on a good Giro. It won't be easy, it never is, but we are ready to perform day by day over the next three weeks, put our best foot forward, and hopefully achieve some great results."

Selection Soudal Quick-Step Giro d'Italia 2024

Tim Merlier
Mauri Vansevenant
Julian Alaphilippe
Pieter Serry
Josef Cerny
Jan Hirt
Bert Van Lerberghe
Luke Lamperti