Vanthourenhout not joining Soudal Quick-Step or UAE Team Emirates: "I couldn't bring myself to sign"

In conversation with Stamcafé Koers, the podcast of Het Nieuwsblad, Vanthourenhout explains that Soudal Quick-Step was indeed interested in the skills of the 43-year-old Belgian. "I went to Patrick (Lefevere, ed.), and we talked. That is a bit mixed," he says. "It was an open conversation, as always, with Patrick. We talked about what had been and what was to come. Patrick asked me what I saw myself doing in his team. I explained it to him, and he listened. Afterward, he clarified that there was no budget to perform that role."

Besides The Wolfpack, other teams were also interested. These include UAE Team Emirates. Tadej Pogacar's team expressed interest earlier when things didn't work out. "In March 2023, before the World Championships in Glasgow, I had a long and good conversation with Mauro Gianetti and Matxin Fernandez (General Manager and Sporting Director of UAE, ed.) at the Parkhotel in Waregem."

It was a magnificent proposal, but Vanthourenhout had no choice but to say no. "The day after, I received the contract. But I couldn't bring myself to sign it at the time. I was still in a race with guys like Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel toward Paris, which I had not yet completed. It didn't feel right then to throw in the towel and switch to what was a bit of the hostile camp anyway," the former national coach refers to the rivalry between Pogacar and Evenepoel.