Soudal Quick-Step 2026 Tour de France - Merlier spearheads sprint ambitions as Van Wilder takes the GC role

2025 Tour de France:

• 2025 Tour stage wins: 4
• 2025 Best GC finish: 32nd - Ilan Van Wilder

2026 Objectives: 

As one of the most successful sprinters of his generation, Tim Merlier will be looking to cement his talent with more sprint victories at the Tour de France this summer.

“Tim has as main goal to win a stage, and with the changes that were made in the points classification, he could also get involved in the fight for green, especially as he has a strong team for the bunch sprints,” explained Sports Director Tom Steels in an official team statement.

Meanwhile, Valentin Paret-Peintre who won on Mont Ventoux last summer has outlined his ambitions to fight for a stage victory and also the polka dot jersey.

“I’m happy to be back at the start after my successful debut last year and I hope to get another stage victory, but it would be nice to fight also for the polka dot jersey. When possible, I will also try to help the team and give my best so that we can get as many victories as possible,” said Paret-Peintre.

Ilan Van Wilder will also look to step into the GC void left by Remco Evenepoel and the notable absentee Mikel Landa.

“Ilan will be our guy for the general classification, but the plan is for him to take it day by day. We also have guys capable of going in the breakaways, but our main focus will be of course on the sprint stages,” added Steels.

🇧🇪 Tim Merlier (33): With the departure of Remco Evenepoel, Soudal Quick-Step has more space to dedicate resources to supporting Tim Merlier in the sprints. Even with the combination of Evenepoel and Merlier last summer, the former European Champion managed to sprint to victory on two occasions. In fact, those were the only two sprints that Merlier got a clean run at, illustrating his prolific nature. 

Despite having his 2026 season delayed due to a knee injury, Merlier quickly got off the mark with a third consecutive victory at Scheldeprijs before adding three stage wins at the Tour de Hongrie. Merlier continued his winning form into June, winning stage 2 of the Baloise Belgium Tour in Knokke-Heist, for the third consecutive season.

A seemingly unstoppable force when in full flow, Merlier will be aiming to add to his three Tour career stage wins this summer and will be the man to beat. 

🇧🇪 Jasper Stuyven (34): The 34-year-old Belgian was part of the successful Giro squad that won three sprint stages and the points classification with Paul Magnier. Stuyven also narrowly missed out on a stage victory of his own, ending second on the crash-marred finish in Napoli. He also finished third on a stage from the breakaway won by Alberto Bettiol. So expect more of the same in the Tour, being a key part of Merlier's lead-out while also featuring in breakaways.

🇧🇪 Ilan Van Wilder (26): Van Wilder delivered the final pull for Paret-Peintre’s victory on Mont Ventoux last summer and now steps into the team’s vacant GC role. Fifth overall at the Tour de Suisse in June, he arrives with encouraging form, although the team will allow him to approach the race day by day.

🇧🇪 Louis Vervaeke (32): Louis Vervaeke has already raced eleven Grand Tours in his career, but this will be his second Tour de France. The Belgian should have the license to express himself in breakaways as he has done so already this season in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour de Romandie. 

🇫🇷 Valentin Paret-Peintre (25): The lightweight French climber excelled on the slopes of the mighty Mont-Ventoux last year to take a memorable stage victory. This year has seen Paret-Peintre deliver a mix of impressive results from a GC and stage-hunting perspective. He finished fourth overall at the Volta a Catalunya, while nearly scoring stage victories at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, respectively. Based on his attacking spirit, the Frenchman could be once again in the mix for more stage victories, and perhaps a tilt at the polka-dots.

🇳🇱 Dylan van Baarle (34): The Dutchman has plenty of Tour experience; this will be his ninth Tour de France, but his first since 2023. A former winner of Paris-Roubaix, Van Baarle knows how to navigate the chaos of the Tour and will be a key pilot in the stressful sprint finales.

🇧🇪 Bert Van Lerberghe (33): Lifelong friend of Merlier, Van Lerberghe is the right-hand man of Soudal Quick-Step's fast man and has played a crucial part in many successful sprints over the years. 2025 was their first Tour together, and Merlier praised Van Lerberghe in particular after his second victory on stage 9 to Châteauroux, the second fastest stage in Tour history.

🇳🇱 Pascal Eenkhoorn (29): The former Dutch Champion lines up for his third Tour de France in four seasons. In his previous two appearances, Eenkhoorn has secured podium stage finishes.