Tom Boonen open to QuickStep return as team refocuses on cobbled Classics

Soudal-QuickStep will refocus on the cobbled Classics in 2026 following Remco Evenepoel’s departure, and Tom Boonen has indicated that he is open to rejoining his former team in a management capacity.

Evenepoel’s transfer to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has triggered a restructure of both the roster and the management staff for 2026. Boonen’s old teammate Niki Terpstra has agreed to come on board as a directeur sportif for next season, while Sep Vanmarcke – who beat ‘Tommeke’ to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2012 – will also form part of the staff.

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad last weekend, Boonen denied that he had been approached by Soudal-QuickStep, but he stated that he would be willing to discuss a role with the team.

“No, but Wilfried Peeters can come and talk,” Boonen said. “I heard Niki was only going to do the Classics season, and that would appeal to me too. If QuickStep want to put the Spring team back together, I’d be interested.”

Boonen was asked to clarify those remarks during an appearance on Sporza’s Cycling Club Wattage podcast on Wednesday, and he denied that negotiations had already begun with Soudal-QuickStep.

“No, absolutely not,” said Boonen. “[Het Nieuwsblad] asked me if I was interested in doing it and I didn’t say that I wanted to make a comeback in any form. But I did say that if there was ever a time in recent years, it was now. A fresh start is possible.”

Soudal-QuickStep’s new arrivals for 2026 include Dylan van Baarle and Jasper Stuyven, but Boonen suggested that their future cobbled Classics leader was already on the team. Paul Magnier has been enjoying a remarkable sophomore season with Soudal-QuickStep, and he has claimed twelve wins this year, including the first two stages of the CRO Tour this week.

“It looks like they’re not going to deny their DNA,” Boonen said of Soudal-QuickStep’s revamp for 2026. “They have Paul Magnier, and he should be capable of winning Classics. I think they can take steps towards the old Quick-Step in the next two to three years.”

Asked what he would do if he were handed a role at the team, Boone said: “Make sure they win races.”

Boonen joined QuickStep from US Postal in 2003 and he spent the remainder of his career with the team, winning the Tour of Flanders three times and Paris-Roubaix four times before hanging up his wheels in the Spring of 2017.

He spent the following season an advisor with Lotto, but his role was discontinued when John Lelangue took over as manager at the end of 2018. The former world champion later revealed that he had considered a comeback as a rider in 2020 only for the COVID-19 pandemic to put the notion on hold.

Boonen’s comments this week don’t quite amount to a “come-and-get-me” plea to his former team, but the prospect has garnered headlines in Belgium all the same as Soudal-QuickStep continue planning for the post-Evenepoel era.