‘I surprised myself’ – Belgian sprint prospect De Schuyteneer wants more in 2026

The location certainly didn't hurt his prospects. Steffen De Schuyteneer hails from Geraardsbergen, and the 20-year-old grew up watching the Tour of Flanders crest the Muur in his hometown, a ritual that planted the seed for his cycling career. 

He initially tried basketball at the age of 10 but switched to cycling just a year later, drawn by the spectacle of the cobbled classics and the roar of Belgian crowds. His first race delivered an immediate win, a result that cemented his commitment to the sport. 

“That is why I fell a lot faster with this sport,” De Schuyteneer told Domestique. “I was always looking to race Flanders on the Muur. Then I started playing basketball first, but after I gave it a go to start cycling, my first race I immediately won.”

His breakthrough as a junior and under-23 came at the Baby Giro, where he won a stage against a field that included Paul Magnier, Tim Torn Teutenberg and Matthew Brennan, all of whom have since impressed at the WorldTour level. 

“It was a really high level race with Magnier, Teutenberg and Lund Andresen in the sprint. I think that is why I turned pro in 2025,” he said of a stage win that validated his potential and helped secure his place at Lotto.

De Schuyteneer's first WorldTour outing came at the UAE Tour in February 2025, aged just 19, where he lined up against some of the fastest finishers in the sport. The field featured Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan, names that dominate Grand Tour sprints, and De Schuyteneer took ninth at his first attempt. 

“It was my first WorldTour sprint actually, my first WorldTour race. I surprised myself a bit because if you saw the names in that race, it is more like a Tour de France stage for sprinters,” he said. “In the first sprint I was shoulder to shoulder with Philipsen. It was a bit crazy in my head. I was thinking, is this possible already in the first sprint. It was a nice experience as a young guy, and I was still 19.”

The neutralised roll out offered another pinch-me moment. “We were all in the same hotel, you see riders like Pogačar and Jonathan Milan. As a young rider, you look up to them,” he said. “On the first stage, I was riding near Pogačar. He had his Richard Mille watch, and I was like, I want that watch in some years maybe. It was crazy.”

Despite the attention that comes with being a young Belgian sprinter in a country obsessed with cycling, he stays grounded. “I do not really care what the Belgian press say about me. I am always calm,” he said. “The Belgian fans, the love from all the people to cycling is very nice. It is in the DNA of Belgians. But the press likes to build up tension between riders and supporters.”

He accepts that sprinting at the highest level requires a hard edge. “I like to be sympathetic, not have a big ego,” he said, adding: “But if you are shoulder to shoulder with Philipsen you have to have balls.” He noted that sprints can get chaotic, particularly when UCI points are at stake, as they were throughout much of 2025.

Looking ahead, De Schuyteneer hopes to make strides in 2026 while keeping expectations measured. He was among the riders retained by Lotto ahead of the team's merger with Intermarché-Wanty. Like at Lotto, Arnaud De Lie will be the leading light in the revamped squad.

“I think in 2026 I can make a big step and we will see how it goes. I cannot say I can do this race or that race; we have to see each race,” De Schuyteneer said. “We will see how it goes.”

He outlined an extensive programme that blends Belgian one-day races, selective WorldTour starts, and stage races that suit fast finishers. He is due to open with Kuurne Brussels Kuurne, followed by Le Samyn, then a run through the Flemish sprint classics that suit his profile, including the Bredene Koksijde Classic and Nokere Koerse. 

April should include Scheldeprijs, where pure speed is rewarded and where his team traditionally bring a strong sprint block.

Across spring and early summer, he expects to return to the UAE Tour for another crack at WorldTour sprints, as well as the Volta a Catalunya, where he can gather race days and test himself on mixed terrain. “I will be at the UAE Tour,” he said. “I am just having a look at my programme again. I know I am probably doing Catalunya also, depending on the time and the parcours.”

He has been named as a reserve for Paris-Roubaix. While a support or standby role at the Queen of the Classics is a world away from leading a lead-out at Scheldeprijs, exposure to Roubaix’s demands should accelerate his education. 

De Schuyteneer's French block is set to include the Four Days of Dunkirk, which now runs over six days, a race that traditionally suits robust sprinters who can survive echelons and late hills, and he is also pencilled for the Baloise Belgium Tour, the Belgian National Championships, the Tour de Wallonie, events that often feature multiple sprint opportunities and rolling time trials that test positioning skills.

Later in the summer he is slated for the Tour de Pologne, a WorldTour stage race that usually offers two or three sprints and finishes that reward punch and timing. He and the team will decide on the Vuelta a España closer to the date. Grand Tour selections are kept under wraps until late.

His late-season targets lean heavily into the Belgian and French one-day calendar for fast men. Expect to see him at Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, Gooikse Pijl, and Paris Tours, a suite of end-of-season races where positioning and resilience decide as much as raw watts. He also hinted at a late-season stage race either in the Low Countries or China, which likely means the Renewi Tour in the Netherlands and Belgium or the Tour of Guangxi if the calendar aligns.

Training suggests he is trending up. After a month in Spain, he reported feeling stronger than at the same point last winter, while keeping numbers in perspective. “On training it is a bit easier than last year already. 

The watts are there. For the sprint, it is like 1,650W peak power. I am 74 kilos, so it is fine,” he said. “We have to see the races, how it goes. It is more than just watts; you have to see the race conditions and the feeling on the day.”

Within the newly-merged Lotto-Intermarché team, De Schuyteneer will lead sprints in second-tier races and learn in the bigger ones. He is rooming with Milan Menten at camp, tapping into the experience of a rider who thrives in Belgian semi-classics and tough finishes. 

“I can learn some things from him. I know him already, probably in February it will be the third year. We did a lot of races together. I can learn in normal life also, not only in cycling,” he said.

Pressed on whether a big victory is realistic within the next two seasons, he stayed pragmatic. Ambition is clear, but so is the desire to let the legs do the talking. “Otherwise the Belgian press will go crazy,” he joked. The balance between confidence and caution, aggression and composure, will define how quickly the young Belgian converts promise into a palmarès.