Quick-Step eyes aggressive approach for 2026 Tour de France
Soudal Quick-Step CEO Jurgen Foré has described the 2026 Tour de France parcours as "challenging" but sees multiple opportunities for his team across sprint stages, transition days and mountain tests.
"It will be a Tour for the strong sprinters, because the course is very difficult," Foré said speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws. "There's the start and the second week is tough too. The sprint stages are scattered in between. And on the penultimate day there's still a mountain stage with 5,600 metres of climbing... which I find a bit excessive."
Despite Tim Merlier sprinting to two stage victories for the Belgian squad in this year's Tour, Soudal Quick-Step are planning a multi-pronged approach for 2026 rather than focusing solely on bunch finishes.
"With Jasper Stuyven and Dylan van Baarle we have strong riders who could perform well in the transition stages, and Ilan Van Wilder, Mikel Landa, Junior Lecerf, Steff Cras and Valentin Paret-Peintre can hold their own in the mountains," explained Foré.
When asked whether the team might target the general classification with their climbing talent, Foré was open to the possibility.
"Why not? If you finish anonymously in eighth place, the sponsors don't get much out of that. But it can also be done another way, like Junior did in the Vuelta: by racing attractively."
While French fans might be hoping to see sensation Paul Magnier make his Tour debut, Foré appears reluctant to throw the young talent into cycling's biggest race just yet.
"It's far too early to talk about that, but maybe it's also too early to send Paul to the Tour," Foré cautioned. "Ok, he wins a lot, but we shouldn't forget that he's only 21. He rode two weeks of the Giro this year. To then immediately expose him to the Tour..."
The 2026 Tour de France is expected to feature at least six opportunities for sprinters, though Foré believes the challenging nature of the race will favour the more resilient fast men in the peloton.
His view aligns with that of team sprinter Tim Merlier, who recently told Sporza that the route “will be a Tour for the strong sprinters,” noting that some opportunities “could even fall away if things have already been difficult.”
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