Tom Boonen returns to Soudal Quick-Step fold for E3 Harelbeke

Tom Boonen is set to make a temporary return to Soudal Quick-Step at E3 Harelbeke, where he will join his old teammate Niki Terpstra in the team car for the race. 

Speaking on Laurens ten Dam’s Live Slow Ride Fast podcast, Boonen revealed that he would sample the life of a directeur sportif in Harelbeke, though he said he was unsure if it would ever become a full-time career.

Boonen had previously declared himself open to a role at Soudal Quick-Step following the confirmation that Terpstra would join as a directeur sportif for 2026 as part of the team’s renewed focus on the Classics.

“The CEO of the team Jurgen Foré called me to ask if we could do something together, without directly giving me an official role,” Boonen said on Tuesday, as reported by La Dernière Heure. 

“My first reaction was: ‘But I don’t know anyone there anymore.’ So I’m going to watch a few races, just to see if I’m still interested in modern cycling and if I can offer these guys anything.

The team has already had a lot of problems this year, but there are plenty of good riders.”

Boonen will be on familiar ground for his debut race in the team car, given that he won E3 Harelbeke a record five times, most recently in 2012, the first year the race was added to the WorldTour calendar.

Now 45, Boonen hung up his wheels in 2017 after a glittering career that saw him win a record-equalling three Tours of Flanders and four editions of Paris-Roubaix, as well as 2005 World Championships and the green jersey of the Tour de France in 2007.

Following his retirement, Boonen’s lone formal involvement in pro cycling was a brief spell as a consultant and ambassador for Lotto-Soudal in 2018.

“I’m simply trying to be happy in life, and I still don’t know if I could find happiness in cycling again. That’s why I’m doing this today,” Boonen said of his tentative return to his old team.

“I’ve been through a lot as a rider. I’m not traumatised by cycling, but I’d had enough of it. They approach the sport differently today to how we did back then. During the final months of my career, I’d lost the desire. I still loved racing and training, but the rest… It had all become so serious.”

The departure of Remco Evenepoel to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe prompted a number of changes at Soudal Quick-Step for 2026, with new signings Dylan van Baarle and Jasper Stuyven buttressing a Classics squad that also includes the emerging talent Paul Magnier, hailed in some quarters as something of a successor to Boonen.

The new season has also seen the former Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra join the management staff alongside Sep Vanmarcke, who never raced for Quick-Step in his career, though he famously denied Boonen victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2012.