Soudal Quick-Step leaders Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenpoel kick off their 2023 campaigns this week, with Alaphilippe racing Mallorca and Evenpoel heading to Argentina’s Vuelta a San Juan.
Alaphilippe Starts 10th Season With Soudal Quick-Step
For Alaphilippe, this year will be a special one, as it will mark a decade since joining the Wolfpack, making him one of the longest-tenured riders in the current roster. In this time, the charismatic Frenchman has built a remarkable palmares, featuring two world titles, Milano-Sanremo, a hat-trick of victories in Flèche Wallonne, Strade Bianche, Clasica San Sebastian and half a dozen stage wins at the Tour de France.
In 2023, he’ll look not just to add more silverware to his trophy cabinet, but also to shrug off the disappointment of last season, when a mix of illness and bad luck ruined many of his goals. As he gears up to kick off his campaign – which will happen in a couple of weeks’ time, at the Challenge Mallorca, an event which he’ll race for the first time since 2014 – the Frenchman talked about his expectations for the coming months, which include a return to one of his favourite races, De Ronde.
“I’m incredibly motivated for this year after what has been a very difficult 2022. I took time to recover physically and mentally, then worked hard this winter to return to my top level for the goals that I have set. First and foremost, I hope to have a strong start to the season. I have a nice calendar and I hope to be up there in every race, help the team and get some wins. My first major target will be the Ronde van Vlaanderen. It’s a race that I love and I hope to do good there”, said Julian, who played a key role in the team’s victory there back in 2021.
After the Challenge Mallorca, the 30-year-old will race the Ardèche Classic and Drôme Classic, before traveling to Italy, where in a span of just three weeks he’ll line out for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo, the season’s first Monument.
Evenpoel Aiming at Giro
Evenepoel was in high demand at the Soudal Quick-Step Family Day, held at the Plopsaland Theme Park in De Panne.
Having written history in 2022, when he captured Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Vuelta a España and the World Championships – a performance not seen in decades – the soon to be 23-year-old took the stage Friday afternoon to talk about his annus mirabilis, which culminated with him winning the prestigious Velo d’Or trophy.
“I can tell you for sure that I will never forget 2022. I won my first Grand Tour, I took the rainbow jersey, I got married and I received the Velo d’Or, which is the biggest award you can get in our sport. At the same time, during La Vuelta, I learned a lot about myself, I learned how to handle the pressure better and how to be more relaxed. All this will definitely help me this season, a special one for me in the rainbow jersey, which I will start with a lot of motivation and desire to get good results together with the team”, said Remco, who will get things underway at Argentina’s Vuelta a San Juan, in just a few weeks.
Evenpoel’s road in his fifth season with the Wolfpack will lead to the Giro d’Italia, where he is eager to return after two years, but will see him also pin a number for “La Doyenne”, the spring’s final Monument, an appointment he already looks forward to.
“I think Liège–Bastogne–Liège will be the most special day of the year, because I will race it as the reigning champion and with the iconic rainbow jersey on my shoulders. After that, my focus will move onto the Giro d’Italia, my biggest goal of the year. We’re exactly four months away from the race and I can tell you that my objectives going there are to get at least a stage win and do a good general classification. But we also know a lot can happen in three weeks, so we’ll take it one step at a time, just like we did in the Vuelta, and see how things go”, added Remco, who will be one of the stars of an upcoming docuseries on Amazon Prime about the team’s memorable 2022 season.
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