Soudal–Quick-Step () is a Belgian UCI WorldTeam

cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...

led by team manager Patrick Lefevere. The

directeurs sportifs A ''directeur sportif'' ( French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

are Davide Bramati, Iljo Keisse,

Klaas Lodewyck Klaas Lodewyck (born 24 March 1988) is a Belgian former professional road cyclist, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2015 for the , and squads. He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam . Major results ;2005 : 2nd Paris–Ro ...

Wilfried Peeters Wilfried Peeters (born 10 July 1964 in Mol) is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer. Nowadays, he is sportif director of the Quick Step team. During his cycling-career, he was a major help for Johan Museeuw in classics such as the T ...

Tom Steels Tom Steels (born 2 September 1971) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, specialising in sprint finishes and one-day races. He was one of the top sprinters in the peloton. Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, ...

and Geert Van Bondt. The team is nicknamed 'The Wolfpack' and has used the term in its branding since 2017.

History

The team was created as Quick-Step–Davitamon in 2003 from staff and riders of

Domo–Farm Frites Domo–Farm Frites was a Belgian professional road cycling team that existed in the 2001–02 road cycling seasons. It was founded by Patrick Lefevere and the bulk of the Belgian riders from the Mapei team, including Johan Museeuw. Sponsor Fa ...

and

Mapei–Quick-Step Mapei was an Italian-based road bicycle racing team active from 1993 to 2002, named after sponsoring firm Mapei. From 2003 Mapei dropped their sponsorship, and a new team was built on top of the old with the name of Quick Step-Davitamon. Mapei w ...

when the latter disbanded after nine years in the sport.

Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Tuscany, Cecina, Province of Livorno, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle ra ...

won the

UCI Road World Cup The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long Road bicycle racing, road cycling competition held from 1989 until 2004 and comprising ten one-day events. History The competition was inaugurated in 1989, and replaced the Super Prestige Pernod Internati ...

in 2003 and 2004 as well as the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

road title in 2004. In the 2005 UCI ProTour season, renamed Quick-Step–Innergetic, the team won a large number of classics:

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

won Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix,

Filippo Pozzato Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and two spells with the / teams. A northern classics specialist, Pozzato finished in s ...

the HEW Cyclassics, and Paolo Bettini the Züri-Metzgete and the Giro di Lombardia. In late 2005 Tom Boonen won the

2005 UCI Road World Championships The 2005 UCI Road World Championships took place in Madrid, Spain, between September 19 and September 25, 2005. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23. The Men's road race saw Belgian cyclist Tom Boone ...

in Madrid, where Michael Rogers won the time-trial. In 2006 Boonen retained the Tour of Flanders and held the yellow jersey in the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the Unite ...

during stage 3–6, and

won

2006 Milan–San Remo These are the results for the 97th edition of the Milan–San Remo cycling classic, raced on March 18, 2006. Filippo Pozzato, who was controlling a breakaway for teammate Tom Boonen, managed to steal the victory from the sprinters. It was less t ...

won the world championship in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

and retained his Giro di Lombardia crown. In 2007 Tom Boonen won the points classification in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, taking two stage wins. Bettini defended his world championship in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. In 2008

Gert Steegmans Gert Steegmans (born 30 September 1980 in Hasselt) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was noted for a strong finishing sprint and could compete in the sprint with fellow Belgian cyclist, and ...

took the final stage of the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regu ...

on the Champs-Élysées.

retired after the world championship in

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

. In both 2008 and 2009 Stijn Devolder took the Tour of Flanders and Tom Boonen, Paris–Roubaix. After two seasons of disappointment, a resurgent Omega Pharma–Quick-Step and Tom Boonen took four major Spring classics victories, including the four cobblestone courses E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix. In October 2012, the team fired their veteran rider Levi Leipheimer after he admitted to doping in a sworn affidavit to

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

. This was despite the team statement that "commended" Leipheimer for his "open cooperation" in the USADA investigation that exposed Lance Armstrong's long-term cheating in cycling via doping. The team's action was described by USADA head

Travis Tygart Travis Thompson Tygart (born 1971) is an American lawyer and CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He is best known for his role in exposing Lance Armstrong's massive doping operation. Life and career A native of Jacksonville, ...

as "The classic Omertà move, right? Actions speak louder than words. On the one hand, they say they congratulate him on coming forward, uttheir action terminating him for being truthful speaks a lot louder than their words." CyclingNews reported in the same article that the team's claim to have only recently learned of Leipheimer's past doping was according to Tygart "absolutely not true... Leipheimer and a USADA attorney told the team months ago of the investigation, and of Leipheimer’s role". Cyclingnews noted that Omega Pharma general manager Patrick Lefevere "had admitted in 2007 to having used doping products, including amphetamines, during his own career". Lefevere is still CEO of Etixx as of September 2015. On 17 July 2014, the team announced that Iljo Keisse had been given a two-year contract extension. Tony Martin confirmed via his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account that he had signed a two-year contract extension. On 19 August the team announced that Pieter Serry had signed a two-year contract extension, on 27 August the team announced the signing of

Maxime Bouet Maxime Bouet (born 3 November 1986) is a French road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Early years Born in Belley, Ain, Bouet participated at the French national track and road championships as a junior in 2003. At the ...

on a two-year deal and on 1 September the team announced the signing of

David de la Cruz David de la Cruz Melgarejo (born 6 May 1989) is a Spanish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career De la Cruz was born in Sabadell. On 28 August 2016, de la Cruz scored the biggest win of his career to that point, when he won stag ...

on a two-year contract. In 2014 Michał Kwiatkowski won a

rainbow jersey The rainbow jersey is the distinctive jersey worn by the reigning world champion in a cycling discipline, since 1927. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the UCI colours around the chest. From the bottom up the c ...

2014 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race The Men's road race of the 2014 UCI Road World Championships was a cycling event that took place on 28 September 2014 in Ponferrada, Spain. It was the 81st edition of the championship, and Portugal's Rui Costa was the defending champion. After a ...

in Ponferrada, Spain. In February 2015, the team announced it had signed 2015 UCI World Omnium champion, Fernando Gaviria, and fellow Colombian, Rodrigo Contreras, on two-year deals set to commence at the start of the 2016 season. In August 2015, the team signed

Davide Martinelli Davide Martinelli (born 31 May 1993) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Martinelli made his debut in an jersey in the 2016 Tour Down Under. On 24 February 2016, he scored a surprise fir ...

for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. As of April 2021, the team has won more than 800 races, making it one of the most successful squads in history.

Sponsorship and ownership

The team is operated by the company Decolef Lux, based in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

with branches in France and Belgium. A majority shareholder of the company is a Czech businessman

Zdeněk Bakala Zdeněk Bakala (born 7 February 1961) is a Czech entrepreneur and investor. He is a stakeholder in mining, energy, financial businesses and owns the media company Economia, the publisher of ''Hospodářské noviny'' and ''Respekt'' magazine among ...

. Title sponsors throughout its history have been Quick-Step Flooring, a division of

Mohawk Industries Mohawk Industries is an American flooring manufacturer based in Calhoun, Georgia, United States. Mohawk produces floor covering products for residential and commercial applications in North America and residential applications in Europe. The comp ...

, who had previously been co-sponsors of the Mapei team from 1999 to 2003. Belgian pharmaceutical company

Omega Pharma Omega Pharma was a Belgian-based pharmaceutical company which was acquired in 2014 by Perrigo Company plc, an Irish/U.S.-based global pharmaceutical public company. The company was founded in 1987 and was based in the Industrial area 'de Prijkels' ...

had two spells as title co-sponsors (2003–07 and 2012–16), using either the company name or one of its products. Either side of its first involvement with this team, Omega were sponsors of their Belgian rivals.

Deceuninck Deceuninck NV is a Belgian designer and producer of PVC systems for windows and doors, interior, roofline & cladding and terraces. The company extrudes PVC and the single base material Twinson. Founded in 1937, with its headquarters in Hoogle ...

, a manufacturer of PVC-systems windows, became the primary sponsors from 2019, with Quick-Step Floors remaining as secondary sponsor. At the Tour of Flanders in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, the team carried the name of a Deceuninck product line, Elegant, rather than that of the company. Deceuninck ended their sponsorship of the team following the 2021 season, while Quick-Step Floors extended their sponsorship until 2027.

Team roster

Major wins

National and world champions

;2003 :

World Time Trial Michael Rogers : Jersey italianflag

Italian Road Race

Hungarian Time Trial

László Bodrogi László Bodrogi (born 11 December 1976 in Budapest, Hungary) is a former Hungarian and French professional road bicycle racer, specializing in the individual time trial. Biography László was born in 1976 in Budapest, Hungary. His father ...

;2004 :

Hungarian Time Trial

Olympic Road Race, Paolo Bettini : Jersey rainbow chrono

World Time Trial Michael Rogers ;2005 : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race

World Time Trial Michael Rogers ;2006 : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race

Italian Road Race

;2007 :

World Road Race

Italian Road Race Giovanni Visconti ;2008 : MaillotBélgica

Belgian Time Trial Stijn Devolder ;2009 : MaillotBielorrusia

Belarus Time Trial

Branislau Samoilau Branislau Samoilau ( be, Браніслаў Самойлаў; born 25 May 1985) is a Belarusian road bicycle racer, who rides for Belarusian amateur team . Career Born in Vitebsk, Samoilau competed professionally for between 2007 and 2008, a brie ...

Belgian Road Race

;2010 :

Belgian Road Race Stijn Devolder : MaillotBélgica

Belgian Time Trial Stijn Devolder : MaillotBielorrusia

Belarus Time Trial

;2011 :

French Road Race

Sylvain Chavanel Sylvain Chavanel''Procycling'', UK, November 2008 (born 30 June 1979) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , and two spells with the / team. His brother Sébastien Chavanel ...

Curaçao Road Race

Marc de Maar Marc de Maar (born 15 February 1984) is a Curaçaoan former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2018. Biography Amateur career At the age of 14, de Maar was ice skating in the winter and cycling in the su ...

Curaçao Time Trial

;2012 :

Czech Cyclocross Zdeněk Štybar : MaillotBélgica

Belgian Road Race

Irish Road Race Matt Brammeier : MaillotHolanda

Netherlands Road Race

Niki Terpstra Niki Terpstra (; born 18 May 1984) is a Dutch racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Mike Terpstra. He is the third Dutch cyclist to have won both of the cobbled Monument spring classics, Paris–Ro ...

Polish Road Race

Michał Gołaś Michał Gołaś (born 29 April 1984) is a Polish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2007 and 2021 for five different professional teams. Specialising as a domestique, Gołaś took two victories during his pro ...

French Time Trial

German Time Trial Tony Martin : MaillotSlovakia

Slovak Time Trial

Peter Velits Peter Velits (born 21 February 1985 in Bratislava) is a Slovakian former professional road racing cyclist. His career highlights included third place overall and a stage win at the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2007 World Under-23 Road Race Champi ...

Italian Time Trial

Dario Cataldo Dario Cataldo (born 17 March 1985) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Liquigas (2007–08) After surprisingly winning the Girobio, Baby Giro in 2006, Cataldo signed as a neo-profession ...

Belgian Time Trial Kristof Vandewalle : Jersey rainbow chrono

World Team Time Trial : Jersey rainbow chrono

World Time Trial Tony Martin ;2013 : MaillotRepúblicaCheca

Czech Cyclocross Zdeněk Štybar : MaillotFra

French Time Trial

German Time Trial Tony Martin : MaillotSlovakia

Slovak Time Trial

Polish Road Race Michał Kwiatkowski : MaillotReinoUnido

British Road Race Mark Cavendish : MaillotBélgica

Belgian Time Trial Kristof Vandewalle : Jersey rainbow chrono

World Team Time Trial : Jersey rainbow chrono

World Time Trial Tony Martin ;2014 : Jersey rainbow

World Cyclocross Zdeněk Štybar : MaillotPolonia

Polish Time Trial Michał Kwiatkowski : MaillotAlemania

German Time Trial Tony Martin : MaillotRepúblicaCheca

Czech Road Race Zdeněk Štybar : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race Michał Kwiatkowski ;2015 : MaillotColombia

Colombian Time Trial Rigoberto Urán : MaillotAlemania

German Time Trial Tony Martin : MaillotRepúblicaCheca

Czech Road Race Petr Vakoč : MaillotHolanda

Netherlands Road Race

;2016 :

World Track (Omnium) Fernando Gaviria : MaillotAlemania

German Time Trial Tony Martin : MaillotLuxemburgo

Luxembourg Time Trial

Bob Jungels Bob Jungels (born 22 September 1992) is a Luxembourgish road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Rollingen, Mersch, Luxembourg, Jungels competed in the Tour de France for the first time in 2015, as part of the UCI World ...

Luxembourg Road Race

World Team Time Trial : Jersey rainbow chrono

World Time Trial Tony Martin ;2017 : MaillotNuevaZelanda

New Zealand Time Trial

Jack Bauer Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television series ''24 (TV series), 24''. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a Special agent, federal agent of the Co ...

Belgian Time Trial

Yves Lampaert Yves Lampaert (born 10 April 1991) is a Belgian road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Lampaert practiced judo from the age of six, earned a black belt, but at the age of 17 started training in cycling. He rode at the 2014 ...

Czech Road Race Zdeněk Štybar : MaillotLuxemburgo

Luxembourg Road Race

;2018 :

Belgian Road Race

Luxembourg Time Trial

Italian Road Race

Elia Viviani Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional Cycle sport, cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Giro d'Italia, winning stage 2 ...

Danish Road Race Michael Mørkøv : MaillotLuxemburgo

Luxembourg Road Race

World Team Time Trial ;2019 : MaillotArgentina

Argentine Road Race

Maximiliano Richeze Ariel Maximiliano Richeze Araquistain (born 7 March 1983) is an Argentine professional cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2006 until January 2023. Richeze won the silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games (Men's Team Pursuit). His b ...

Danish Time Trial

Kasper Asgreen Kasper Asgreen (born 8 February 1995) is a Danish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Asgreen won the 2021 edition of the Tour of Flanders by defeating Mathieu van der Poel in a sprint finish. Early life Asgreen was born in Kolding ...

Luxembourg Time Trial

Luxembourg Road Race

Netherlands Road Race Fabio Jakobsen : MaillotDinamarca

Danish Road Race Michael Mørkøv : European champion jersey 2016

European Time Trial

Remco Evenepoel Remco Evenepoel (born 25 January 2000) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the son of Patrick Evenepoel, a former racing cyclist who won the 1993 Grand Prix de Wallonie. Remco Evenepoel started his sport career i ...

European Road Race

European Track Championships The European Track Cycling Championships are a set of elite level competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling, exclusively for European cyclists, and regulated by the European Cycling Union (UEC) ...

(Madison) Michael Mørkøv ;2020 : MaillotNuevaZelanda

New Zealand Road Race

Shane Archbold Shane William Archbold (born 2 February 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Timaru, Archbold competed in the men's omnium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and won the gold medal i ...

World Track Championships (Madison) Michael Mørkøv : MaillotLuxemburgo

Luxembourg Time Trial

French Time Trial Rémi Cavagna : MaillotDinamarca

Danish Time Trial

Danish Road Race

World Road Race Julian Alaphilippe ;2021 : MaillotBélgica

Belgian Time Trial

Danish Time Trial

Czech Republic Time Trial,

Josef Černý Josef Černý (born October 18, 1939 in Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, Bohemia and Moravia) is a retired ice hockey player who played in the Czechoslovak Extraliga. He won a three medals at four Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the Inte ...

Portuguese Time Trial João Almeida : MaillotFra

French Road Race Rémi Cavagna : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race Julian Alaphilippe : Jersey rainbow

World Track Championships (Madison) Michael Mørkøv ;2022 : MaillotBélgica

Belgian Time Trial

French Road Race

Florian Sénéchal Florian Sénéchal (born 10 July 1993) is a French racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career He rode at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships, and was named in the start list for the 2015 Tour de France and the 2016 Vuelta a ...

British Road Race Mark Cavendish : European champion jersey 2016

European Road Race Fabio Jakobsen : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soudal Quick-Step Team 2003 establishments in Belgium Cycling teams based in Belgium Cycling teams established in 2003 Specialized Bicycle Components UCI WorldTeams