Our squad for next season will comprise 27 riders – four of whom are neo-pros – representing 13 nationalities.
The 56 UCI wins scored by Quick-Step Floors in the past season – the sixth consecutive season in which our team broke the 50-victories barrier – saw the outfit managed by Patrick Lefevere take its all-time tally to 615 wins, an outstanding achievement for the team whose road began 15 years ago.
Victorious from the first to the closing month of the season, in 29 different races spread across four continents, Quick-Step Floors proved on countless occasions not only its trademark winning mentality, but also the extraordinary depth it possesses, with 14 riders inscribing their name on the winners sheet.
During the always hectic transfer season, Quick-Step Floors retained many of the riders who formed its core in 2017, while at the same time continuing to invest in youth development, as shown by the four neo-pros who joined the team for 2018. Next year, the roster will be made up of 27 riders from 13 different countries; averaging 26.85 years, it will be one of the youngest squads in the World Tour, with nearly half of the riders still in their early 20s.
A new chapter in the team's history thus begins, and Patrick Lefevere is optimistic and ready for this new challenge which the 2018 season shapes up to be.
"We have many new riders, some of them very young, but we look with the same confidence and excitement to the new season which looms just around the corner. Last season was a spectacular one and next year we'll try to be again in the mix, be it Classics or stage races, and replicate many of the great 2017 wins", said Quick-Step Floors' CEO.
"The riders and the staff are always working hard, they know that getting to the top and staying there it's no easy task, but they are all professionals and very passionate about what they are doing, and seeing their relentless dedication makes me very optimistic and eager about taking on the new season", concluded Patrick Lefevere.
Quick-Step Floors for 2018: Julian Alaphilippe, Eros Capecchi, Rémi Cavagna, Laurens De Plus, Tim Declercq, Dries Devenyns, Fernando Gaviria, Philippe Gilbert, Alvaro Hodeg, Fabio Jakobsen, Bob Jungels, Iljo Keisse, James Knox, Yves Lampaert, Davide Martinelli, Enric Mas, Michael Mørkøv, Jhonatan Narvaez, Maximiliano Richeze, Fabio Sabatini, Maximilian Schachmann, Florian Sénéchal, Pieter Serry, Zdenek Stybar, Niki Terpstra, Petr Vakoč, Elia Viviani.
New riders for the 2018 season: Alvaro Hodeg (stagiaire in 2017), Fabio Jakobsen, James Knox, Michael Mørkøv, Jhonatan Narvaez, Florian Sénéchal and Elia Viviani.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
