Life in Belgian lockdown | Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team

Discover the life of our riders through this captivating photo essay.

On pause since mid-March, the cycling season won’t resume until August, but the Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders still found plenty of things to do, sharing their time between training, their family and daily activities unrelated to their métier. Of these, the Belgians – who have been more fortunate than their Italian or French teammates, as they were still allowed to train outside – recently gave access into their life to photographer Wout Beel, who masterfully captured on camera moments that show our riders from a completely different and new perspective.

This spectacular photo essay – which consists of Wout’s personal selection – will be followed this week by a compelling gallery showing the family life of the likes of Tim Declercq, Dries Devenyns, Stijn Steels or Bert Van Lerberghe, thus giving our fans the chance to discover better the men who once they pull on their Deceuninck – Quick-Step kit and get on their Specialized bikes turn into some of the world’s most formidable riders.

While Tim Declercq is pushing hard on his rollers during the Digital Swiss 5, his friend and teammate Yves Lampaert is supporting him via video-chat. The Wolfpack family-feeling is strong, even during lockdown.

Remco Evenepoel during his Muur-Kapelmuur challenge. In all silence we headed for De Muur van Geraardsbergen, where we had the rare opportunity to take this shot on an empty climb. In almost every photo of the Muur you can find, this very spot is packed with fans. This time the Muur is empty.

Pieter Serry right after his first virtual race (Digital Swiss 5). The look in his eyes on this photo tells it all: Do not underestimate the rollers! “This is one of the hardest rides ever”, Serry said afterwards. His goal was to be in the top half and he finished right after his teammate Remco Evenepoel, in a nice 8th place.

For many riders, current regulations mean that they are much more at home than they are normally used to. In this photo you can see Stijn Steels maintaining his condition on the rollers while keeping an eye on his little boy Victor. Or is it the other way around?

Even professional riders do not spend all their daily time on their bikes. Next to the bike, Bert Van Lerberghe proves to be a skilled handyman. In this photo he is welding a metal frame to create a quality table with a wooden top.

With the schools being closed and cycling on hold, Iljo Keisse uses this extra time to spend as much time as possible with his wife and children. One of his daily tasks is helping them with their homework.

Yves Lampaert divides many of his days into two parts. In the morning he goes out training, in the afternoon he helps his parents on the farm when needed. They don’t need to ask for this, he seems to really enjoy it. After a couple of hours on the field, he stops, grabs a piece of fruit and sits down on the wheel of the tractor, enjoying the view for a brief moment. “Maintaining your energy level is important, the work isn’t done yet”.

After a nice work-out on his mountain bike in the woods around the Kwaremont, where Dries Devenyns lives, it is time to relax. Nothing better than some refreshment and listening to some music!