Our team has returned to Spain this week for the first training camp of the winter, with the stunning Suitopia Sol y Mar Hotel serving as the squad’s headquarters between 9-20 December.
A total of 29 riders – including newcomers Pascal Eenkhoorn, Ethan Hayter, Gianmarco Garofoli, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Andrea Raccagni, Maximilian Schachmann and Dries Van Gestel – are present there to lay the foundations of the team’s 23rd consecutive season in the pro peloton.
Soudal Quick-Step heads into the winter after what has been an impressive 2024 campaign – which netted 34 UCI victories – and will be keen to work towards what we all hope will be another successful season. The get-together in Calpe will be the only opportunity for the members of the Wolfpack to spend time together ahead of next year, and outline the calendar and goals for 2025, a season which we will get underway in about six weeks, at the Tour Down Under.
We have held our winter training camps at Suitopia Sol y Mar Hotel for a number of years, with the hotel offering us premium facilities that are perfect for our team’s needs from both a sporting and commercial point of view, with the province of Alicante putting in the table varied training terrains for our riders.
“It is always a special time to get all our riders together. As well as several days of commercial activities for our sponsors, we have some physical tests and then some real training scheduled on the roads of southern Spain. But more than anything, it is a chance for our riders and staff to build a bond in preparation for the 2025 season”, said Soudal Quick-Step trainer Koen Pelgrim.
Absent from the team reunion is double Olympic Champion Remco Evenepoel, who underwent surgery last week following the training incident in which he was involved and will now take some time off the bike.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel