Soudal-Quick Step CEO Jürgen Foré left Bulgaria brimming with enthusiasm over his team's results, who have found in the Giro d'Italia a new spark and fresh energy that has brought positive momentum to the entire group. After months marked by injuries, internal changes, and the need to redefine their technical project, the Belgian team started the pink race in the best possible way thanks to the breakthrough of young French talent Paul Magnier. Two victories in the first three stages and wearing the pink jersey after the first sprint finish have restored enthusiasm throughout the entire environment.

The absolute protagonist is Magnier himself, just 22 years old, who dominated the sprints of the first and third stages with impressive superiority. For CEO Jürgen Foré this is not a surprise, but rather the confirmation of a path that began a year ago.

«Paul was at the start last year too, to learn for two weeks what a Grand Tour entails, but this time it's all real».

Foré explained how the team had identified the Giro as ideal terrain for the Frenchman already during winter planning: «When we drew up the calendar last winter, we identified the Giro as a race with many opportunities for Paul, with the added possibility of winning the pink jersey».

The Belgian CEO admitted he lived through the stage finishes with great tension and couldn't bring himself to watch them. «Five kilometers from the finish line, I turn off the screen and just listen. Only to rewatch the final kilometer anyway».

The concept of “Wolfpack”, always a symbol of Quick-Step, remains central to the team's philosophy.
«What I want is a team that races as a team, with riders who fight for one another». 

Jürgen Foré praised the work of domestiques and key train riders, emphasizing the importance of figures like Jasper Stuyven and Fabio Van den Bossche in building Magnier's sprint trains.

«It seemed like the right moment for Jasper to get close to Paul, to plan together every day, to keep him focused and give him confidence. There's nothing more beautiful than a team fighting united for an objective»

The symbolic image of this start to the Giro is precisely that of Magnier surrounded by celebrating teammates after his second victory.

«An image like that gives me goosebumps; that's exactly what I want to see».

The Soudal Quick-Step season also represents a transitional phase. After Remco Evenepoel's departure, the team had to rethink its technical and sporting balance. «I certainly don't intend to use Remco's departure as an excuse».

The team's project now aims at a mix between experienced riders and young talents developed internally. The signings of Stuyven and Rex serve to strengthen support for sprinters like Magnier and Tim Merlier, while work on the youth academy continues.

«The intention is to develop riders internally and promote them to the World Tour only when they are truly ready».

An example is Jonathan Vervenne, who stayed an extra year in the Under 23 category before his definitive jump to the professional ranks. In modern cycling, dominated by ever-increasing budgets, Soudal Quick-Step doesn't want to enter million-dollar auctions.

«If a manager establishes how much a rider should earn before even the first meeting, I don't consider that the right starting point. Our philosophy is simple: how can we achieve maximum success with the budgets we have? If there's one thing I absolutely want to guarantee, it's that they continue to call us The Wolfpack».

Despite sporting success, the Giro was also marked by serious crashes, especially in the second stage. Foré expressed strong concern for rider safety, indirectly supporting Stuyven's criticism of the organizers.

«If fifty riders crash and need medical assistance, why don't you simply stop the race for a few minutes?»

The CEO believes cycling must also evolve in terms of athlete protection, even imagining a future mandatory use of airbags: «What the helmet was for the previous generation, the airbag will be for the next one. On safety we must not cut corners and we must not wait for someone to get hurt to intervene decisively».