Cycling: Great successes are nice, but treacherous. Team Deceuninck - Quick-Step has to follow in its own footsteps from the previous season in the 2019 season - and that task seems almost impossible. After more than 150 podium finishes, the expectations are gigantic.
Quick-Step Floors 2018: No one could hold a candle to this team
Team Quick-Step Floors' 2018 numbers are impressive. 73 victories and 82 places on the podium speak a clearly positive language. Much more: The season of this team was one of the best ever delivered by a cycling team. With Fernando Gaviria, Fabio Jakobsen, and Alvaro Hodeg and Elia Viviani despite the departure of Marcel Kittel, you could dominate the mass sprints with just four men. Julian Alaphilippe was successful in hilly terrain and even in the high mountains. Among other things, the Frenchman won the mountain jersey at the Tour de France and one-day races such as the classic Flèche Wallonne. Stage victories for the Quick-Step Floors team in all three major national tours were the logical consequence. That Enric Mas Nicolau was then able to finish at the top of the overall standings of the Vuelta a Espana, crowning the already outstanding season. Ascents, such as that of Maximilian Schachmann, go almost unmentioned.
Transfers: Gaviria, Schachmann & Terpstra will be missing from the team
Niki Terpstra this year, in addition to the one-day races Le Samyn and E3 Harelbeke, he also won the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He will be absent from the Deceuninck – Quick-Step team in the 2019 season. In recent years, the Dutchman has been a guarantee for reliable helpers and great success. Also top sprinters Fernando Gaviria turns his back on the team because it was not able to guarantee the salaries for 2019 in time due to the loss of sponsors. talent Maximilian schachmann switches to Bora – hansgrohe. Eros Capecchi, Laurens De Plus and Manuel Narvaez complete the departures. Signed by Deceuninck – Quick-Step with the Dane Mikkel Frolich Honore and the Belgian Remco Evenepoel but also two outstanding talents.
| departures | Additions | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximilian schachmann (Bora – hansgrohe) | Remco Evenepoel (Junior) |
|
| Niki Terpstra (direct energy) | Mikkel Frolich Honore (waoo) |
|
| Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) | ||
| Laurens DePlus (Jumbo) | ||
| Eros Capecchi (unknown) | ||
| Jonathan Manuel Narvaez (sky) |
Deceuninck – Quick-Step 2019: A repeat of this success is impossible
Undoubtedly, the Deceuninck – Quick-Step squad will be very strong in 2019. Despite the numerous well-known departures, there are still some top drivers in the team. So there will be many victories in the coming season, but they will not be able to match the unbelievable statistics from 2019. This year was too strong and the losses of Fernando Gaviria, Niki Terpstra and Maximilian Schachmann weighed too heavily. In the mass sprints have to Elia Viviani and Co. now measure with the former. But the sprinters from Deceuninck - Quick-Step don't have to hide from the competition. With Julian Alaphilippe is also a guarantee for many successes in the squad. When it comes to hilly classics, its explosiveness is hard to beat. We were already able to admire the fact that it can also shine in the high mountains at the 2018 Tour de France. It will also be interesting to see how Enric Mas Nicolau will continue to develop.
Winning the gold medals for a record fourth time at the World TTT Championships is another Quick-Step Floors Best Moment of the 2018 season: https://t.co/4qGcEAeB5g
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/OtKBAA3GHj— Quick-Step Cycling (@quickstepteam) 17 December 2018