Lacklustre E3 display raises stakes for Soudal-QuickStep at Gent-Wevelgem - Analysis

HARELBEKE BELGIUM MARCH 22 LR Kasper Asgreen of Denmark Julian Alaphilippe of France and Team Soudal QuickStep and Mathieu van der Poel of The Netherlands and Team Alpecin Deceuninck compete during the 67th E3 Saxo Bank Classic Harelbeke 2024 a 2076km one day race from Harelbeke to Harelbeke UCIWT on March 22 2024 in Harelbeke Belgium Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Soudal-QuickStep stalwarts Kasper Asgreen (left) and Julian Alaphilippe (centre) saw little of race winner Mathieu van der Poel (right) at E3 Saxo Classic, as the pair finished 49th and 77th overall, respectively (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

For years, the road to victory in the cobbled Classics ran through Patrick Lefevere’s teams. Even on the rare afternoons when they were beaten, they always extracted a heavy toll from their rivals. These days, however, it feels as though Soudal-QuickStep have been bypassed entirely on their home patch.

The scene at the bus parking beyond the finish line of E3 Saxo Classic on Friday afternoon told its own story. In victory or defeat, the QuickStep bus was traditionally the focus of the post-mortem at races like this, with reporters and camera crews bustling outside to hear Lefevere’s snap judgement on events in the Flemish Ardennes.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.