Soudal-QuickStep Tour de France drought continues as Jakobsen misses on stage 11

Tour de France 2023: Julian Alaphilippe and Fabio Jakobsen during stage 11
Tour de France 2023: Julian Alaphilippe and Fabio Jakobsen during stage 11 (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

For most of the team's existence, Soudal-QuickStep have developed the useful habit of winning early and often at the Tour de France. Even last year's race, which ultimately proved a relatively modest one for Patrick Lefevere's squad by their traditional standards, began with back-to-back stage wins in Denmark.

The 2023 edition, by contrast, has yielded nothing of note thus far for Soudal-QuickStep. On the first rest day, they suffered the indignity of sitting at the very bottom of the prize money table, amassing just €3,600 in primes across the first nine stages compared to leader Alpecin-Deceuninck's €48,200.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan was 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.