'We're always going to be a Classics team' – Soudal-QuickStep's troubles continue at Gent-Wevelgem

Tim Merlier and Soudal-QuickStep in a rain-soaked Gent-Wevelgem 2023
Tim Merlier and Soudal-QuickStep in a rain-soaked Gent-Wevelgem 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Coughing and cursing was the soundtrack as the finishers of Gent-Wevelgem trudged their way through the mixed zone on Menenstraat, where the muddied faces and haunted stares already told the story of nigh-on six hours of racing amid driving rain and wind.

Most, shivering against the cold, understandably opted to keep rolling towards their rest aboard the team buses parked further down the street. Despite another subdued outing from their Soudal-QuickStep team, however, Yves Lampaert and Tim Merlier lingered amid the microphones and cameras and put their day in words, perhaps out of a sense of duty to those who had covered their squad on happier days.

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.