Soudal Quick-Step is doing well in the Giro for the time being. Tim Merlier already won a stage, Julian Alaphilippe came close on Thursday. However, Lefevere still counts on others.
No Remco Evenepoel at Soudal Quick-Step in the Giro, but the team is still doing well. Tim Merlier won the first bunch sprint, then finished fifth and eighth. Merlier is already following at a distance from Milan in the points classification.
With Julian Alaphilippe it was a matter of waiting to see what could be expected. The Frenchman finished 17th in the first stage, after which he did not appear again. But on Thursday in the sixth stage he was in the right flight, but came second.
Hirt top ten in the Giro?
Yet Soudal Quick-Step still has a lot of irons in the fire in the Giro. Patrick Lefevere still expects something from them. “We know Mauri Vansevenant’s capabilities in a Grand Tour. Jan Hirt is very sharp,” he says The newspapaer.
The Czech finished sixth in the Giro in 2022, when he also won a stage. “People always remember a stage victory better, but a top five in the final ranking would also be nice,” says Lefevere.
There are still more than 70 kilometers against the clock on the program, Hirt is absolutely no specialist. “But on the other hand, minutes will still be added in that last week.”
