After twelve loyal years at Trek/Lidl-Trek, the Monument winner from Leuven made the biggest move of his career, joining Soudal Quick-Step for 2026 to spearhead the Wolfpack's classics reboot. At the Tour he brings a Milan-San Remo winner's craft to Merlier's sprint train while keeping an eye on breakaway stages. He nearly took a stage at this year's Giro and is hungry for a first Tour win in his seventh participation.
Palmarès
- Milan-San Remo winner (2021)
- Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner (2020)
- Deutschland Tour overall winner (2019)
- Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne winner (2016)
- Vuelta a España stage winner (2015)
- Junior world road race champion (2009)
Cut-out factStuyven co-owns 'Chocolade Atelier Stuyven', a boutique chocolate shop he runs with his uncle Ivan, complete with cycling-themed pralines — earning him the nickname 'the chocolatier of Flanders'.
The squad
Riding the 2026 Tour with Tim Merlier, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Dylan van Baarle, Bert Van Lerberghe, Ilan Van Wilder, Louis Vervaeke — see the full Soudal Quick-Step team page.
Portrait: AI paper-collage render (gpt-image-2) after a reference photograph — source: Wikimedia Commons, author: G.Garitan, license: CC BY-SA 4.0.
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