QUICK STEP'S WINNING FORMULA
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We used to wonder what would happen to Quick-Step when their Classics talisman Tom Boonen retired, or even when they parted ways with Marcel Kittel, the best sprinter of that year, at the end of 2017. If anything, they’ve got more successful. Philippe Gilbert continues to enjoy an Indian summer to his career and Niki Terpstra has stepped up to be a genuine favourite in any cobbled Classic, but the main thing is that Julian Alaphilippe, Elia Viviani, Fernando Gaviria, Yves Lampaert and Bob Jungels have all matured into world class riders, and younger Quick-Steppers like Álvaro Hodeg, Fabio Jakobsen and Enric Mas are well ahead of schedule in their results. This has combined with what seems to be a very strong one-for-all-and-all-for-one ethos, and resulted in 73 wins over the season.