Jurgen Van Den Broeck has made it clear that he wanted to leave Lotto-Soudal since the Giro d’Italia and he has been linked with some big teams, but after Orica-Greenedge pulled out of the race to sign him due to financial reasons, Etixx-QuickStep have also pulled out as they wish to develop young riders rather than sign the 32 year old.

"It is not a matter of wanting money, but we have chosen for the team to focus on young riders," said Lefevere according to Het Nieuwsblad.

Fernando Gaviria has been on the team’s 2016 roster for a ling time and Davide Martinelli, also 22, has signed for the team. 20 year old Laurens De Plus is also linked to the Belgian WorldTour squad.