After two decades of association, Soudal Quick-Step are to switch Specialized for Merida bikes from next season, it was announced on Tuesday.
Their sister Women's WorldTour team, AG Insurance-Soudal, are also making the switch from the American to the Taiwanese brand. The men's WorldTour team will also be known as Soudal Safety Jogger from next year.
Specialized first joined with what was Quickstep-Innergetic for the 2007 season, and have been together since, apart from two seasons on Eddy Merckx bikes. It has been a long and fruitful partnership, through Classics domination with the likes of Tom Boonen and Grand Tour sprint success with Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel and latterly Tim Merlier. There have also been World Championship wins and a Grand Tour victory for Remco Evenepoel, who still rides Specialized at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Now, it's goodbye to the S-Works Tarmac SL9 and hello to the Merida Reacto, along with the Time-Warp for time trialling. The deal runs to 2030 to begin with, and will see the bikes complete with Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets, wheelsets, and pedals, along with Continental tyres. There are also new saddles from Prologo, shoes from Sidi, and helmets from Lazer.
Merida return to the WorldTour after one year out – they were last ridden by Bahrain Victorious at the sport's highest level.
According to a team press release, extensive research and evaluation was taken by the head of technical and development Nicolas Coosemans, along with performance coach Koen Pelgrim.
"Products were extensively tested and assessed in controlled environments, including wind-tunnel testing, as well as in real-world ‘on the road’ conditions," the press release reads. "This rigorous approach ensures that every element of the teams’ technical package has been selected to help our riders perform at the highest level."
"We have been working on this project for more than one year, because decisions around technical partners have a direct impact on the performance of our riders," CEO Jurgen Foré said. "We wanted to look at every element of our equipment package and understand where we could make improvements, while also building on the strong relationships that we already have.
"What excites me most is not simply the individual products that our riders will use, but the expertise that each of these companies brings our teams. We want our technical partners to work closely with our riders and performance staff, sharing knowledge, data and ideas so that we can continue to develop together.
"We are very grateful to all of our new partners for the confidence they show in Soudal-Safety Jogger and AG Insurance-Soudal. We look forward to beginning these new partnerships and being able to show you exactly what we have been working so hard to deliver."