"Football didn't come home this summer, but I did!" Schachmann returns to the nest with Lefevere

Soudal-Quick Step has officially announced the arrival of Maximilian Schachmann. The 30-year-old German rider is transferring in from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, the team he left Quick Step for after 2018. Schachmann has signed a two-year contract with Patrick Lefevere's team.

The climber and classics specialist first joined The Wolfpack in 2017 as a 23-year-old rookie. In 2018, he immediately showcased his immense potential by winning a stage in his Giro debut. That year, he also claimed victories in the Tour of Catalonia and the Tour of Germany. As a part of BORA-hansgrohe, Schachmann grew into a specialist in the Ardennes classics and one-week stage races. His achievements included three stage wins in the Tour of the Basque Country, the German road title (2019), and both stage and overall victories in Paris-Nice (2020), followed by another overall win in Paris-Nice (2021).

However, things began to decline for Schachmann from 2021 onwards. He faced multiple bouts of COVID-19, suffered other injuries, and struggled mentally. In this year's Giro d'Italia, he showed a glimpse of his former self on the first day, battling with Jhonatan Narváez and Tadej Pogacar for the stage win and the leader's jersey. Although he didn’t succeed, Lefevere had evidently seen enough. The rumor that Schachmann would return to Soudal-Quick Step was soon confirmed by the Belgian team boss, who praised him: "I have a soft spot for him. He's had two tough years, was ill, but I remember him from the early years of his career. He’s a good rider and a pleasant person."

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Schachmann comes home to Soudal-Quick Step

In a team announcement video, Schachmann makes a humorous reference to the European Football Championship from this past summer. England reached the final, and as always, the fans sang, "It's coming home," referring to the belief that football originated in England. However, Spain proved too strong for the English in the final. "Sadly, football didn't come home this summer, but hey, I am," Schachmann exclaims with enthusiasm. "I'm very pleased to announce that I will rejoin Soudal-Quick Step for the next two years."

In a press release, the German added: "I am happy to get the opportunity to come back home. I know many of the people there, I have a lot of friends after all these years and I’m looking forward to returning and continuing to develop. I had two great years with the squad as I was beginning to learn the trade, and when presented with the opportunity to come back, I had a really good gut feeling that convinced me to make this move." Lefevere stated: "Schachmann is a very good and versatile rider who still has plenty to show in the sport, and we are confident he can do that as part of our squad. We have a lot of beautiful memories from his first pro years in the squad and we are really excited to see him in action again with the Soudal Quick-Step jersey on his shoulders, contributing to our collective success."