Soudal Quick-Step named seven riders for eschborn frankfurt 2026, and the race’s 211-kilometer route with 3,300 vertical meters is built to test them from the flat opening to the Frankfurt finish. With nine climbs on the course, Friday’s race gives the team a clear choice between the hilly breakaway scenario and a reduced sprint.
Peeters backs several options
Wilfried Peeters said the squad has enough tools to handle either rhythm. "A small group of climbers can break away on the hilly section, but having a reduced bunch sprint is also a possibility, and we take there a team that gives us options regardless of the scenario. We are ready to do our best, and hopefully, we’ll get a good result as we bring our spring classics campaign to a conclusion".
That approach fits a race that is described as Germany’s most popular one-day event and the last chance of glory for Classics specialists before the first Grand Tour of the season. Eschborn-Frankfurt is the season’s 21st World Tour race, so the result lands in a crowded stretch of the calendar rather than at the end of a build-up.
Mammolshain shapes the route
The route leaves Eschborn and the flat opening 30 kilometers behind before heading into the Taunus hills. Mammolshain comes three times, averages 7.9% over 2.3 kilometers, and the last ascent arrives with 35 kilometers to go.
Feldberg adds another hard climb at 7.7 kilometers and 6%. The race has gone to a bunch sprint in the past two years, but the course profile has pushed many observers to view this edition as the hardest in history.
Vansevenant brings recent form
Ayco Bastiaens, Alberto Dainese, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Yves Lampaert, Andrea Raccagni, Pepijn Reinderink and Mauri Vansevenant make up the seven-rider lineup. Vansevenant arrives after finishing seventh at Amstel Gold Race two weeks ago, giving the team a rider who has already shown recent form on a demanding one-day course.
For Soudal Quick-Step, the practical target is simple: survive the hardest segments with enough depth left to choose a move, then turn that into the good result Peeters wants as the spring classics campaign closes.
