Ben Turner (Netcompany-Ineos) will join Soudal Quick-Step on a three-year deal from 2027, becoming the latest rider to leave the British squad. The 27-year-old is the fourth confirmed departure from Netcompany-Ineos, after Andrew August, Artem Shmidt and Victor Langellotti.
“We still think he has the capacity to improve even more, and we hope he’ll hit new heights in the coming years as part of our squad,” Soudal Quick-Step CEO Jurgen Foré said in the team’s signing announcement.
Turner has three professional wins, including a Vuelta a España stage. His Classics record includes top-10 finishes at Brabantse Pijl and Dwars door Vlaanderen, alongside 11th on his Paris-Roubaix debut.
He gives the Belgian team another option as it rebuilds its Classics squad, while his sprinting ability also offers support for its lead-outs. His contract runs through the end of 2029.
“After discussing with Jurgen and the team, I realised quickly that we are on the same page, that’s why I’m super excited to be part of this organisation from 2027,” Turner said.
Loss of the next generation
Turner’s move comes alongside a number of exits from Netcompany-Ineos. Andrew August, 20, is joining Pinarello Q36.5 on a three-year contract. This was announced almost immediately after the American future star won the GC at the Czech Tour, where he also won two stages, during a successful season that saw stage wins at Itzulia Basque Country and the Volta Comunitat Valenciana.
August joined the British squad when he was just 18 years old as he made the jump straight from the juniors. He had a lot of promise but has only now started to show that he has the legs to back up the hype. Unfortunately for Netcompany-Ineos it comes just in time for him to leave the team.
Artem Shmidt, 22, has also agreed a three-year deal with NSN. The two-time US time-trial champion won Classic Dunkerque this season and wants to develop his attacking road racing alongside his ability against the clock. He is yet another rider who joined the team very young but hasn’t shown the heights of his potential until the season in which he announced he was leaving the squad.
Victor Langellotti, the 31-year-old Monaco champion, moved on August 1 to XDS-Astana, before completing his second season with the British team, and has since raced the Tour de Pologne and Vuelta for the Kazakhstani squad.
Adding Turner to the list of riders leaving is another major blow to the team with several riders rumoured to be on their way out. Giro and Tour winner Egan Bernal, former U23 world champion Axel Laurance, all-rounder Magnus Sheffield and former national champion Sam Watson are all on the list of riders yet to confirm contract extensions with a lot of rumours circulating suggesting some may be heading elsewhere.
With this potential mass exodus you would have imagined that the team are bringing in a lot of riders to replace them. However, there is no sign of that yet. They have only announced the signing of 17-year-old Benjamín Noval from MMR Cycling Academy, a long-term prospect rather than an immediate replacement for the riders leaving. He is a very promising young climber whom the team will prepare for the WorldTour ahead of 2027.
In its Noval announcement, the team said it would work with the Spaniard and his support network before 2027 to prepare him for the WorldTour. So we shall see what comes of that.
The team are also losing Ben Swift and Bob Jungels who are both retiring from the sport.
