Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, in the Men's 1000 metres Time Trial, finishing 19th.

[1] Steels began his professional cycling career in 1994 with the Vlaanderen 2002 team, winning eight times in his first two seasons.

[2] However, during the sprint for the finish for the sixth stage he found himself blocked and boxed in by other sprinters and in frustration threw his water bottle at another rider, an offence for which he was disqualified from that year's Tour.

[4] His best season was 1998 when he won the national championship for the second time and returned to the Tour de France to win four stages.

He was also national champion in 2002 and 2004 which made him the record holder of Belgian road championships.