Patrick Lefevere has revealed that his Soudal-QuickStep squad held a “disaster assembly” within the wake of their disappointing cobbled Classics marketing campaign. The Belgian additionally acknowledged that their prospects within the Ardennes have been dimmed significantly by Remco Evenepoel’s absence.
For the third yr in succession, Soudal-QuickStep made little influence on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, races that they had dominated over the earlier decade. The solely solace from their Classics marketing campaign was offered by Tim Merlier, who received Scheldeprijs and Nokere Koers.
“Last Tuesday, I known as a gathering. A disaster assembly, for many who need to name it that,” Lefevere wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column.
“It isn’t any secret that we have been less than it in Paris-Roubaix both. So the central query of our assembly was apparent. Where did the shortage of efficiency come from? Quite just a few completely different avenues got here up. Is it right down to the tools? Certainly to not our Specialized bike, as a result of for my part it’s nonetheless the perfect within the peloton.
“We mentioned tubeless tyres for longer, however I feel Jordi Meeus [of Bora-Hansgrohe – ed.] completed within the high 10 with precisely the identical sort from the identical producer.”
The Soudal-QuickStep CEO questioned whether or not the core of his Classics squad ought to have raced extra typically in February as an alternative of an altitude coaching camp.
“The riders who did properly in Spring behind Mathieu van der Poel are those who rode small races in February, comparable to Étoile de Bessèges and the Coupe de France races,” mentioned Lefevere. “We do not experience these as a result of there are too many riders away coaching to make up alternatives.”
In an interview with Le Parisien this week, Julian Alaphilippe revealed that he had raced the Classics with a fractured knee sustained in a crash at Strade Bianche. The Frenchman, topic to bracing criticism from Lefevere in the beginning of the season, didn’t reveal the damage publicly as a result of he didn’t want to be seen to be making excuses for his subdued shows.
Lefevere insisted, nonetheless, that Soudal-QuickStep have so far loved a profitable marketing campaign exterior of the cobbled Classics, with Evenepoel and new arrival Mikel Landa shining earlier than their crashes at Itzulia Basque Country.
“We have nonetheless received 13 races up to now. Only UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike have carried out higher,” Lefevere mentioned. “My sponsors take a worldwide view, and so they primarily focus overseas anyway. Remco in Portugal and Landa in Spain actually make them pleased. It’s the Flemish followers and media who’ve a fixation on the Classics.”
In years previous, Lefevere has all the time leant on an previous truism when discussing his group’s struggles on the Classics, stating that the steadiness sheet for the Spring is simply tallied up after Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
In 2022 and 2023, Evenepoel duly bailed out the group by cruising to victory in Liège, however he misses this yr’s Ardennes Classics after breaking his collarbone at Itzulia Basque Country. With Alaphilippe constructing in the direction of his Giro d’Italia debut, Ilan Van Wilder has been known as in to guide the road for Soudal-QuickStep.
“As De Brabantse Pijl made clear: the group’s effectiveness can be restricted within the Ardennes,” mentioned Lefevere, who admitted that Ilan Van Wilder would experience Flèche Wallonne “a bit in opposition to his will” after being pulled from a coaching block forward of the Tour de Romandie.
“I utterly perceive his place, however coaching alone is a privilege we can’t afford at the moment,” mentioned Lefevere, who this week printed a brief assertion on the Soudal-QuickStep web site apologising for disparaging feedback he made in the direction of girls.
The 69-year-old was final month deemed to have breached the UCI’s Code of Ethics and was handed a 20,000 CHF advantageous, which was suspended on situation of a public apology.
