The biggest transfer of the summer is undoubtedly the move of Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. After a long silence, the previous leader of Soudal-QuickStep, Patrick Lefevere, finally opened his mouth and did so with his characteristic eloquence.
Lefevere no longer leads Soudal, but is bound by a confidentiality agreement and is not allowed to disclose details about the transfers, but shared his personal thoughts in the Flemish newspaper Nieuwsblad.
"I can't pretend that nothing happened with Remco this week, of course it did, but I repeat: contractually I can't talk much about it," Lefevere said. "When I sold my stake in the team, I also signed a confidentiality agreement, which means that I'm not allowed to work for another team for a certain period of time, but also that what happens inside the team has to remain confidential. But that doesn't mean I can't express my opinion on Remco's departure. In short: no big deal. That's life. The guy is 25 years old and if he can earn a few million more somewhere, he should. Budget-wise, Soudal-QuickStep can no longer compete with teams like UAE or Red Bull."
Lefevere's time as Soudal team manager ended in December 2024, but even more affluent rivals were interested in hiring Evenepoel earlier. "There was always interest in Remco, but we always came to an agreement. It was only when he won the Vuelta and became world champion in Wollongong that we started to seriously pursue him. Remco said many times that he would never leave us. People remember that, but I forgive him - these things are said in an emotional moment. Should we conclude that we have become a mid-level team? In terms of budget, we were never quite at the top. Through hard work, we did wonders for years with the budget we had," Lefevere recalled.
Lefevere acknowledged that it makes more economic sense to grow riders through their own development team, but noted that they no longer have the biggest and best classics riders and may never be as competitive in the Grand Tours as they were with Evenepoel.
"We've had a long list of riders come out of our Klein Constantia development team: Julian Alaphilippe, Enric Mas, Max Schachmann… We're pretty proud of that. And it costs less than hiring a rider. But I'm also realistic: we probably won't produce anyone who'll make it to the podium at the Tour de France. I'd like to think I'm wrong, but I'm afraid not," Lefevere reasoned.
