Patrick Lefevere has revealed that his Soudal-QuickStep squad held a “crisis meeting” in the wake of their disappointing cobbled Classics campaign. The Belgian also acknowledged that their prospects in the Ardennes have been dimmed considerably by Remco Evenepoel’s absence.
For the third year in succession, Soudal-QuickStep made little impact at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, races they had dominated over the previous decade. The only solace from their Classics campaign was provided by Tim Merlier, who won Scheldeprijs and Nokere Koers.
“Last Tuesday, I called a meeting. A crisis meeting, for those who want to call it that,” Lefevere wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column.
“It is no secret that we were not up to it in Paris-Roubaix either. So the central question of our meeting was obvious. Where did the lack of performance come from? Quite a few different avenues came up. Is it down to the equipment? Certainly not to our Specialized bike, because in my opinion it is still the best in the peloton.
"We discussed tubeless tyres for longer, but I think Jordi Meeus [of Bora-Hansgrohe – ed.] finished in the top 10 with exactly the same type from the same manufacturer.”
The Soudal-QuickStep CEO questioned whether the core of his Classics squad should have raced more often in February instead of an altitude training camp.
“The riders who did well in Spring behind Mathieu van der Poel are the ones who rode small races in February, such as Étoile de Bessèges and the Coupe de France races,” said Lefevere. “We don't ride those because there are too many riders away training to make up selections.”
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, subject to bracing criticism from Lefevere at the start of the season, did not reveal the injury publicly because he didn’t wish to be seen to be making excuses for his subdued displays.
Lefevere insisted, however, that Soudal-QuickStep have thus far enjoyed a successful campaign outside of the cobbled Classics, with Evenepoel and new arrival Mikel Landa shining before their crashes at Itzulia Basque Country.
“We have still won thirteen races so far. Only UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike have done better,” Lefevere said. “My sponsors take a global view, and they mainly focus abroad anyway. Remco in Portugal and Landa in Spain certainly make them happy. It’s the Flemish fans and media who have a fixation on the Classics.”
In years past, Lefevere has always leant on an old truism when discussing his team’s struggles at the Classics, pointing out that the balance sheet for the Spring is only tallied up after Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
In 2022 and 2023, Evenepoel duly bailed out the team by cruising to victory in Liège, but he misses this year’s Ardennes Classics after breaking his collarbone at Itzulia Basque Country. With Alaphilippe building towards his Giro d’Italia debut, Ilan Van Wilder has been called in to lead the line for Soudal-QuickStep.
"As De Brabantse Pijl made clear: the team's effectiveness is also limited in the Ardennes," said Lefevere, who admitted that Ilan Van Wilder would ride Flèche Wallonne "a bit against his will" after being pulled from a training block ahead of the Tour de Romandie.
“I completely understand his position, but training alone is a privilege we cannot afford at this time," said Lefevere, who this week published a short statement on the Soudal-QuickStep website apologising for disparaging comments he made towards women.
The 69-year-old was last month deemed to have breached the UCI's Code of Ethics and was handed a 20,000 CHF fine, which was suspended on condition of a public apology.
