It's the end of an era as Patrick Lefevere steps down as CEO of the Soudal-QuickStep team. As planned since late in 2023, COO Jurgen Foré will take over the role that Lefevere has held for over 20 years.
Lefevere had promised to remain as the team's manager until 2026 when the team announced that Foré would transition gradually into the CEO role, but the news comes a year earlier as Lefevere will end his tenure on December 31, 2024.
Lefevere will stay on as an honorary board member for the team, while Foré will take his position on the executive board alongside shareholder Zdenek Bakala and Auret Van Zyl, the team's counsel.
"It is a life changing moment to leave a role that I have committed so much of my life to," Lefevere said in the team's press release. "Cycling is a sport that I am still deeply passionate about, and it has been a great honour to head up this beautiful team and make so many special memories.
"But I felt that it was the right moment for this change. When I started to work with Jurgen one year ago, it was with a view to smoothing out the transition for when I would eventually leave. I have seen how his relationships with our sponsors and partners, as well as the team's internal stakeholders has grown over the last 12 months, and I know that with Jurgen taking over as CEO and with the board's backing, that this team has a bright future.
"There are countless people that I need to thank, far too many to mention individually, but there are of course my family, the team's talented riders, our dedicated staff, our loyal sponsors, all of which is backed by the generosity and support of our team owner Mr. Zdenek Bakala."
Lefevere spent his most of his career in cycling first as a rider and, after hanging up his wheels at 24, as a sports director and manager for a variety of teams including the dominant Mapei team. In 2001, he returned to Belgium to start the Domo-Farm Frites team, which later merged with the remnants of Mapei to form Quickstep-Davitamon in 2003.
Star riders who worked with Lefevere include Johan Museeuw, Paolo Bettini, Tom Boonen, Julian Alaphilippe and, more recently, Remco Evenepoel.
His management style was both successful and controversial, and several times he openly criticised riders to the media, most recently Alaphilippe. When he insinuated that Alaphilippe's partner Marion Rousse was the cause of the rider's lacklustre performances, Lefevere faced a 20,000 CHF fine from the UCI for comments that were ‘disparaging toward women’.
Lefevere, who will turn 70 in January, led his teams to nearly 1000 victories according to the press release, including 19 world titles, 22 Monuments and Remco Evenepoel's Vuelta a España victory in 2022 as his sole Grand Tour win.
"I would like to start by thanking Patrick for his dedication and passion in making Soudal Quick-Step the team it is today," Bakala said. "Patrick has often spoken of the hard work of his staff and the riders, but that is fostered by the figurehead at the top and we should not underestimate the way Patrick has built a culture that allows those riders and staff to thrive.
"However, we know that at some point all things change and we feel that this is the right time to make these structural changes to our team's management, which have been made with the agreement of all parties. With this transition I demonstrate my commitment to the long-term future of the team and ensuring a bright future for Soudal Quick-Step."
The news comes as the team has set aside many of its historic goals in the Spring Classics in favour of supporting Evenepoel in his quest to win the Tour de France. The team hired seven new riders for 2025 but lost Alaphilippe to Tudor and former Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen to EF Education-EasyPost.
Foré will now oversee the future of Soudal-Quickstep, and he paid tribute to Lefevere in the press release.
"Patrick Lefevere has been a figurehead in professional cycling, who all have great respect and admiration for. He has been able to build a firm base and stability that has seen this team grow for over two decades. I would like to personally thank him for the support that he has given me over the past 12 months since I joined the team. I understand and feel how special this organisation is, and I will do everything in my power to take care of it.
"I will now look to lead this team, working towards securing its long-term future. I have been involved in cycling in several roles and as part of the team's management and I am confident that by combining this with my experience in business, it will allow me to build a structure that can take Soudal Quick-Step from strength to strength."
