Patrick Lefevere praised Remco Evenepoel after his historic double gold medal haul at the Paris Olympics but accepted that the success will cost him and Soudal-Quick Step significantly, with Evenepoel in line for a hefty double bonus to go with his double gold.
Evenepoel’s Olympic success, coming soon after his third place at the Tour de France, will also raise his contract value and only continue reports and speculation that rival teams such as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe or Ineos Grenadiers may try to tempt him away from Soudal-Quick Step before the end of his current contract.
“As long as no one puts anything concrete on my table, he will ride for us,” Lefevere told Het Nieuwsblad, repeating comments that he expects rival team managers may try to entice his team leader away but that Evenepoel is under contract until the end of 2026.
"If someone says tomorrow: 'This is annual salary, we will double that and add a little bit more', then I might be able to accept it," Het Nieuwsblad reported him as saying.
"It is down to the rider. A year or two ago he said that there is a lot of work to do in the team but I wouldn't know in which area we now can't keep up. I'm not going to give him away for nothing. We have never paid Remco a Euro too little, on the contrary."
Evenepoel earned €50,000 for each gold medal from the Belgian Olympic committee but his bonuses from his professional team will be a 'multiple of that amount' Lefevere admitted.
"There are always two in the team who cheer right away: Geert Coeman and I but then we always immediately think: how much is that going to cost?" Lefevere said, referring to Soudal-QuickStep's CFO.
"People think I'm a monkey in that respect, but they don't have to pay him. How much? It is more than enough. That is still a legacy from three years ago when Mr Ralph Denk put a proposal on the table."
The offer from the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team manager forced Lefevere to increase his contract offer to Evenepoel and add in significant bonuses.
"Remco makes it difficult to calculate your budget," Lefevere told Nieuwsblad, apparently with a laugh, knowing that Evenepoel's success can be costly as well as satisfying.
"He earned it. Although it remains a shame that our sponsors get little to no benefit from it," Lefevered added, highlighting the limited publicity a team or sponsor can develop from Olympic success due to the International Olympic Committee's strict protection of its branding.
"That photo under the Eiffel Tower is really beautiful. It will probably get a place in my office somewhere."
Lefevere was not in Paris, preferring to watch the road race at home in Belgium. He celebrated with an aperitif and then the classic Belgian dish of tomatoes stuffed with prawns.
"I avoided the crowds in Paris. From my armchair you can follow everything much better and you are more in the moment. I watched the entire race," Levefere said, praising Evenepoel.
"When he attacked I knew: it was 'Ciao!. He was impressive in the time trial, so they'd have to go hard to catch him.
"It is not the first time that Remco has done unique things. The way he rode around on Saturday, he didn't seem to feel the cobblestones."
Lefevere has suggested that Evenepoel will now enjoy a break from racing and perhaps ride the Tour of Britain (Sept 3-8) before targeting the Road World Championships in Zurich in late September.
Tour of Britain race director Rod Ellingworth told Cyclingnews that they would be happy to see Evenepoel clash with Tom Pidcock but the organisers of the Belgian Renwi Tour WorldTour stage race (August 27-Sep 1) may try to secure Evenepoel's presence with a significant appearance fee.
If Evenepoel stays at Soudal-Quick Step in 2025, Lefevere has indicated he could target Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders before then again targeting the Tour de France.
"Now that he has made history in this way, he will have to look for other challenges. There are still two Grand Tours that he has not won yet. That will be the next challenge," Lefevere pointed out.
"Remco is a guy with an insatiable hunger. Once he's rested, I think he'll peak for the World Championships in Zurich. Normally, the Tour of Britain was on his program,e, but maybe it will be the Renewi Tour.
"Everyone talks about training but I've noticed that he always rides faster after a Grand Tour. That means he needs to race to be at his best."
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