After 55 years in cycling
Team boss of Olympic champion quits
Updated 12/11/2024 – 5:27 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Cycling is now over for him. The successful but not undisputed team boss Patrick Lefevere is quitting. A German professional also cheered for him.
After 55 years, Patrick Lefevere, one of the most successful and influential team bosses in the industry, is saying goodbye to cycling. The 69-year-old will vacate his position at the Soudal Quick-Step racing team at the end of the year and hand over responsibility to his previous operations manager, Jurgen Foré. “It’s time to vacate my place. It’s not a forced departure. But physically I’m not the same person I was 20 years ago,” Lefevere said at a press conference.
Lefevere has built Soudal Quick-Step into one of the most successful teams in cycling. With almost 1,000 victories, the racing team is one of the world’s best. The classics were often the team’s flagship event, with victories by greats like Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonen. Sprinters such as Mark Cavendish and the German Marcel Kittel as well as time trial world champion Tony Martin also celebrated significant successes under his leadership. Most recently, double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel and two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe shone in the team’s jersey.
The story of Lefevere and Quick-Step began with the founding of the racing team together with business partners. As a manager, the Flemish was always known for his authoritarian leadership style and his clear words. These characteristics did not make him uncontroversial.
At the beginning of the year he caused a stir with his sharp criticism of Julian Alaphilippe, whom he accused of “partying too much, drinking too much” and insinuating that he was strongly influenced by his partner Marion Rousse. Lefevere also came into conflict with Evenepoel’s father when it came to a possible team change.
Lefevere, himself a professional between 1976 and 1979, was one of the few influential players in cycling who survived the doping era almost unscathed. When a newspaper made serious allegations against him, Lefevere went to court and won. Although he admitted to taking amphetamines to improve performance during his playing days, he denied all other allegations.