"He could be brutal but that's what made him special. Cycling will be poorer without him" - Brian Holm pays tribute to Patrick Lefevere after Quick-Step departure

After more than 20 years at the helm, Tuesday's announcement that Soudal - Quick-Step's 'Wolfpack' would be losing their leader came as a bit of a surprise. But it is true, Patrick Lefevere is stepping down from his role at the team.

Although often controversial, Lefevere had an incredibly successful time as CEO over the years. Despite his sometimes gruff nature, the Belgian left an indelible mark on the sport according to one of his former colleagues, Brian Holm. "It's the end of an era," Holm, who was a sports director at Lefevere's team for a decade, says in conversation with Eurosport. "He's a man with a huge personality and a leader who always said things straight. He could be brutal, but that's also what made him so special."

Working so closely with Lefevere, Holm saw that brutal side of him often over the years. "Sometimes he would just write: 'Are you stupid?' or 'The worst shit I've seen in my life.' But that was his way of saying things," the 62-year-old Dane recalls. "He never wrapped anything up. He could give us a shitball, but he always stood behind us when it mattered. It was a bit like with your own children. He could be after us, but if someone from the outside attacked us, he was the first to defend us. He took up the fight against the press and was not afraid to speak his mind, no matter how unpopular it was."

"He was old school, but it worked," Holm continues. "He always said that the biggest secret of our team was that there was no secret. It was discipline and work that created the results. And even though he could be a difficult boss, there was always respect for him. Cycling will be poorer without him. He was a character who dared to say things straight, and that is becoming a rarity. His leadership style and his personality will be missed, and for me he is not just a former boss, but a friend."