"I knew it would be a bloodbath" - Patrick Lefevere on Visma-Quick-Step rumours; Giro-Tour plans for Remco Evenepoel
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel is fully focusing on the Tour de France this year as Grand Tour plans. Initially, the route did not please him and he considered racing the Giro d'Italia, but Patrick Lefevere reveals that the team convinced him away from that plan.
"He first wanted to do the Giro and the Tour. That was also a bit about taking away the pressure. If he had finished on the podium in Italy, the pressure for the Tour would be a bit gone. Fortunately, our trainer talked him out of it, I didn't get involved," Lefevere reveals in De Rode Lantaarn podcast.
Evenepoel would ultimately have to face off with Tadej Pogacar, and have a very difficult task to go on to win the race. The plan was always to debut at the Grand Boucle this season, but the climber-suited route is not the best for the time-trial World Champion. Evenepoel is ultimately still racing the French Grand Tour but with more modest ambitions - with experience gaining also a goal.
2023 was the year to win the Giro for Evenepoel, but it wasn't to be as Covid-19 took him out of the race. "We could have earned a lot of money. Last year, the organization also paid a large sum for Evenepoel to ride the Giro, but because Remco dropped out due to corona, we did not get everything paid out," the team manager added. "That is really the Italian way."
Evenepoel is currently at the Volta ao Algarve and enjoying a very successful start to the season. He is gearing up towards Paris-Nice and the Ardennes classics in the spring, and will then follow a traditional preparation towards the Tour.
Lefevere also commented on the past merger rumours from Soudal - Quick-Step and Team Visma | Lease a Bike which rocked the cycling world for some weeks. "...I knew it would be a bloodbath. Many would suffer from this, including riders. The only solution was to also keep a 'B team'."
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
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Remco is here 🤩 #VAlgarve2024
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