"I think he thought Remco was going" - Patrick Lefevere slams door shut on Evenepoel rumours, blaming transfer speculation for Gianni Moscon's departure

Despite repeated assurances from Patrick Lefevere and Soudal - Quick-Step, the lingering the speculation that Remco Evenepoel could depart refuses to completely die down. Whilst it now looks certain the Belgian will stay for at least 2025, the continued rumour swirling may have cost him a capable domestique according to team boss Lefevere.

Speaking in conversation with Daniel Benson for the respected journalist's Substack, Lefevere explained the situation surrounding Moscon's somewhat surprising Soudal - Quick-Step departure after just one season and once again looked to quash any further transfer speculation surrounding his team's leader, the double Olympic gold medallist Remco Evenepoel.

“No Moscon anymore," Lefevere confirms, explaining how the perceived uncertainty surrounding Evenepoel's future proved costly when it came to re-signing the Italian. "The Tour was okay for him but he didn’t want to sign and then with all these rumours around Remco he wanted to wait and in the end, there was no place for him. I think he thought Remco was going. That’s Moscon’s decision, he’s not a baby. Sometimes things happen."

As far as those rumours go though, Lefevere, as mentioned, once again looked to put out the fire of transfer speculation. “I told you already that we didn’t start the rumours. It was you guys in the press. We could only say it was not true but no one believed us but in the end, you saw what happened,” he tells Benson. “I’m too old to be worried. I’ve had so many stories in my life and there were no contracts in my office. You need three parties to agree: the teams and the rider and that wasn’t the case.”

Nevertheless, Lefevere can look back at a successful campaign for Soudal - Quick-Step. “We are quite happy with the season. We had two people with outstanding years, with Tim taking 16 wins and then Remco at the Tour and the Olympics. Some teams can complain more than others about their seasons. Next year we want everyone on the team to be healthy and then someone like Max Schachmann is coming to the team. He’s not had a brilliant period but I think that after a good winter and a good recovery, he can return to the level he had when he was with us last time. We’re expecting a lot from riders like Paul Magnier and Luke Lamperti,” Lefevere concludes.