"I told Sven to go with both Jasper and Tim. And it worked" - Patrick Lefevere proud of Tim Merlier's European title

Besides double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, Patrick Lefevere's Soudal - Quick-Step now has also an European champion thanks to Tim Merlier. The Belgian sprinter was by far the strongest in the sprint on his home soil and comfortably added another big trophy into the palmares of his team manager.

Lefevere was especially proud of Merlier for all the setbacks he had to overcome in the run-in to this race. "Considering the course he has completed in recent weeks, this means a lot," he told HLN, further describing the string of crashes that made Merlier doubt his start. "His back was completely open when he crashed in the Renewi Tour. And in Hamburg he fell to the ground again. On Monday he told me that he was in pain everywhere. But that his legs were really good..."

It is also thanks to Lefevere who played an important role in that Merlier appeared at the start of the European Championships. "Whether I convinced him is too big a word. Two sprinters do not always ensure a successful operation. But I did think that he had just as many rights as Jasper (Philipsen, ed.). Sven Vanthourenhout came to me to ask. I said to go with Jasper and Tim. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And it went well. Also thanks to the Italians. They did a lot of work."