"I won't talk to anyone about the contract before Paris-Roubaix" - Patrick Lefevere updates his transfers policy after mediocre showings of Wolfpack in the classics

After complete wipeout at E3 Saxo Classic, the Gent Wevelgem went slightly better for the Soudal - Quick-Step men with Tim Merlier concluding the race in eighth place. Naturally that's still far a bit too far off what the team manager Patrick Lefevere would have liked to see from the once feared Wolfpack on their home turf.

"Let’s be honest: the way we rode as a team is terribly ordinary," he writes in his column in Het Nieuwsblad. "I saw us at the head of the peloton 90 km from the finish and after that: nothing."

"I don't blame anyone for not being able to follow Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert, who are out of category, but even in the group behind them, we are not competitive," continues Lefevere. "Lidl-Trek has clearly taken a step forward and is in the top 10 with three riders. UAE Team Emirates has two men, but none is called Tadej Pogacar. We have no one."

"For sure I will also look in the mirror. I made mistakes in my buying and selling policy. I read everywhere that we are reducing the spring team in favor of the Grand Tours and this is undoubtedly true. But with riders like Julian Alaphilippe, Yves Lampaert and Kasper Asgreen, a significant part of the budget still goes to the leaders for Flemish races. A lesson for me: no longer sign contracts in the euphoria, which perhaps happened too much with the aforementioned riders. Whatever happens, I won't talk to anyone about the contract before Paris-Roubaix."