Patrick Lefevere believes in the potential of Gianni Moscon transfer: "It is up to us to guide him well"
Cycling
Soudal - Quick-Step confirmed the signing of Gianni Moscon into the 2024 season. For some a controversial move due to the Italian's past, but for Patrick Lefevere it was a move that made sense, as he looks to give the Italian a chance to prove himself once again as a quality rider.
“After so many years I know who Gianni Moscon is. I also know where his pilot light is. It is up to us to guide him well. Moscon may have a short fuse. I hope he has learned his lesson," Lefevere said in words to Het Laatste Nieuws. "A rider can also have balls on his body. I don't think you should agree to everything. If someone hits you in the head and you don't hit back, well.”
Moscon's past in the peloton has given him one of the darkest reputations, however he remains a quality rider. A classics specialist with tremendous potential in the past, he most recently performed at the 2021 Paris-Roubaix where he finished fourth, after leading the race for significant time - only to have a crash spoil his chances of winning. He signed with the Astana Qazaqstan Team in 2022 and over the past two seasons has not shown the same legs, and was rarely in sight of the head of the race.
“I haven't checked it with a magnifying glass, but he hasn't had many results in the last two years. Then I say: the ball is in his court, it is up to him to prove that we were not wrong about him," Lefevere adds, eager to see if there is still the chance for a comeback throughout his one-year contract with the Belgian team. "I don't believe Moscon's potential has gone away. And if we don't succeed, it's bad luck for him."
With the rise of other teams, Soudal - Quick-Step has struggled to keep up in recent years in the cobbles. With the departure of the the likes of Andrea Bagioli, Mauro Schmid, Florian Sénéchal and Davide Ballerini, the team's ranks become even more depleted to fight in these races. This could provide the Italian with more freedom to chase his own results, if he finds the form.
Lefevere was also asked if Moscon could end up providing support for Remco Evenepoel but “it is still far too early for that," the team manager responds. "In the long run we will have too many riders to ride with Evenepoel. They always say we are weak, but we have Landa, Cattaneo, Knox stays, and then some young riders. I'm not afraid of going to the Tour and saying that our team is not good enough. I think that's bullshit.”
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- Hopefully it was just a particularly bad year!Lozza05-11-2026
- He has the Twin combo of being vulnerable to germs and prone to crashes on top of not heeding the complaints from his body. Thats just crash and burn career.abstractengineer05-11-2026
- You can't complete a journey without taking next step. He has to do that or start looking for another job. I hope he can get his act together. It's a make or break next season for him. I wish him well.Cyclingsbestfan05-11-2026
- does anyone really think he is taking a next step?mij05-11-2026
- in the team’s defense, Bernal is 29. when he won his first TdF people were talking about him winning a record # of GTs. Where would they be if that crash had never happened. I’m not saying he would compete with Tadej, but he did podium Strade Bianche, and certainly could have won a GT that Tadej wasn’t in.mij05-11-2026
- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
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Happy to announce that Soudal Quick-Step and Gianni Moscon have reached an agreement for next season 😃 Welcome, “Il Trattore” 🚜
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