Soudal - Quick-Step have had a very strong 2022 season, however much due to the breakthrough of Remco Evenepoel. In the classics the team has struggled, but Patrick Lefevere is keen that the team will be able to perform on all types of race in 2023.
“I like to win everything. But of course I don't hide that winning in a grand tour, that almost became desperate for Belgium," Lefevere shared in an interview with Wielerflits. "That was already 44 years ago. A lot of guys in our team had never experienced that. We are going to try to continue on that drive.”
Evenepoel won the Vuelta a Espana, but outside of that the 22-year old also raced to success at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Clasica San Sebastian and finally the World Championships. He's racing the Giro d'Italia this May and is set to start as a big favourite, alongside the likes of Primoz Roglic and João Almeida.
“He has received a lot of criticism. Not everyone can handle that well, the Dutch may be even better than the Belgians. It is true that the younger generation is bolder and says what they think and want to do. But if you say something, you have to be able to deliver it," Lefevere continued, and Evenepoel did deliver.
The team only signed three riders this winter, and out of those only Jan Hirt will step on a crucial supporting role for the Belgian. However, Jan Hirt will be a key domestique in the mountains, having finished sixth in the Corsa Rosa this year. The duo will already be racing together at the Vuelta a San Juan in a few weeks.
“That will also happen in the coming races, when the first managers show up. They think we need riders and with Evenepoel in the team, they dare to raise the prices a bit. For me those riders will cost more than for others. But I shouldn't let that influence me," Lefevere said.
In the classics however the team was largely absent. Illnesses saw a strong block become quite inefective, but in 2023 Lefevere hopes to see his riders at the front in the cobbles. “I count on that. Julian Alaphilippe is going back to ride the Northern classics, we still have Yves Lampaert, Kasper Asgreen and Florian Sénéchal."
If we can collectively maneuver that we get to the final, then we are not lost in advance," he explains. "There are also riders who have reached the end of their contract and therefore have to justify their salary, as they say.”
In the sprints Fabio Jakobsen proved successful, winning several races throughout the year including at the Tour de France and European Championships. Up until the Tour de France Mark Cavendish had also taken several wins, but has left the team and is replaced by Belgian national champion Tim Merlier.
As for Fabio Jakobsen's focus in the classics, Lefevere is not so positive. “I don't know. Last year we tried a few classics and that was disappointing. I think he should specialize in what he is good at: winning stages, Scheldeprijs and a race like Paris-Tours, when they go back to normal without gravel," he concluded.
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