Quick-Step star pays tribute to Patrick Lefevere: "He's done his best to build a team to support Remco Evenepoel as much as possible"
Cycling
With James Knox entering his eighth season with the Soudal - Quick-Step team in 2025, the loyal and reliable Brit has seen a lot change over recent seasons, with 'The Wolfpack' evolving from Spring Classics kings to more and more of a GC team supporting Remco Evenepoel. According to Knox though, as Evenepoel's star has grown, the Belgian himself has kept his feet firmly on the ground.
“Most of the credit has to go down to Patrick Lefevere for recruitment and looking at what he could get on the market. He's done his best to build a team to support Remco as much as possible. I think you have to acknowledge that, in comparison to the big GC team’s budgets, he's not employed super-domestiques on a similar budget allocation that teams like INEOS, Visma or UAE, but he's managed to put together as best he can over the last five or six years," Knox says of Soudal - Quick-Step's shift in focus over recent seasons, in conversation with Rouleur. “Ten years ago when he was trying to build the roster he was potentially looking for the best sprinters, lead-out guys, future Classics guys, but he’s managed to tweak his focus a little bit and build a stronger team with the budget he has. He’s good at spotting things – if he had another 10 million that would be fantastic but he’s done well within the realms of what’s possible.”
As for Evenepoel himself, Knox has gotten to know the Belgian star well over their years riding together. “He's bullish. I think that's the right way to describe him. He's confident and he’s up for it whatever day it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wet, cold Wednesday in Stoke he’s going to go for it,” Knox assesses of his team leader. “As a teammate, that inspires us because it doesn’t always pay off, does it? But that’s been the Quick-Step way to race, to get involved, take the bull by the horns and Remco feeds off that. It motivates us with his charisma, we know if we put it on the line for him he’s going to give it everything he’s got to try and win.”
Being one of the biggest stars in the entirety of Belgian sport, let alone cycling, Evenepoel's performances are also consistently under a hell of a lot of scrutiny, something Knox has noticed. “Remco is under the limelight, especially in Belgium and has been one of the biggest stars in the world in a way which I can’t really comprehend. The media there can build you up and break you down pretty fast,” Knox explains. “When things go wrong, they are really highlighted and talked about for months on end. When it went wrong in the Vuelta that year he was upset and disappointed and felt like he’d let us down, but the very next day he picked himself up, dusted himself off and won a stage. What a leader, what a champion.”
When it comes to his own goals, Knox is more reserved. “Every rider dreams of being the Remco’s and the Mikel Landa’s, but reality sets in above ambition and you have to realise that you don’t have what they have. I’ve been capable in the past on my very best days to perform with the best riders but it's sporadic, not every weekend like Remco can,” the 29-year-old, who is in his contract year, concludes. “I love being a part of this team, I love being a professional cyclist. I’m always more than happy and willing to set aside my own ambition to maintain a place in the team.”
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