Soudal - Quick-Step have been torn up completely by the cobbled classics, where they thrived for years on end in the past. Patrick Lefevere brings up the possibility that Remco Evenepoel will be used in the spring classics next season and could even make his debut at the Tour of Flanders.
“Our Flemish classics were a big disappointment. I can't be happy, that's for sure. I don't make excuses. Perhaps our potential no longer meets expectations," Lefevere said in words to l'Avenir. The team has completely sunk in the one-day races, being rather absent from the Ardennes except for some good rides from Mauri Vansevenant... Remco Evenepoel being injured, Julian Alaphilippe racing with a fracture in the leg, whilst the likes of Kasper Asgreen and Yves Lampaert did not reach their best form saw the Belgian team far away from any fight for victories over the cobbled classics or Milano-Sanremo.
Lefevere is well aware the team has changed, and moved on to a new star in Remco Evenepoel. However the team may kill two birds with one stone as they say, as Quick-Step's manager is already thinking of the possibility of having Evenepoel himself as a leader for the spring classics next year. “At the end of this year, we will look together with Remco to see whether there is a possibility to put him at the start of Milano-Sanremo and continue through a very selective program to the Tour of Flanders," he reveals.
This is not just a floating idea, as Lefevere seems to already be putting quite some thought into the small details inbetween races. "After the Tour he must get some rest so that he can also ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But I think there is a bit of Flandrien in Remco," Lefevere adds. "He sometimes trains on these roads and would love to ride the Tour one day.”
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