"So ungrateful... after I pulled him out of the crap" - Lefevere lashes back after Mark Cavendish's critique
Cycling
Mark Cavendish wrote one of the cycling's nicest stories of the current decade. Towards the end of 2020, the legendary British sprinter lacked quality to compete and was in a dire state also mentally. But Patrick Lefevere was willing to gamble on the winner of then 30 Tour de France stages and offered him a shelter at Deceuninck - Quick-Step.
Re-launch towards history
The pay off was unimaginable; Cavendish went on to add further four Tour de France stages to his collection that summer and won the Green jersey. And in 2024, already in the jersey of Astana, he managed to break Eddy Merckx's all-time record to secure a 35th Tour de France stage win.
But none of that would've happened without Lefevere's intervention back when the career of Cavendish hit its lowest point - or so it appears from outsider perspective.
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Surprsingly enough, Cavendish takes quite a reserved stance towards the methods at Quick-Step in his biography - something that does not sit well with his former manager. "Certainly not because he lashed out at me in his book afterwards and said things that weren't true," Lefevere notes in his Het Nieuwsblad column.
Tough negotiator
He particularly misses recognition for the opportunity Cavendish was given at the time. "I found that ungrateful. After all, I had pulled him out of the shit," writes Lefevere.
Cavendish in particular is not very fond of Lefevere's often cold and calculative approach to negotiations; rarely willing to pay extra and often letting go of his stars as a consequence.
Lefevere argues that he has often deviated from the safe route in the past. When he signed Richard Virenque in 2001, it drew considerable criticism from the cycling world. Ultimately, this proved to be a successful move. A similar scenario occurred in 2021 with Mark Cavendish. According to the manager, the Briton had little commercial or sporting value at that time. However, the partnership resulted in four stage wins in the Tour de France and the green jersey that year.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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