"They broke in through a bedroom window" - Patrick Lefevere victim of home burglary over Christmas

The retired life of former Soudal - Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere has not got off to the best of starts. The 70-year-old Belgian recently revealed he was the victim of a home burglary.

Lefevere and his wife had planned to spend Christmas abroad, kicking off his retirement in style. Almost immediately though, things started to go wrong. "We had only just landed, on Christmas Eve, and we already got a strange phone call," Lefevere recalls to HLN. "A 050 number. Police. Breaking into our house. Wow, not pleasant. You're powerless. You don't know what's gone."

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In terms of what was gone, Lefevere is happy to reveal that the majority of his valuables are still intact. "Not that there are so many valuables. I have two beautiful, expensive watches, a Rolex and an Audemars Piguet, but luckily I had taken those to the bank," he explains. “I also had a little one that was close to my heart - a 'Cartiertje' that I bought in 2001 for 110,000 francs (2,750 euros, ed.) after I was discharged from the clinic after my pancreatic tumour. I, with my stupid head, had not taken that to the safe. They took that with them.”

“The alarm went off immediately, they were not inside for more than three minutes. They broke in through a bedroom window, they did not get downstairs," the former Soudal - Quick-Step leader continues. "But they completely turned the dressing room upside down. The good thing is that I cleaned up properly for once. (laughs) Three bags of clothes thrown away!"

Sadly, Lefevere hasn't been the only notable name in cycling to fall victim of such an instance of late. Earlier this week it was revealed that UAE Team Emirates sprinter Juan Sebastian Molano had also been a victim of a home robbery, with the legendary Mark Cavendish also previously detailing how he was attacked by a group of mask-wearing, knife-wielding thugs in his home.

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