For Patrick Lefevere, Soudal - Quick-Step and Remco Evenepoel, the 2024 Tour de France was a very joyful one. The team leader secured a podium on his debut at the French Grand Tour and super-domestique Mikel Landa very impressively took 5th overall himself.
"We are a year ahead of schedule," team boss Lefevere reflects in a post-Tour de France conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws. "I have always said that we should not aim for a podium place in the Tour before 2025. It is 2024, it is Evenepoel's first Tour and he comes third."
Ahead of the 2024 Tour de France however, there was much criticism of Soudal - Quick-Step's team built solely around supporting the time trial world champion, with many believing it was simply not up to scratch against the likes of Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates, Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Primoz Roglic's Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe support.
"There is very little that was not good. Always that nagging about our team, that it is too weak, everyone can now keep quiet about that. I know where we come from, I know the efforts we have made," Lefevere fires back at the doubters feistily. "Last year we were exactly a team of bunglers. Everywhere was better than ours. When I look at Visma now, they didn't ride a great Tour either. I hear the marketing talk, that they know exactly what they are doing and that they know how many watts Tadej and Remco are going to push in the third week. Well, I haven't seen the result of that either."
"If you look at this race and you see the progress he has made mentally, then I think there is still a lot of room for improvement. You also win a Grand Tour by staying calm. By resting a lot. He is very fanatical about that. Every minute of rest he could use, he has used," Lefevere continues, full of praise for Evenepoel. "It is to Mikel Landa's credit that he kept Remco calm. Remco does look up to him."
GC Podium & Maillot Blanc Winner!!! 🤯🤍🔥🇫🇷 There are no words to describe how proud I am to be on the podium of @LeTour and to be the Best Young Rider. 💭🫶🏼 I can't thank my teammates, family, the staff and fans enough for the support and for believing in me. We did this…
