"When I look at Visma now, they didn't ride a great Tour" - Patrick Lefevere hits back after criticism of Soudal - Quick-Step support for Remco Evenepoel
CyclingTuesday, 23 July 2024 at 13:00
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."
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- so sad...
maria2024202410-05-2025 - ahahahha.. but I think Roglic will be very happy to give you back the pink jersey (less interviews, less ceremonies, more time to rest).maria2024202410-05-2025
- Bummed for Wout. I hope he bounces back big tomorrowmij10-05-2025
- His manner of speech is that of someone who's totally laid back, not the nervous kind.
KerisVroom10-05-2025 - wow, Isaac Del Torro can TT. I am betting that he can surpass Ayuso in the future.KerisVroom10-05-2025
- van Aert will be happy if he can stay with the front group in that last climb. Pedersen will win stage 3 :-)
DareDevil10-05-2025 - Not good for Landa. Whole season gone already.DareDevil10-05-2025
- This one is for Primoz!!DareDevil10-05-2025
- Now I know Mads Pederson is a very talented hairstylist. I should have gone for this sort of hairstyle just for fun.KerisVroom10-05-2025
- Its everyman for himself at UAE if no Pogi. This was the case since last 3 yearsabstractengineer10-05-2025
Visma not a good Tour? What? PL's own team took one stage win and 3 and 5 place. Visma, one stage win and 2nd and 8th place. But his team was all positive and Visma not good?
Honestly, given that they had to leave Sepp home, Wout was not up to his regular climbing prowess, nor was Wilco until the final week and Jonas had zero days of racing before the tour, I would say it was an unmitigated success for them. Unless you are comparing it to last years sweep of grand tours, in which case, yes, it was not good.
Unmitigated success and also not good - it's both for them, which is the curse of their dominance from last year, right? I mean, they were unreal, and this year they are very very real. This year's performance by Vingegaard really is impressive. I can only assume he wins a few more Grand Tours, but who knows what really happens when the effect of the recovery and exhaustion really hit him.