"Where does fair play begin and end?" - Patrick Lefevere responds to Giro d'Italia helicopter controversy

The Giro d'Italia recently had an unexpected controversy. After the isolated summit finish at Gran Sasso d'Italia on stage 7 a few teams travelled closer to their hotel by helicopter, which prompted criticism from the UCI itself. Patrick Lefevere, head of Soudal - Quick-Step which was one of the teams, has now responded.

“We had a meeting about the Giro after Milano-Sanremo. Then that was put on the table and we said: we are going to do that. Of course you can discuss it, but you still save two hours," Lefevere told Eurosport. Taking into consideration marginal gains, the team opted for a small financial expenditure so as to cut the 2:30 hour-long transfer to the hotel after a long mountainous day on the bike.

For Quick-Step, a worthy spending, thinking in the long-term and the overall classification for Remco Evenepoel. Over social media, but most prominently the UCI, criticism emerged over the fair play of the situation and the obvious carbon footprint of such a travel. Lefevere however argues that there is a reason why it's a grey zone.

“Where does fair play begin and end? All teams have cooks with them, a kitchen truck. Bicycles may not weigh less than 6.8 kilos, otherwise it is no longer fair play. There are teams that have twenty million more budget than us, is that fair play? You can continue that discussion until tomorrow morning," he continues. The team is also a known user of ketones, an equally controversial subject.

“In the end, it is six hundred euros, but on the budget of the entire Giro, that does not make a difference," he tells, revealing also that the team has another such transfer planned in an unspecified day. However he is unsure if the team will be able to fulfill it's scheduled plan.

"But I don't know if that will be allowed. The UCI has said that it will take the necessary measures and sanctions to ensure that such an event does not occur again in the future," he concluded.