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"Where does the lack of performance come from?" - Patrick Lefevere unhappy with disastrous spring from Soudal - Quick-Step
CyclingSaturday, 13 April 2024 at 11:00
Soudal - Quick-Step have been almost absent from the cobbled classics for another year, but this time around netting even less results. The Belgian team's classics block is in huge trouble at the moment and after Paris-Roubaix, Patrick Lefevere asked questions on why this is happening.
"Last Tuesday I called a meeting. For those who want to call it that: a crisis meeting. It is no secret that we were not involved in Paris-Roubaix either. The central question of our meeting was therefore obvious. Where does the lack of performance come from?" Lefevere said in his weekly Het Nieuwsblad column. "There are then quite a few different options on the table. Does it depend on the material? Certainly not on our Specialized bike, because I think it is still the best of the peloton. We discussed tubeless tires for some time, but I think Jordi Meeus rode to the top 10 with exactly the same type from the same manufacturer.”
The answer is never simple but is a mix of the likes of Kasper Asgreen and Julian Alaphilppe not being on their best form (the Frenchman even racing despite a fracture in the leg), and not having breakout performances from some of their other riders. Average is the best way to put the Belgian team's campaign in the cobbles, a team which until recent years almost dominated all of them. Lefevere sees the decay of the team's ability to contest for wins in their past favourite terrain and wonders what can be changed.
“Should spring riders go on an altitude training camp, as Yves Lampaert, Julian Alaphilippe and Casper Pedersen, among others, did in February? The riders who score in the spring behind Mathieu van der Poel are the ones who ride small spring races in February, such as the Etoile de Bessèges and the Coupe de France races (he seems to refer to Mads Pedersen only, ed.). We don't ride there because there are too many riders on training to make selections.”
The team has had Tim Merlier ride brilliantly over the opening months of the season. A few results with Remco Evenepoel and Mikel Landa save the season until now whilst the likes of Paul Magnier and Luke Lamperti promise to keep the team high over the coming years. “We should not dramatize the situation. At the moment we have still won thirteen races. Only UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike do better. My sponsors use a helicopter view and mainly aim abroad anyway," he says. "Remco in Portugal and Landa in Spain certainly make them happy. It is the Flemish fans and media who have a fixation on classics.”
However Evenepoel is now also injured and misses the Ardennes classics, another blow to the team's spring. It thins down the team's cards to play throughout the upcoming week as well. “As De Brabantse Pijl made clear: the team's effectiveness is also limited in the Ardennes. We will line up Ilan Van Wilder in the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. A bit against his will, because he is in a training block towards the Tour de Romandie," Lefevere reveals. "I completely understand his position, but training alone is a privilege we cannot afford at this time.”
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