Patrick Lefevere briefly touched on the subject of the supposed merger, which ultimately didn’t happen, during the awards ceremony for the best Belgian cyclists of 2023 at the “Crystal Bicycle Gala.” However, he didn’t provide details. “In fact, I doubted it would happen,” he said in front of the camera of the Belgian channel Sporza. “I’m a bit tired, but Renson is an important sponsor for us, and I’m honored to sit at the table with them and the Soudal Quick-Step staff, so I made an extra effort.”
Remco Evenepoel at Soudal Quick-Step in 2024.
“Remco made a clear statement on Saturday,” said Lefevere. “I haven’t seen him in person yet. He still needed to take care of his injuries. But he will be at the Chrono des Nations (Time Trial event in France on 15.10), so we will definitely see him again. It will be fine.”
“I was relieved when I heard that Evenepoel will stay with us. He also put an end to transfer rumors at the Vuelta, but apparently, people didn’t believe him. He also pleased many people on the team with his statement.”
Is there a breakdown in trust with Evenepoel? “You don’t know the internal aspects of the agreement, and I won’t explain it either,” Patrick Lefevere concluded.