At the end of 2023, rumors of a potential merger between Soudal QuickStep and the then-called Jumbo-Visma shook World Tour cycling. In the end it didn’t happen, much to the relief of Soudal QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere. Known for always expressing himself openly, Lefevere never hesitated to share his ideas on various topics.
On the De Rode Lantaarn podcast, the Belgian opened up about the proposed merger between two of the biggest cycling teams in the world. “Richard Plugge (Visma boss) always said: you are my master. Now the student has become the master after all,” reveals Lefevere.
New team that was going to win everything got in the way of plans
“Rich people came onto the scene and wanted to create a new team as a challenge: a team that would win everything in the next ten years. I found it very difficult to achieve this before 2024,” recalls Lefevere of the initial discussions.
“They saw no obstacles. I could have a role as a counselor.” Despite this, Lefevere never fully agreed with the idea. “I knew it would be a bloodbath. Cyclists come and go. But the staff is like the foundation of a team.”
“I am human and I am among people. I didn’t immediately think: this is going to be a failure, but I thought about the consequences for people,” he explains.
Lefevere intended to form a second team
One way Lefevere thought of to take care of ‘his people’ was to form a second team if the merger went through. “Both teams had 28 cyclists. The only option then, without being derogatory, was to maintain a b team,” he says.
“We canceled a first meeting with the team in October. There was a lot of tension”, concludes Lefevere. “In the end, it didn’t happen and we ended it fairly. The relief was very great, we had a good dinner and expressed this relief together.”
