After so much controversy, firstly about Remco Evenepoel’s move to INEOS, and then the failure to secure a 2nd overall victory in the Vuelta a España, Patrick Lefevere, the head of Remco and Soudal-Quickstep, responded strongly to criticism from various parts of the world.
“The storm of the past few months has been massive, but the media blew it up to unprecedented proportions. Remco says it didn’t affect him, but somewhere it must have drained his energy. In any case, the timing, just before the World Championship, was highly unfortunate.”
“I had a good conversation last week at the Vuelta with Remco and his father. The details remain between us, but a lot has been clarified. We’re looking forward again and leaving all the commotion and, especially, the lack of communication behind. The INEOS team is a closed chapter that, in reality, never existed.”
Criticism from Johan Bruyneel
Furthermore, the Soudal Quick-Step manager responded to Johan Bruyneel’s criticisms, who disagreed with Evenepoel’s race tactics. “Last week, it might have been too much for Remco to attack two days in a row, but Johan is drawing excessive conclusions from that.”
“Is Remco the boss of a team where the leaders are too inexperienced to respond? Then I wonder: how much experience did Johan have when Lance Armstrong won his first Tour? None. Was Johan the boss of the US Postal team, or was it Lance?”
“Remco is a leader, but he’s smart enough to listen to the right people,” concluded Lefevere.