Patrick Lefevere provided some information about outgoing transfers at Soudal Quick-Step in his weekly column in Het Nieuwsblad. The team manager discusses, among other things, the most difficult farewell of Tim Declercq, but also a strange situation with Mauro Schmid.
“Our team’s fans may have already noticed: there are many cyclists leaving our team this year. Currently, there are nine confirmed departures,” says Lefevere, admitting the exact number of departures from the team for the first time.
Sad farewell to Tim Declercq
“Yes, it’s with a heavy heart. I would love to keep him, he would love to stay, but there’s a financial reality. Tim is in a certain salary range. He wanted to reduce the price a bit, but not enough for us. We couldn’t reach an agreement, and he received a good offer from Lidl-Trek, a team that clearly has a lot of money.”
Remi Cavagna at Movistar
“We also have cyclists who are ‘ready for a new challenge’ (Lefevere being clearly ironic). Rémi Cavagna is close to Movistar, where he could try for victories in Belgian classics. I have a few more questions about this. I don’t want to speak ill of Rémi, who has been a very valuable force, but cobbled classics with his riding skills? I don’t see that happening.”
“After the World Cup in Glasgow, Mauro Schmid disappeared from the radar. When coach Koen Pelgrim asked why his data wasn’t uploaded to our training program, he said his Garmin was broken. Later, it was discovered that he had been traveling to Las Vegas for six days already. At the end of the season, you spend fewer words saying goodbye.” Mauro Schmid has already announced that he will leave the team in 2024, and Jayco-AlUla will be the Swiss rider’s destination.
