Soudal-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere has confirmed that star rider Remco Evenepoel could indeed be taking on a new set of Classics next spring, while also giving an update on the team’s contract and transfer situation for 2025.
Last week, Lefevere confirmed in an interview with La Dernière Heure that Evenepoel might well race Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders next spring, while still keeping the Tour de France in his sights in July.
Speaking to José De Cauwer for Het Nieuwsblad, the veteran team boss confirmed that his team leader got in touch on the day of Paris-Roubaix to put forward the tentative plans for next spring.
“I’ll tell you the whole story. As everyone knows, this year I was sick on the day of Paris-Roubaix,” Lefevere said. “Problems with my stomach. After a whole weekend of low-fat yoghurt, I went to get a lasagna at the Italian restaurant in our neighbourhood on Sunday.
“Anyway, in front of my TV, in front of my lasagna, I start to text with Remco. He sends me a message – ‘Patrick, as for the past few weeks… Next year will be different. I’m going to get involved’.
“I think Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders are feasible in his programme,” Lefevere concluded. “After that, you can maybe add Liège-Bastogne-Liège as well. The Tour de France is still far away by then.”
The plan would represent a major change for the Belgian squad’s spring planning after several seasons blighted by a relative lack of success at the cobbled Classics.
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Once the team which set the tone in March and April, QuickStep have only won Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in the past three seasons, with Evenepoel swooping in at Liège in both 2022 and 2023 to ‘save’ their spring.
This year, Tim Merlier’s second place at the Classic Brugge-De Panne was their best return as they closed out the cobbled campaign with 18th and 36th places at Flanders and Roubaix. In recent seasons, the team has turned their focus away from the Classics and more towards supporting Evenepoel’s GC ambitions, though Lefevere is still aiming to strengthen his Classics squad.
“Oier Lazkano I think is a rider who would fit very well with us and we really went after him,” Lefevere said when asked about prospective moves for the Basque racer and Laurence Pithie, two standout riders of the spring.
“[QuickStep masseuse and scout] Johan Molly has a good informal contact with a lot of French and Spanish riders and through him we knew Lazkano was also eager to join.
“But his manager is Giuseppe Acquadro and he started playing the game. He bet on five different horses and drove up the price, which, of course, is his right. Lazkano is gone, I think. We haven’t heard anything more about it.”
Despite being unlikely to bring aboard Lazkano or the seemingly Bora-Hansgrohe-bound Pithie, Lefevere will still have gaps to fill for 2025, even if there are fewer riders at the team out of contract at the end of this season.
“We only have seven riders who have reached the end of their contracts. Last year there were 18. The team will indeed not look very different next year. The intention is also to extend a number of the riders who are now at the end of their contracts,” he said before giving an update on the Julian Alaphilippe contract situation.
“Despite all the games that are now being played with TotalEnergies and Cofidis, his manager Dries Smets has let it be known that Julian still wants to come back with us again.
“I haven’t said ‘no’, but the timing has been wrong in the media. I read everywhere, ‘Lefevere wants to sit together for the Giro.’ Whereas I said, ‘at the earliest after the Giro’.”
