Soudal-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere tried to place the fracas round his criticism of his rider Julian Alaphilippe to mattress on the pre-Opening Weekend press convention with a non-apology, however the polemics have continued, with Geraint Thomas weighing in throughout his podcast this week.
Lefevere made cringe-worthy accusations that the Frenchman’s lack of efficiency was as a result of he partied an excessive amount of. He additionally tried to pin the blame on Alaphilippe’s companion Marion Rousse, who was not amused and laid into Lefevere in a social media submit.
With Alaphilippe out of contract on the finish of 2024, TotalEnergies supervisor Jean-René Bernaudeau mentioned that the rider, who had an inspirational run within the Tour de France yellow jersey in 2019, was welcome on his crew.
Thomas interviewed Alaphilippe earlier than the brouhaha for the Geraint Thomas Biking Membership podcast however prefaced the chat with commentary in regards to the Frenchman’s run-in together with his boss.
“It was bonkers,” Thomas mentioned. “To be truthful, I’ve bought lots of respect for Patrick [Lefevere] and what he is executed through the years with QuickStep – an unbelievable crew: the outcomes they have, the outcomes they’ve had, how they experience. It is unimaginable the crew and the success they’ve had, so I’ve a lot respect for him.”
Lefevere has a historical past of creating controversial statements from his evaluation of ladies’s biking to his invoking home violence in describing his former rider Sam Bennett’s return to Bora-Hansgrohe. Thomas mentioned the “outbursts” have been “bizarre”.
“For a crew boss with a lot historical past and respect from individuals … simply type of shedding the plot in public – it is psychological. With Sam Bennett he had this factor and now Alaphilippe.
“As a rider, I really feel sorry for my fellow riders. I do know Sam properly, much less properly than Julian, however it’s simply loopy, the scenario, it should not be executed in public. No matter his ideas like that, simply take care of it behind closed doorways.”
Thomas mentioned that whereas some public criticism can be utilized to encourage athletes, however joked the feedback about Alaphilippe could have been pointing the finger within the flawed route, saying, “I assumed he was drunk. Possibly he was, I do not know.”
