Soudal-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere has confirmed that star rider Remco Evenepoel may certainly be taking over a brand new set of Classics subsequent spring, whereas additionally giving an replace on the group’s contract and switch scenario for 2025.
Final week, Lefevere confirmed in an interview with La Dernière Heure that Evenepoel may effectively race Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders subsequent spring, whereas nonetheless holding the Tour de France in his sights in July.
Talking to José De Cauwer for Het Nieuwsblad, the veteran group boss confirmed that his group chief received in contact on the day of Paris-Roubaix to place ahead the tentative plans for subsequent spring.
“I will inform you the entire story. As everybody is aware of, this yr I used to be sick on the day of Paris-Roubaix,” Lefevere mentioned. “Issues with my abdomen. After a complete weekend of low-fat yoghurt, I went to get a lasagna on the Italian restaurant in our neighbourhood on Sunday.
“Anyway, in entrance of my TV, in entrance of my lasagna, I begin to textual content with Remco. He sends me a message – ‘Patrick, as for the previous few weeks… Subsequent yr shall be totally different. I will become involved’.
“I feel Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders are possible in his programme,” Lefevere concluded. “After that, you may possibly add Liège-Bastogne-Liège as effectively. The Tour de France continues to be distant by then.”
The plan would symbolize a significant change for the Belgian squad’s spring planning after a number of seasons blighted by a relative lack of success on the cobbled Classics.
The most recent race content material, interviews, options, opinions and skilled shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
As soon as the group which set the tone in March and April, QuickStep have solely gained Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne previously three seasons, with Evenepoel swooping in at Liège in each 2022 and 2023 to ‘save’ their spring.
This yr, Tim Merlier’s second place on the Traditional Brugge-De Panne was their greatest return as they closed out the cobbled marketing campaign with 18th and thirty sixth locations at Flanders and Roubaix. In current seasons, the group has turned their focus away from the Classics and extra in direction of supporting Evenepoel’s GC ambitions, although Lefevere continues to be aiming to strengthen his Classics squad.
“Oier Lazkano I feel is a rider who would match very effectively with us and we actually went after him,” Lefevere mentioned when requested about potential strikes for the Basque racer and Laurence Pithie, two standout riders of the spring.
“[QuickStep masseuse and scout] Johan Molly has a superb casual contact with quite a lot of French and Spanish riders and thru him we knew Lazkano was additionally keen to affix.
“However his supervisor is Giuseppe Acquadro and he began enjoying the sport. He guess on 5 totally different horses and drove up the value, which, after all, is his proper. Lazkano is gone, I feel. We’ve not heard something extra about it.”
Regardless of being unlikely to convey aboard Lazkano or the seemingly Bora-Hansgrohe-bound Pithie, Lefevere will nonetheless have gaps to fill for 2025, even when there are fewer riders on the group out of contract on the finish of this season.
“We solely have seven riders who’ve reached the top of their contracts. Final yr there have been 18. The group will certainly not look very totally different subsequent yr. The intention can be to increase various the riders who are actually on the finish of their contracts,” he mentioned earlier than giving an replace on the Julian Alaphilippe contract scenario.
“Regardless of all of the video games that are actually being performed with TotalEnergies and Cofidis, his supervisor Dries Smets has let it’s identified that Julian nonetheless desires to come back again with us once more.
“I have never mentioned ‘no’, however the timing has been fallacious within the media. I learn all over the place, ‘Lefevere desires to sit down collectively for the Giro.’ Whereas I mentioned, ‘on the earliest after the Giro’.”
