LEFEVERE. "I STARTED A NEW LIFE AND I'M PROUD OF WHAT I'VE DONE"
INTERVIEW | 02/01/2025 | 08:10 di Francesca Monzone Patrick Lefevere will turn 70 in a few days and entered 2025 by posting a photo on social media with a New Year's wish for everyone and the phrase: "This is the first day of my new life". The Belgian manager spent New Year's Eve in South Africa with his two children, their respective partners, and his wife. "For the first time in our lives, we will all go on vacation together" - Lefevere told the Belgian press - "I am a normal man, I have nothing to say now". For Lefevere, it seems that the time has come for affection, family, and taking care of himself, and cycling, which has always been first in his life, might no longer be the focus of his world. " I was never the head of the family. My wife raised my youngest son almost alone. At home, I park under the covered parking spot, enter through the laundry, put on my slippers, and start getting used to my new life. Now I'll have to help out a bit more at home. I have two left hands, that's for sure, but I'll try to do my best". Lefevere has retired without regrets, neither for what he has done nor for the choice he made. "I have been officially retired for five years, but I have always continued to work. I founded the team in 2003 and made sure it could continue over time. You can never be sure what might happen in the future, but the future is secured until 2027. With Jurgen Foré, there is also a good successor who has taken my place since January 1st. So now I can stop". Lefevere, in his words to the Belgian press, is calm and sincere, and regarding his choice, he wanted to emphasize that no one forced him to take this new path. "In any case, no one stabbed me in the back. I had discussions with Zdenek Bakala, the team owner. I owned 20% of the team's shares, which also had financial implications. When you're short on money, you have to add more, and a cycling team is always short on money. Now he will buy my shares, but I want to say that I am a happy man. I received a very warm reaction from the cyclists when I announced my decision during the training camp in Calpe. They all told me I should continue, but I won't do it the way they asked. I won't continue walking around like a pathetic person, and I don't intend to remain like some kind of godfather. Succeeding me is not a gift, and I'm happy to take a step back". Patrick Lefevere, in his long interview, explained the reasons for his retirement after 45 years dedicated to cycling and the choice to stop, after achieving important successes with Remco Evenepoel in 2024. "I have always tried not to build a team around a single rider, but you can't deny the fact that he is currently the team's beacon, and we are trying to put him in the best possible conditions. I don't think we should feel inferior to anyone. I say this with all modesty, I'm not presumptuous. The Dutch are better salesmen and present things in a better light, but we, from West Flanders, are taking action. Who has given work to so many people? Who has brought so many millions to cycling? I am not God. Otherwise, the world would be much more beautiful". Lefevere is changing his life, but cycling will continue anyway, and Soudal-Quick Step will somehow always remain linked to the Flemish manager, who in his career has always been considered a straightforward person, never afraid of his decisions or their consequences. "Later, I might have a small backlash from my choice, I'm already considering it. I'm a down-to-earth man, so I'm not afraid of the future. I know that a man's life lasts an average of 78 years. If I measure it, I have eight years left. I first survived pancreatic cancer. Then I was one of the first COVID patients to become seriously ill. I realize that I can't live through all this five more times without dying. Maybe not even three times. I'm no different from a businessman who starts a factory and then leaves it. But I'm proud. When I'm driving and see that half of the people in the group have worked with me or have been to my home, for me, this remains the most beautiful thing of all".]
Sento questi racconti da sempre.
Come i ciclisti a fine carriera quando dicono che vorranno passare più tempo a casa e con i figli.Poi in un batter d'occhio te li ritrovi in ammiraglia,agli eventi e come uomini immagine.E guarda caso ancora più in giro di prima...
Ognuno
2 gennaio 2025 16:25ghisallo34
Alla fine della recita, ognuno ha detto la sua parte. Mi sembra un racconto molto di parte, ma piu' sincero di sedicenti manager che hanno fatto 1/10 dei suoi risultati, che pero' hanno il favore della stampa.
Per poter commentare i post devi esser registrato.
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.
Parla olandese la Liegi-Bastogne-Liegi Under 23: ad imporsi è stato infatti Daan Dijkman della UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z. Sulle salite delle ASrdenne si è formato un gruppetto forte di una trentina di unità che Dijkman ha regolato in volata precedendo Ward e...
La Volta Castelló, prova di Coppa delle Nazioni per juniores, si chiude con un prestigioso secondo posto nella classifica generale per l’azzurro Patrik Pezzo Rosola. Il giovane veronese, figlio d’arte, ha completato la sua trasferta spagnola con un’altra prova di...
La bella stagione della Decathlon CMA CGM continua grazie a Matthew Riccitello: il giovane statunitense si è imposto oggi nel Tour du Jura Cycliste. In una gara decisamente selettiva, Riccitello ha staccato i compagni d’avventura sulle dure pendenze della salita...
Dal 20 al 25 luglio il mondo tornerà in pista al Velodromo “Attilio Pavesi”, con la 29a edizione dei Gran Premi Internazionali di Fiorenzuola - 6 Giorni delle Rose bianche (i fiori raffigurati nello stemma della Città di Fiorenzuola d’Arda,...
Fine settimana intenso per la Salus Seregno De Rosa, impegnata su più fronti in Lombardia e nel Nord Italia. Già stamane la società brianzola è protagonista a Gussola, nel Cremonese, dove si disputano le cronometro valide anche per l’assegnazione del...
Si è risolta in favore di Guillermo Silva la battaglia andata in scena tra i big della generale sull’ascesa conclusiva della quarta frazione del Tour of Hainan. Sulle rampe della salita che portava al traguardo di Baoting, come da...
Il Tour of the Alps (20-24 aprile 2026) segnerà il ritorno alle competizioni di Tom Pidcock, che si schiererà con il team Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling dopo il recente infortunio. Pidcock è rimasto fermo da una caduta avvenuta durante la...
Doppietta per i colori del Team Ecotek Zero24 a Vigonza, nel Padovano, dove nel pomeriggio gli juniores si sono sfidati nel Gran Premio Vigonza-Strade de Giara. Ha vinto Enrico Andrea Balliana, 18 anni di Arborea alla prima affermazione stagionale. Balliana...
Pur non avendone i gradi, l’Amstel non ha nulla da invidiare alle corse monumento: una buona tradizione, un albo d’oro ricco, un percorso che per distanza (257 i chilometri) e difficoltà (33 cotes, il vento e le strette strade olandesi)...
È un’edizione speciale del Tour of the Alps quella in partenza lunedì 20 aprile. La storica corsa organizzata dal GS Alto Garda festeggia infatti quest’anno i 10 anni dalla “svolta” euroregionale, ovvero da quando Alto Adige e Tirolo austriaco si...
2
2
Ritratti
Oscar
Albi d'Oro
