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Soudal - Quick Step Thread

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It's about time for Lefevere to make an appointment with a psychiatrist!

Nothing more to say about his latest rant really.

Maybe he should rather ask himself why he ruined Evenepoel's season by giving him an absolutely idiotic racing schedule.

Or he should enlighten us how he manages to transform any mediocre sprinter (yes Cav at this point of his career) into a world beater.
 
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Is it any worse to say something bad about a person who has been dead for 10 years than about a currently alive person?

That depends on context. Saying something bad about a man who died riding for your team, who can’t answer back and who has nothing to do with the reasons for your tantrum or the object of your ire, would be particularly crass even for Lefevere.

I haven’t actually seen what he said about Weylandt though, just second hand social references, which is why I was asking about it.
 
If its true that Bennett made up the knee injury he should have face some kind of punishment but that doesn't justify the several ad-hominem attacks that Lefevere has been making in the public, this time entering into the sexist territory.

The only suggestion that Bennett made up his injury was in a previous Lefevere column in which Lefevere himself said he had no evidence to support it. Lefevere simultaneously suggested that Bennett had prolonged his injury by following advice from another doctor rather than the team one. That latter suggestion is logically incompatible with the first one, but there is at least some chance that Lefevere has a basis for believing it beyond his own thwarted fury.
 
Alaphilippe had Honoré up the road who had a pretty good chance of winning.
Alaphilippe probably doesn't know about it and even if he knew what PL writes in his columns, I doubt he'd give it even three seconds of his attention.

Besides, nobody is talking about his column in Belgium. Literally nobody. Seems to be huge on this website and reddit tho.
 
Alaphilippe had Honoré up the road who had a pretty good chance of winning.
Alaphilippe probably doesn't know about it and even if he knew what PL writes in his columns, I doubt he'd give it even three seconds of his attention.

Besides, nobody is talking about his column in Belgium. Literally nobody. Seems to be huge on this website and reddit tho.

Quite a few Belgians on the Twitter feeds of anglophone cycling journalists claiming that Lefevere is being taken out of context and other such drivel. then again the real hardcore Quickstep fans who would defend Lefevere if he ripped out a child’s liver and ate it probably aren’t representative of general public opinion or general levels of interest.
 
He also had a few words about Tratnik:

He said Jan Tratnik, who put in an epic ride at the Olympics, was at times sharp when he rode for him and then just weeks later he was “five kilograms too thick (heavy)”.
“He was looking for an outlet, and that was food. On the verge of bulimia, but what should you say to such a 21-year-old boy?” said Lefevere of Tratnik.
 
I will admit that I didn't read the actual article, or a translated version, but just from the headline it seems like Lefevere wasn't so much disrespectful towards Bennett, but towards victims of domestic abuse.
Pretty sure Bennett was never abused at BORA, he essentially just didn't get the work-tasks (riding the Tour) he would have liked.
 
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I will admit that I didn't read the actual article, or a translated version, but just from the headline it seems like Lefevere wasn't so much disrespectful towards Bennett, but towards victims of domestic abuse.
Pretty sure Bennett was never abused at BORA, he essentially just didn't get the work-tasks (riding the Tour) he would have liked.

Here's a bit more:

“And last but not least there is Sam Bennett. For me he’s the pinnacle of mental weakness,” Lefevere remarked. “Leaving Bora and moaning to everybody about how he was ‘bullied’ and almost broke and depressed. Only to return fourteen months later. It’s the same as women who still return home after domestic abuse."
 
I believe this is the translated version, so usual disclaimers

"It's human to break under the great pressure. Also in cycling"
The patron of the peloton gives his sharp take on cycling each week.

"For six of our seven Olympians, the adventure in Tokyo is already over. Without any medals of honour. Our biggest medal hopes have yet to start. Michael Morkov rides the team pursuit Madison on the track, a discipline in which he became world champion last year. Afterwards he gave me a rainbow jersey with the inscription: Thank you Patrick, to make my dream come true. It's in my desk. I don't much love cycling at the Games, but give my riders the chance for personal prestige. We also have a mechanic in Japan. It's fine with me, but they shouldn't come and say they are tired in the next two months - like footballers dared to say that to their employers after the European Championships."

"The most talked about moment of the Games so far is Simone Biles' dip. I don't know her background sufficiently, but it's human to break under great pressure. Also in cycling. We know the story of Johan Museeuw. The week before he became world champion in Lugano, Johan sat in my car for three hours crying on the way home from Tours. Without saying a word, except that he would stop racing. Johan was one of the strongest personalities I have worked with, but everyone has their breaking point. Although I have my doubts about one rider. I don't know what has to happen to unbalance Rigoberto Uran. An atomic bomb may fall next to him, he will still keep smiling. A man without worries."

"There have been others. Patrick Sinkewitz was a fool and Marcel Kittel tended to get into mental dips quickly, that's why he doesn't race anymore. Those who watched the road race should remember three names: Carapaz, Van Aert and Jan Tratnik, who rode 150 kilometers at the head of the peloton. Ten years ago Tratnik rode with me. A difficult case. One month he was super sharp, the next time five kilograms too fat. He was looking for an outlet, and that was eating. On the verge of bulimia, but what do you say to a 21-year-old boy like that?"

"With first Jef Brouwers and now Michael Verschaeve, a mental coach has been part of our medical staff for years. The first to ask for a psychologist was Frank Vandenbroucke. Then Wouter Weylandt - a great guy, but he sometimes struggled with his self-image. When I suggested he go to Jef, he said: Patrick, I am not sick. When I explained to him that it would give him an insight into his thinking pattern and I would pay for his first session, he went anyway. It helped."

"I never had any unstable people in my team, but I did have some "special" people. In the current team you have Rémi Cavagna. He is certainly not a nervous type, because his hobby is fishing, but he sometimes suffers from stress. Some say Remco Evenepoel can't ride a bike, but Rémi at the beginning didn't even dare to accept a water bottle or put his hands up when he won. It's all in his head. Tim Declercq is a super smart guy, but he cramps up when he can ride for his own success. Last but not least, there is Sam Bennett. For me the epitome of mental weakness. Leaving Bora-Hansgrohe and telling everyone that he was bullied there and thus almost depressed and bankrupt, but fourteen months later he simply returns. It's the same as women returning home after domestic violence."

"As CEO of a racing team I also experience pressure, but I don't need mental help. It might surprise you, but I am actually a boring guy: never euphoria, never a dip. I don't feel the need to vent to anyone. Not even at home. After work, I swap my shoes for my savannahs, put on my sweatpants or pyjamas, pour an apéritif and that's it. That is how I will follow the rest of the Games. I give Simone Biles the best.
 

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