Denk comment on Lefevere:
https://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_124097.htm
In his already infamous column in the daily newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, in which he devotes himself - also very provocatively - to various cycling topics, Patrick Lefevere recently published that Bora - hansgrohe was interested in its star Remco Evenepoel and was allegedly also prepared to buy the entire Deceunick - Quick-Step team for it.
It is not new that the Belgian world-class team has had difficulty finding sponsors for the next season for years. Last month, Lefevere announced that the contracts of 26 riders would expire at the end of the season. Only Yves Lampaert, Mauri Vansevenant, Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel would have options until 2024, and the team manager now claimed that the hunt for his riders had begun. "The self-proclaimed king of the hunt is Ralph Denk from Bora - hansgrohe. He sends contract proposals to my riders on official letterhead from his team," Lefevere claimed in the column, in which he asked: "Is this legal? Maybe, but it's certainly not morally okay!"
Lefevere described a meeting with Denk in January at a 4-star hotel in Brussels, where the German is said to have asked about the price of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step takeover. "He explained that Willi Bruckbauer, the company boss of Bora, really wanted to take over Remco. The easiest way would apparently be to buy the whole team. He was serious," said Lefevere, "because he also wanted to know what role I could still play in this construction. "
Denk vehemently disagrees
Ralph Denk vehemently contradicted this account. In a statement to radsport-news.com, the team manager of Bora - hansgrohe wrote: "If Patrick wants to build up pressure towards his sponsors through such stories, then that can be a strategy. If you spread untruths in the process in order to use them to show yourself off in the media, then that's not gentlemanly in any case."
Instead, the obviously upset Denk stressed, "It is true that we have spoken. I wanted to know how his team was doing and he meant badly. Then I asked what would happen to Remco if Deceuninck - Quick-Step were to close down, and he told me about his option and held it out with two more riders. Buying the team was never an issue and is completely uninteresting. What is a team worth that has no rider or sponsor contracts? We already have a successful team with Bora - hansgrohe, where we are planning for the long term."
Lefevere also affirmed in his column that he was not thinking of giving up. "My goal is to keep the team going myself. I am talking to my sponsors about it. The deadline I am thinking of today is 31 March." The Belgian added that he had promised Denk that he would be the first to inform him if he did not find new backers, only to add a final tip: "But it turns out that patience is not Mr Denk's greatest virtue. "
Translated with
www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)