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The Patrick Lefevere Depreciation Thread

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I hate to sound like a d*ck here but in any line of work the company which employs a person will start to ask questions if the private life of the employee is affecting their work. Whether it's because of booze... or simply having a child.

I mean no one can say to their boss "oh sorry yeah I'm behind with my schedule or late for work because my 3 year old wanted me to go & play with him". That person would get... fired.

Training is a full part of a pro cyclist's job.
PatLef is free to fire Julian for not doing his job but what he or a boss cannot do is blame the wife or the child for it in the firing letter or email.
 
Feb 26, 2024
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Patrick is the kind of a person that every producer would want to any reality show. He always gets the headlines and the attention. You don't even need a written plot. He's just a gift that keeps on giving.
 
"I thought he was drunk. Maybe he was, I don't know."
Sounds possible, as it's not unusual for a 69 year old (Lefereve) to have a glass or two then say things he should n't in public.
He wasn't drunk. It was part of a huge interview, where this was 30s of the interview. The only mistake Lefevere made was not letting the interview get vetted by the PR team of SOQ, and assuming the media outlet wouldn't use that part as the headline for clickbait. They deliberately took it out of context for more clicks.
 
Interesting podcast interview with Alaphilippe from Geraint Thomas (the same on which he can't believe PL said what he said about Alaf in public).

Julien talks a bit about the way he races, which is just basically going for it when the moment strikes, and how he'll never change because that's what gives him joy in cycling. I think that's an admirable attitude. He says that has cost him a lot of wins but also led to some huge ones (WCRR, TdF stages etc).

I suspect that we've probably seen the last of Alaphilippe as a big winner, however, because if you're going to race balls-out you better be clearly the best, maybe not all the time, but enough to scare the rest of the peloton.
 
Following a report concerning Mr Patrick Lefevere, General Manager of the UCI WorldTeam Soudal Quick-Step, for public comments considered as disparaging towards women, the Ethics Commission confirmed that breaches of articles 5 and 6.1 of the Code of Ethics were committed in two instances. Mr Lefevere has been requested to make a public statement recognising the inappropriateness of his statements and apologising therefor. A fine of CHF 20,000 has also been imposed, suspended on condition that Mr Lefevere issues a public statement and does not commit a similar breach of the UCI Code of Ethics within the next three years.

 
Other than Rousse incident the only other women's comment I recall was a couple of years ago,and was a general comment about not investing in women's cycling. The time Deignon said women's cycling was doing alright and it did not need his money.
 
It's the UCI we're talking about... would you have expected them to come up with a verdict about the Rousse comments this quickly?
Though, in their defence; this is not something that really should take priority.
Haha, fair point.

But honestly, sanctioning someone for an opinion, no matter how stupid, would have never been something I expected...

Seems if it gets to the level of defamation there's a legal system for that, but I may be projecting my American view of the law onto this.
 
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Haha, fair point.

But honestly, sanctioning someone for an opinion, no matter how stupid, would have never been something I expected...

Seems if it gets to the level of defamation there's a legal system for that, but I may be projecting my American view of the law onto this.
It's a divisionary tactic to demostrate they're putting up the good fight in these times. Pat's an easy target, not belonging to contemporaneity.
 
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