The Patrick Lefevere Depreciation Thread

[CyclistAbi]

Typing. Your. Posts. Like. This. Is. Not. Helping. Use. Your. Commas. Please. Thank. You. Sincerely.

No. I won't spoon feed the internet. It's worse enough as it is. Practice comprehension.

.

 

[Bolder]

There have long been barriers to women in professional or high level amateur sports, starting with the fact that sports itself was seen as not appropriate for women. Seems to me that sponsors and the UCI aren't making things easier by allowing "professional" women to compete without pay. The UAE could fund the entire women's WT with an emir's pocket lint. If the UCI is serious about equal opportunities for women it could require all WT teams to have squads for both sexes, with a minimum living wage.

 

[Netserk]

Prize money and other outcomes should never be equal. This is obvious when we make comparisons across different sports; the economy of fencing should not be equal to the economy of football. Men's cycling and women's cycling should be treated as different sports, that is, separately.

I really don't like when people argue that sub world class pros in a sport shouldn't earn a living wage. If you don't have a somewhat functional pyramid for a sport and the money only goes to the top, there's no incentive to participate in the sport.

I think the position is not whether or not they should earn a living wage (everyone who is able to sell their labour for such an amount should earn that), but whether or not it should be a centrally imposed obligation to pay more than the fair market price. It's not a human right to have others pay you to be an athlete, nor an artist for that matter.

As far as I'm aware, such an obligation was not the foundation for the development of the economy of men's cycling. So it seems like there were sufficient incentives without it.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Did the men really get paid all that much at the beginning? AFAIK no. And it's not like most men are paid that good today. Usually minimal wage is far from being considered a good pay. On top of that currently women on highest level are still expected to take the minimal wage from men that are one level below. So this is not really about equal pay ATM. Is more about if competing on the highest level of women's cycling should be considered to be a professional, semi-professional or amateur sport. I tend to feel it should be professional. As such it must meet the criteria. For being able to make a living. Not to work another job for being able to sustain your cycling career. As that is not professional sport. At best semi-professional.

 

[RedheadDane]

No. I won't spoon feed the internet. It's worse enough as it is. Practice comprehension.

Using commas isn't "spoon feeding the internet", it's basic writing.

Is more about if competing on the highest level of women's cycling should be considered to be a professional, semi-professional or amateur sport. I tend to feel it should be professional.

EVERYONE! I think we might have witnessed a miracle.

 

[CyclistAbi]

So now back to the controversial remark. Is the push to more professionalism in women's cycling currently a bit artificial? Likely yes. Is that a bad thing? Likely not.

 

[CyclistAbi]

@RedheadDane

As once a famous singer said. Little less conjunctions and little more comprehension ...

 

[Red Rick]

Prize money and other outcomes should never be equal. This is obvious when we make comparisons across different sports; the economy of fencing should not be equal to the economy of football. Men's cycling and women's cycling should be treated as different sports, that is, separately.


I think the position is not whether or not they should earn a living wage (everyone who is able to sell their labour for such an amount should earn that), but whether or not it should be a centrally imposed obligation to pay more than the fair market price. It's not a human right to have others pay you to be an athlete, nor an artist for that matter.

As far as I'm aware, such an obligation was not the foundation for the development of the economy of men's cycling. So it seems like there were sufficient incentives without it.

Hard to treat events like seperate sports when events are given the same name. Especially with races like Paris-Roubaix, where the events are basically held as one event. And you can want fair market prize as much as you want, but if you want to host top level event you should also want to fill these top events with professionals who can live the sport full time.

And if you wanna play by the rules of the market. The UCI as an institution is free to set minimum contracts for WWT riders, and then sponsors are free to not sponsor a team. Sponsors and organisers are free to set the distribution of prize money. Riders can elect not to race if they disagree with prize money distributions. Similarly, you're free to boycot watching races because they have equal prize money.

 

[Netserk]

Ah, since all decisions are made by agents with free will, all possible decisions (and all actions) are the result of freedom, so nothing is more free than anything else. Deep.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

EVERYONE! I think we might have witnessed a miracle.

CA's commabone has finally healed!

 

[CyclistAbi]

Ah, since all decisions are made by agents with free will, all possible decisions (and all actions) are the result of freedom, so nothing is more free than anything else. Deep.

But you must agree that some minimal standard is hardly worth talking about? And €250/month is shameful. For an established cyclist. And that is not really about freedom but exploitation and ***.

 

[Netserk]

And they've been waiting for decades already.

Some people have also waited longer than that for the revolution that ends capitalism once and for all, some people have waited longer than that for the second coming of Christ. Not all waiting comes to an end, nor should it.

 

[CyclistAbi]

CA's commabone has finally healed!

If only i could say the same about my bruised ego.

 

[yaco]

Patrick will be happy with the win by Ashley Moolman-Pasio with possibly more wins to come.

 

[Unchained]

But you must agree that some minimal standard is hardly worth talking about? And €250/month is shameful. For an established cyclist. And that is not really about freedom but exploitation and ***.

Could not disagree more strongly trying to integrate exploitation into women's bicycle racing at any and all levels.
This same discussion \ argument has been had in NBA circles, with the revenue and fan based income for WNBA not enough to keep the lights on.
Upcoming UCLA Devil's Punch bowl road race $55 entry,$300 paid out top 5. Women's race 50 miles, men's 75..S.California gas price.. @$4.50-5.00 for a gallon of regular.. Hotel \ Motel rates..$85 w insects @$130 without..Does $250 go a long way.. No but if you see the domestic calendar in the US.. If every race, women's or men's had a $8-10,000 prize list, paid 15 deep still impossible to make any money..

Have seen race announcements for 100-125 field limits.. Often women's fields are combined and still don't come close to the limit. Men's fields fill and get waiting list at bigger races..
most pros working another job for the money component of bike racing.. and in the US.. Look at the calendar.. If you are doing volume, quality training and getting race days wherever you can.. Looking for a race that has worthy prize money is finding a needle in a haystack.. Just not many opportunities.. and during Covid and now after.. number of races has dropped dramatically..
Probably get lots of hate,but there is no such thing as professional women's racing in the US.. Would be curious to see the number of female racers with a current paid professional license..
You need races to have racers..we don't.. and to make things even more cloudy if that was possible.. No calendar coordination and the already tiny quality racer pool is diluted into road,gravel and mountain bike racing..
Exploitation implies that you are under paying for something that has a high market value.. Not sure that bike racers in the US can be exploited unless their team requires 4-6 hours a day wearing team logo something on Only fans..

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Unchained

But that i guess is the thing indeed. We are talking about an European peloton. And here women's team on WorldTour level will get paid a minimum wage. In the range of a couple of tens of thousands euros per year. And obviously up if you are a superstar. Some are being paid €250,000.00 per year as we speak. For them to be able to do it full time as professionals. And not as a side kick. That is i guess where Europe differs from some other countries. Such as lets say currently Afganistan. On the highest level women can compete and get paid a good money too. Without doing OnlyFans as a side kick.

So in the end PL doesn't have much choice here. He will need to pay the wages. But OK. He can complain a bit about it. We all are touchy. When it comes to the money. And if he wins the Tour with women's team. Then he deserves some credit too. We'll see.

 

[Unchained]

@Unchained

But that i guess is the thing indeed. We are talking about an European peloton. And here women's team on WorldTour level will get paid a minimum wage. In the range of a couple of tens of thousands euros per year. And obviously up if you are a superstar. Some are being paid €250,000.00 per year as we speak. For them to be able to do it full time as professionals. And not as a side kick. That is i guess where Europe differs from some other countries. Such as lets say currently Afganistan. On the highest level women can compete and get paid a good money too. Without doing OnlyFans as a side kick.

So in the end PL doesn't have much choice here. He will need to pay the wages. But OK. He can complain a bit about it. We all are touchy. When it comes to the money. And if he wins the Tour with women's team. Then he deserves some credit too. We'll see.

Most in sports ownership, sports management disagree, they say that the market will be the most important indicator of wages for work.
I don't know what European country.. It's definitely not countries ( plural) where women's racing fills the field will100..125 quality riders..From my European experience, women's racing is only bigger and better than North American racing of the same disciplines. In Germany, Belgium women's races don't generate huge crowds. I hope that all people regardless of job can make a living wage.. You see wages set by a combination of factors.. and minimum wage rates are usually based by government normally trying to push for some liveable wage to some degree and almost always it's a failure..Our discussion originated with an important person in cycling saying publicly that women's racing is not profitable, has to be subsidized to exist. Because I don't know, can't know the numbers, I tend to defer to someone with decades of professional cycling business model experience. I do know through personal experiences that for decades I have heard people speak similarly of women's racing and the difficulty to generate money and interest. And with my own ears I have listened to people express some type of optimism about women's racing, a reoccurring statement in different forms " things are getting better " and also popular " women's racing is at a crossroads " .
I don't know if there is a large contingent of female racers in Afghanistan..?.. I think that existing cultural norms and values would probably make wearing cycling clothing and participating in competition.. Let's say difficult.
In Europe and as in the US.. can't imagine that there is much political will or political capital towards pushing for minimum wages for bicycle racers..
back to the market.. Basketball and soccer players, cricket players have an enormous sub system of amateur players not getting paid a liveable wage. And the market for all of those sports predict what you are worth.
Professional?

A Mathematician Just Won an Olympic Gold Medal in Cycling

Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer was considered to be a dark horse in the race.

www.snopes.com

 

[Extinction]

Most in sports ownership, sports management disagree, they say that the market will be the most important indicator of wages for work.
I don't know what European country.. It's definitely not countries ( plural) where women's racing fills the field will100..125 quality riders..From my European experience, women's racing is only bigger and better than North American racing of the same disciplines. In Germany, Belgium women's races don't generate huge crowds. I hope that all people regardless of job can make a living wage.. You see wages set by a combination of factors.. and minimum wage rates are usually based by government normally trying to push for some liveable wage to some degree and almost always it's a failure..Our discussion originated with an important person in cycling saying publicly that women's racing is not profitable, has to be subsidized to exist. Because I don't know, can't know the numbers, I tend to defer to someone with decades of professional cycling business model experience. I do know through personal experiences that for decades I have heard people speak similarly of women's racing and the difficulty to generate money and interest. And with my own ears I have listened to people express some type of optimism about women's racing, a reoccurring statement in different forms " things are getting better " and also popular " women's racing is at a crossroads " .
I don't know if there is a large contingent of female racers in Afghanistan..?.. I think that existing cultural norms and values would probably make wearing cycling clothing and participating in competition.. Let's say difficult.
In Europe and as in the US.. can't imagine that there is much political will or political capital towards pushing for minimum wages for bicycle racers..
back to the market.. Basketball and soccer players, cricket players have an enormous sub system of amateur players not getting paid a liveable wage. And the market for all of those sports predict what you are worth.
Professional?

A Mathematician Just Won an Olympic Gold Medal in Cycling

Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer was considered to be a dark horse in the race.

www.snopes.com

In fact, the market is not a homogeneous entity. In the West women stand a better chance to obtain economic independence, not so much in places that value things differently. Even within the West wage disparity varies from place to place, based on market factors. We're also taking about the grass roots of sport, women and men alike, which in the Middle East pales in comparison to cultural norms in the West. There could be a Pogi or Evenepoel in Yemen, for all we know, but he or she is likely fighting starvation from the aftermath of proxy wars. In the global prospect there is thus a lottery involved.

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Unchained

You do have a point. But still. You as Americans just make sure you send over Lindsey Vonn of cycling. I am sure that Tina Maze of cycling is waiting somewhere in Slovenia. And then we are good. Until then we will push it a bit artificially. To get to there. And PL will need to pay for it.

Just as we sent Luka Dončić over there. As you have it figured out in regards to basketball. In cycling hopefully for both men and women Euro peloton will continue to be the final and desired destination. The best of the best and on the highest level. And paid some good money for it.

 

[Volderke]

Before you read it elsewhere, interpreted by a random CN journalist, here is a recent interview, translated by a random forum member (featuring google translate for the rough version)
in [brackets] I split up the interview to make it a bit more readable.

INTERVIEW. Patrick Lefevere, manager of the troubled 'blues': "Jumbo-Visma is up to the move, but our time will come" His team has already won twelve races, but Soudal-Quick.Step was the loser after the Flemish opening weekend. Patrick Lefevere wants to rectify that quickly. Together with us he flew to Italy for the Strade Bianche. “Tim Merlier is a top transfer.”

Patrick Lefevere already gave interviews in star restaurants, but Friday afternoon lunch was limited to a Coca-Cola Zero on a table at the Burger King in Charleroi airport. He was not hungry. “I just came from the diabetes clinic for a new chip against my diabetes. Luckily I got priority, otherwise I was too late for this super deluxe Ryanair flight to Bologna.”
And I just think that Patrick Lefevere only flew private jets.
“I only fly with a private jet if the sponsor arranges it.”
What do you hate most: flying or losing?
“I hate flying and especially the hassle that comes with it: driving to the airport, checking in, waiting... Losing time. Especially if you do that 275 days a year, but unfortunately flying is part of the course. Unfortunately, we also lose.”

[about the start of the classics season]
What did the new main sponsor Soudal say after the opening weekend?
“Big boss Vic Swerts rarely gets on the course, CEO Dirk Coorevits watches a lot of the course, but mainly on TV. I have only seen sponsoring manager Marko Heijl. He was not malcontent.”
How so?
"He said: 'We didn't win, but because the performance was disappointing, we were often mentioned in the media.'"
Soudal has experience with that.
(chuckles) "You said that, I didn't."
You couldn't hide the disappointment.
“I was especially disappointed because we had driven away. Saturday afternoon I had dinner with Wouter Vandenhaute (CEO of Flanders classics, ed.), his wife Catherine Van Eylen and Luc Maes from Latexco in Melle. We saw the riders pass there twice and I knew enough. Ballerini saved the furniture (= saved the race) with sixth place, but that is not enough for us. Well, Asgreen couldn't start due to illness, Sénéchal was good but not super and Lampaert had had sinusitis.”

[Yves Lampaert]
Yves Lampaert was expected. Especially after he had signed for three years and lucrative, as Team B&B Hotels had pushed up his price.
“Where is Team B&B Hotels now? With Yves I let myself be guided by the euphoria after his stage victory in the Tour. Normally West Flemish riders, who are out of contract, are already nervous in March, but Yves didn't have a leg to stand on after he was ill in the spring and fell in Roubaix. He had zero arguments to negotiate, so they cleverly waited until July. His manager Dries Smets can also sell him well. Yves is the king in West Flanders, in Flanders he also gets sympathy, but outside our borders they don't know him..."

[sprinters: Tim Merlier and Fabio Jakobsen]
Who are you pleased with at this start of the season?
“Tim Merlier!”
Have you already visited Jules Merlier for a baby visit?
“I no longer do wedding parties and baby visits from riders, but chapeau how Tim does that. I had my doubts. Cameron (Vandenbroucke, daughter of Frank Vandenbroucke, ed.) is a bit of a spoiled brat, so I thought she wouldn't like Tim racing in the Middle East for more than two weeks... I didn't notice it. According to Fitte (sports director Wilfried Peeters, ed.) Tim could not win a stage in Oman due to the difficult course, but he already won on day one and then twice more in the UAE Tour. He was also one of the better ones in the team time trial. A top transfer.”
However, he has the reputation of not being the easiest. He dares to critisize the material.
“It has also come to my attention. That is somewhat the school of Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke. Frank used to always come up with such things. I think Grandpa Jean-Jacques is now getting involved again, but I don't care. Tim shouldn't ask to ride a saddle that doesn't belong to our sponsor. We have six different saddle models. If he doesn't like it, there's something wrong with him and not with our saddles. By the way, nowadays they custom make those saddles via 3D.”
Merlier is flying, the other sprinter Fabio Jakobsen is not yet.
“Fabio made mistakes in the Algarve. He could have won three more races, but the year is still young. His main goal is the Tour. He shouldn't get nervous. We will now see in Tirreno-Adriatico. Mørkøv is ill, so we send Bert Van Lerberghe along as lead-out. Fabio likes to have Bert as a lead-out.”
Merlier (likes Van Lerberghe) too and Jakobsen is out of contract. Is it certain that Jakobsen will ride the Tour?
“We are March. The best will ride the Tour, we'll see who that is. One thing is certain: we will not be guided by what some news sites write.”

[Julian Alaphilippe]
You yourself have tickled a rider in the press: Julian Alaphilippe would perform below his price.
“That's his own fault. I didn't go to the press with it. Julian was first. He tells L'Equipe that we did not speak, while we were sitting at the table in October with his girlfriend and manager Dries Smets."
What was that conversation about?
“About the many setbacks, that is true, but that has been going on for three years. I want to see the 2019 Julian, who won twelve races including Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo. Last year he won two races, the year before four. Too few."
What is your hidden agenda when you say something like that in the press?
"What could it be, do you think?"
One theory is that you want to get rid of him before his contract expires in 2024.
“If a rider wants to leave us, it's possible, but not the other way around. And pushing someone to the exit isn't my style either. Sometimes I find that difficult and I have to grit my teeth, but I will never make someone so tired that they want to leave.”
Another theory is that you want to sharpen Alaphilippe so that he becomes a helper of Evenepoel in the Tour in 2024?
“He already did that well last year in the Vuelta, until he fell. Besides, it is the intention every year that Julian is top in the Tour.”
And in the spring?
“He is now focusing on the Flemish classics and then has to continue to Liège, but the latter is not yet certain. We had a meeting on Monday and some think that period is too long. I don't think so. Liège is on April 23, the Tour starts July 1. Then you have two months. That should be doable, right?"
What do you expect from Alaphilippe in Strade Bianche?
“He won in France on Saturday, he was also good on Sunday, but he forgot to eat because of the chaos of the fans. Fifteen kilometers from the finish there was a man with a hammer and he ran into it. In my time they said: 'Before you get the big form, you have to meet a hunger knock'.
So it looks good?
Serry and Bagioli are also fine. Serry was already close when Benoot won, but he then drove away behind a motorcycle. I expect something from Julian, although the luck factor always plays a role in Strade Bianche. You cannot judge a rider solely on the basis of Strade Bianche.”

[Remco Evenepoel]
How do you judge Remco Evenepoel?
"Very good. He still has a few pounds to lose, but he knows that too. I do notice that he is a little stressed to win a stage in the rainbow jersey as soon as possible. That hasn't happened yet, but it will come.”
Did he receive a bonus for his overall victory in the UAE Tour?
“Every rider who wins a WorldTour race gets a bonus.”

[money / bonuses / salaries vs. Jumbo]
When do you pay those bonuses?
“It used to be almost immediately, but that has changed. For example, the Tour does not pay its prize money until eleven months later. In the past, quite a few riders were caught doping after the Tour. The teams followed that system. With us, the bonuses of the first part of this season will be paid on June 30, the second part of the season will follow on November 30.”
Because the sponsors also pay in six-month installments?
“No, our sponsors pay every month. I hear from the French teams that they sometimes receive their total sponsorship money on January 1, but I am not that smart yet.”
How many brokers have already visited to sell riders for the climbing team around Evenepoel?
"A lot of. Prices are skyrocketing, but I'm not going to get carried away. We are having an aperitif and the brokers are already planning the next dinner. Let's see what the main course will be first. Even after dessert there will still be plenty of good climbers left.”
If Jumbo-Visma has not already got rid of it. 'That yellow', as you call them. It looks like a disease.
“They also call us ‘the blues’. I have nothing against them. I get on well with Richard Plugge, although I see that he gives us a lot of compliments in the press, I don't fall for that anymore.”
Aren't you a bit jealous?
“Jealousy is a bad gift, just like panic. For now it is their turn, our time will come. And if it doesn't come, we still have an explanation ready: we don't fight with the same weapons in terms of budget. I know the rider's price tags. For the price of Van Baarle you have two with us.”
Lampaert and Ballerini?
"It won't differ much."
But you also have Asgreen and Alaphilippe...
“Van Baarle costs more than Asgreen. You can only pay what you have.”

[Arnaud De Lie]
At Lotto-Dstny they are not so happy about the way you seduce to Arnaud De Lie...
“seduce? I already had contact with De Lie when he was sixteen via Instagram. Everyone tells me now that I have to catch him, then I play along with that game.”
Should you (try to) get him?
“If I can I will get him, but he has to be out of contract. Maybe they will find an extra sponsor, or that man from Dstny will add something. It will not come from Jannie Haeck (CEO of Lotto). He is trying to wipe Napoleon Games and Unibet off the map, but I saw an article in your newspaper entitled: 'National Lottery lowers the weekly deposit limit for online gambling to 200 euros.' So then it is a gambling office, right? If Napoleon Games has to go, then Lotto too.” (ed: gambling sponsors in sport will be forbidden in some years in Belgium, and there is discussion if sponsoring by the national lottery shouldn't be forbidden as well, and Lotto is ofcourse one of those sponsors longest in cycling)
Would the Lie suit you?
"Certainly. He is fast and has no pranks (as in: diva demands, ed.). I'm curious about the rest of the classics. I'm sure he will ride the Tour of Flanders. That is only fifty kilometers more than the Omloop, he will not die from those fifty kilometers extra.”
Just like you don't die from a non-business class flight.
“Ryanair doesn't even have that. I only fly in business for flights of six hours or more, at the age of 68 that seems to me to be allowed.”

 

[Mayomaniac]

A pretty tame Lefevre interview. Sure, there are some things in there that you have on your usual Lefevre bingo card (him pretending to have a small budget and being butthurt about riders trying to get payed well).

 

[noob]

Before you read it elsewhere, interpreted by a random CN journalist, here is a recent interview, translated by a random forum member (featuring google translate for the rough version)
in [brackets] I split up the interview to make it a bit more readable.

INTERVIEW. Patrick Lefevere, manager of the troubled 'blues': "Jumbo-Visma is up to the move, but our time will come" His team has already won twelve races, but Soudal-Quick.Step was the loser after the Flemish opening weekend. Patrick Lefevere wants to rectify that quickly. Together with us he flew to Italy for the Strade Bianche. “Tim Merlier is a top transfer.”

Patrick Lefevere already gave interviews in star restaurants, but Friday afternoon lunch was limited to a Coca-Cola Zero on a table at the Burger King in Charleroi airport. He was not hungry. “I just came from the diabetes clinic for a new chip against my diabetes. Luckily I got priority, otherwise I was too late for this super deluxe Ryanair flight to Bologna.”
And I just think that Patrick Lefevere only flew private jets.
“I only fly with a private jet if the sponsor arranges it.”
What do you hate most: flying or losing?
“I hate flying and especially the hassle that comes with it: driving to the airport, checking in, waiting... Losing time. Especially if you do that 275 days a year, but unfortunately flying is part of the course. Unfortunately, we also lose.”

[about the start of the classics season]
What did the new main sponsor Soudal say after the opening weekend?
“Big boss Vic Swerts rarely gets on the course, CEO Dirk Coorevits watches a lot of the course, but mainly on TV. I have only seen sponsoring manager Marko Heijl. He was not malcontent.”
How so?
"He said: 'We didn't win, but because the performance was disappointing, we were often mentioned in the media.'"
Soudal has experience with that.
(chuckles) "You said that, I didn't."
You couldn't hide the disappointment.
“I was especially disappointed because we had driven away. Saturday afternoon I had dinner with Wouter Vandenhaute (CEO of Flanders classics, ed.), his wife Catherine Van Eylen and Luc Maes from Latexco in Melle. We saw the riders pass there twice and I knew enough. Ballerini saved the furniture (= saved the race) with sixth place, but that is not enough for us. Well, Asgreen couldn't start due to illness, Sénéchal was good but not super and Lampaert had had sinusitis.”

[Yves Lampaert]
Yves Lampaert was expected. Especially after he had signed for three years and lucrative, as Team B&B Hotels had pushed up his price.
“Where is Team B&B Hotels now? With Yves I let myself be guided by the euphoria after his stage victory in the Tour. Normally West Flemish riders, who are out of contract, are already nervous in March, but Yves didn't have a leg to stand on after he was ill in the spring and fell in Roubaix. He had zero arguments to negotiate, so they cleverly waited until July. His manager Dries Smets can also sell him well. Yves is the king in West Flanders, in Flanders he also gets sympathy, but outside our borders they don't know him..."

[sprinters: Tim Merlier and Fabio Jakobsen]
Who are you pleased with at this start of the season?
“Tim Merlier!”
Have you already visited Jules Merlier for a baby visit?
“I no longer do wedding parties and baby visits from riders, but chapeau how Tim does that. I had my doubts. Cameron (Vandenbroucke, daughter of Frank Vandenbroucke, ed.) is a bit of a spoiled brat, so I thought she wouldn't like Tim racing in the Middle East for more than two weeks... I didn't notice it. According to Fitte (sports director Wilfried Peeters, ed.) Tim could not win a stage in Oman due to the difficult course, but he already won on day one and then twice more in the UAE Tour. He was also one of the better ones in the team time trial. A top transfer.”
However, he has the reputation of not being the easiest. He dares to critisize the material.
“It has also come to my attention. That is somewhat the school of Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke. Frank used to always come up with such things. I think Grandpa Jean-Jacques is now getting involved again, but I don't care. Tim shouldn't ask to ride a saddle that doesn't belong to our sponsor. We have six different saddle models. If he doesn't like it, there's something wrong with him and not with our saddles. By the way, nowadays they custom make those saddles via 3D.”
Merlier is flying, the other sprinter Fabio Jakobsen is not yet.
“Fabio made mistakes in the Algarve. He could have won three more races, but the year is still young. His main goal is the Tour. He shouldn't get nervous. We will now see in Tirreno-Adriatico. Mørkøv is ill, so we send Bert Van Lerberghe along as lead-out. Fabio likes to have Bert as a lead-out.”
Merlier (likes Van Lerberghe) too and Jakobsen is out of contract. Is it certain that Jakobsen will ride the Tour?
“We are March. The best will ride the Tour, we'll see who that is. One thing is certain: we will not be guided by what some news sites write.”

[Julian Alaphilippe]
You yourself have tickled a rider in the press: Julian Alaphilippe would perform below his price.
“That's his own fault. I didn't go to the press with it. Julian was first. He tells L'Equipe that we did not speak, while we were sitting at the table in October with his girlfriend and manager Dries Smets."
What was that conversation about?
“About the many setbacks, that is true, but that has been going on for three years. I want to see the 2019 Julian, who won twelve races including Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo. Last year he won two races, the year before four. Too few."
What is your hidden agenda when you say something like that in the press?
"What could it be, do you think?"
One theory is that you want to get rid of him before his contract expires in 2024.
“If a rider wants to leave us, it's possible, but not the other way around. And pushing someone to the exit isn't my style either. Sometimes I find that difficult and I have to grit my teeth, but I will never make someone so tired that they want to leave.”
Another theory is that you want to sharpen Alaphilippe so that he becomes a helper of Evenepoel in the Tour in 2024?
“He already did that well last year in the Vuelta, until he fell. Besides, it is the intention every year that Julian is top in the Tour.”
And in the spring?
“He is now focusing on the Flemish classics and then has to continue to Liège, but the latter is not yet certain. We had a meeting on Monday and some think that period is too long. I don't think so. Liège is on April 23, the Tour starts July 1. Then you have two months. That should be doable, right?"
What do you expect from Alaphilippe in Strade Bianche?
“He won in France on Saturday, he was also good on Sunday, but he forgot to eat because of the chaos of the fans. Fifteen kilometers from the finish there was a man with a hammer and he ran into it. In my time they said: 'Before you get the big form, you have to meet a hunger knock'.
So it looks good?
Serry and Bagioli are also fine. Serry was already close when Benoot won, but he then drove away behind a motorcycle. I expect something from Julian, although the luck factor always plays a role in Strade Bianche. You cannot judge a rider solely on the basis of Strade Bianche.”

[Remco Evenepoel]
How do you judge Remco Evenepoel?
"Very good. He still has a few pounds to lose, but he knows that too. I do notice that he is a little stressed to win a stage in the rainbow jersey as soon as possible. That hasn't happened yet, but it will come.”
Did he receive a bonus for his overall victory in the UAE Tour?
“Every rider who wins a WorldTour race gets a bonus.”

[money / bonuses / salaries vs. Jumbo]
When do you pay those bonuses?
“It used to be almost immediately, but that has changed. For example, the Tour does not pay its prize money until eleven months later. In the past, quite a few riders were caught doping after the Tour. The teams followed that system. With us, the bonuses of the first part of this season will be paid on June 30, the second part of the season will follow on November 30.”
Because the sponsors also pay in six-month installments?
“No, our sponsors pay every month. I hear from the French teams that they sometimes receive their total sponsorship money on January 1, but I am not that smart yet.”
How many brokers have already visited to sell riders for the climbing team around Evenepoel?
"A lot of. Prices are skyrocketing, but I'm not going to get carried away. We are having an aperitif and the brokers are already planning the next dinner. Let's see what the main course will be first. Even after dessert there will still be plenty of good climbers left.”
If Jumbo-Visma has not already got rid of it. 'That yellow', as you call them. It looks like a disease.
“They also call us ‘the blues’. I have nothing against them. I get on well with Richard Plugge, although I see that he gives us a lot of compliments in the press, I don't fall for that anymore.”
Aren't you a bit jealous?
“Jealousy is a bad gift, just like panic. For now it is their turn, our time will come. And if it doesn't come, we still have an explanation ready: we don't fight with the same weapons in terms of budget. I know the rider's price tags. For the price of Van Baarle you have two with us.”
Lampaert and Ballerini?
"It won't differ much."
But you also have Asgreen and Alaphilippe...
“Van Baarle costs more than Asgreen. You can only pay what you have.”

[Arnaud De Lie]
At Lotto-Dstny they are not so happy about the way you seduce to Arnaud De Lie...
“seduce? I already had contact with De Lie when he was sixteen via Instagram. Everyone tells me now that I have to catch him, then I play along with that game.”
Should you (try to) get him?
“If I can I will get him, but he has to be out of contract. Maybe they will find an extra sponsor, or that man from Dstny will add something. It will not come from Jannie Haeck (CEO of Lotto). He is trying to wipe Napoleon Games and Unibet off the map, but I saw an article in your newspaper entitled: 'National Lottery lowers the weekly deposit limit for online gambling to 200 euros.' So then it is a gambling office, right? If Napoleon Games has to go, then Lotto too.” (ed: gambling sponsors in sport will be forbidden in some years in Belgium, and there is discussion if sponsoring by the national lottery shouldn't be forbidden as well, and Lotto is ofcourse one of those sponsors longest in cycling)
Would the Lie suit you?
"Certainly. He is fast and has no pranks (as in: diva demands, ed.). I'm curious about the rest of the classics. I'm sure he will ride the Tour of Flanders. That is only fifty kilometers more than the Omloop, he will not die from those fifty kilometers extra.”
Just like you don't die from a non-business class flight.
“Ryanair doesn't even have that. I only fly in business for flights of six hours or more, at the age of 68 that seems to me to be allowed.”

No matter what I might think about that man his verbal genious I cannot depreciate

 

[Panda Claws]

If i read correctly PL said when he will die. On his tombstone it won't say: "Didn't win the Tour". My suggestion would be to reserve €1,000,000.00 as a bonus. And give it to the person that first wins the Tour for you. As now you have more options. But don't backtrack after. On how you would give one person only half. A Tour win is a Tour win. And you want it but don't have it yet. Just don't over do it. And for example to sell men's team if women's team will get there first.

Astute and very clear point.

 

[Volderke]

about the quote "On his tombstone it won't say: "Didn't win the Tour":

PL actually meant to say, with this quote, he didn't care if he died and didn't win the Tour: life is more than the Tour and his own philosophy about succes in life isn't depending on a Tour win.

But I see that many people here interpreted it the other way around (that he believes he will win a Tour in his life).

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Before you read it elsewhere, interpreted by a random CN journalist, here is a recent interview, translated by a random forum member (featuring google translate for the rough version)
in [brackets] I split up the interview to make it a bit more readable.

INTERVIEW. Patrick Lefevere, manager of the troubled 'blues': "Jumbo-Visma is up to the move, but our time will come" His team has already won twelve races, but Soudal-Quick.Step was the loser after the Flemish opening weekend. Patrick Lefevere wants to rectify that quickly. Together with us he flew to Italy for the Strade Bianche. “Tim Merlier is a top transfer.”

Patrick Lefevere already gave interviews in star restaurants, but Friday afternoon lunch was limited to a Coca-Cola Zero on a table at the Burger King in Charleroi airport. He was not hungry. “I just came from the diabetes clinic for a new chip against my diabetes. Luckily I got priority, otherwise I was too late for this super deluxe Ryanair flight to Bologna.”
And I just think that Patrick Lefevere only flew private jets.
“I only fly with a private jet if the sponsor arranges it.”
What do you hate most: flying or losing?
“I hate flying and especially the hassle that comes with it: driving to the airport, checking in, waiting... Losing time. Especially if you do that 275 days a year, but unfortunately flying is part of the course. Unfortunately, we also lose.”

[about the start of the classics season]
What did the new main sponsor Soudal say after the opening weekend?
“Big boss Vic Swerts rarely gets on the course, CEO Dirk Coorevits watches a lot of the course, but mainly on TV. I have only seen sponsoring manager Marko Heijl. He was not malcontent.”
How so?
"He said: 'We didn't win, but because the performance was disappointing, we were often mentioned in the media.'"
Soudal has experience with that.
(chuckles) "You said that, I didn't."
You couldn't hide the disappointment.
“I was especially disappointed because we had driven away. Saturday afternoon I had dinner with Wouter Vandenhaute (CEO of Flanders classics, ed.), his wife Catherine Van Eylen and Luc Maes from Latexco in Melle. We saw the riders pass there twice and I knew enough. Ballerini saved the furniture (= saved the race) with sixth place, but that is not enough for us. Well, Asgreen couldn't start due to illness, Sénéchal was good but not super and Lampaert had had sinusitis.”

[Yves Lampaert]
Yves Lampaert was expected. Especially after he had signed for three years and lucrative, as Team B&B Hotels had pushed up his price.
“Where is Team B&B Hotels now? With Yves I let myself be guided by the euphoria after his stage victory in the Tour. Normally West Flemish riders, who are out of contract, are already nervous in March, but Yves didn't have a leg to stand on after he was ill in the spring and fell in Roubaix. He had zero arguments to negotiate, so they cleverly waited until July. His manager Dries Smets can also sell him well. Yves is the king in West Flanders, in Flanders he also gets sympathy, but outside our borders they don't know him..."

[sprinters: Tim Merlier and Fabio Jakobsen]
Who are you pleased with at this start of the season?
“Tim Merlier!”
Have you already visited Jules Merlier for a baby visit?
“I no longer do wedding parties and baby visits from riders, but chapeau how Tim does that. I had my doubts. Cameron (Vandenbroucke, daughter of Frank Vandenbroucke, ed.) is a bit of a spoiled brat, so I thought she wouldn't like Tim racing in the Middle East for more than two weeks... I didn't notice it. According to Fitte (sports director Wilfried Peeters, ed.) Tim could not win a stage in Oman due to the difficult course, but he already won on day one and then twice more in the UAE Tour. He was also one of the better ones in the team time trial. A top transfer.”
However, he has the reputation of not being the easiest. He dares to critisize the material.
“It has also come to my attention. That is somewhat the school of Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke. Frank used to always come up with such things. I think Grandpa Jean-Jacques is now getting involved again, but I don't care. Tim shouldn't ask to ride a saddle that doesn't belong to our sponsor. We have six different saddle models. If he doesn't like it, there's something wrong with him and not with our saddles. By the way, nowadays they custom make those saddles via 3D.”
Merlier is flying, the other sprinter Fabio Jakobsen is not yet.
“Fabio made mistakes in the Algarve. He could have won three more races, but the year is still young. His main goal is the Tour. He shouldn't get nervous. We will now see in Tirreno-Adriatico. Mørkøv is ill, so we send Bert Van Lerberghe along as lead-out. Fabio likes to have Bert as a lead-out.”
Merlier (likes Van Lerberghe) too and Jakobsen is out of contract. Is it certain that Jakobsen will ride the Tour?
“We are March. The best will ride the Tour, we'll see who that is. One thing is certain: we will not be guided by what some news sites write.”

[Julian Alaphilippe]
You yourself have tickled a rider in the press: Julian Alaphilippe would perform below his price.
“That's his own fault. I didn't go to the press with it. Julian was first. He tells L'Equipe that we did not speak, while we were sitting at the table in October with his girlfriend and manager Dries Smets."
What was that conversation about?
“About the many setbacks, that is true, but that has been going on for three years. I want to see the 2019 Julian, who won twelve races including Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo. Last year he won two races, the year before four. Too few."
What is your hidden agenda when you say something like that in the press?
"What could it be, do you think?"
One theory is that you want to get rid of him before his contract expires in 2024.
“If a rider wants to leave us, it's possible, but not the other way around. And pushing someone to the exit isn't my style either. Sometimes I find that difficult and I have to grit my teeth, but I will never make someone so tired that they want to leave.”
Another theory is that you want to sharpen Alaphilippe so that he becomes a helper of Evenepoel in the Tour in 2024?
“He already did that well last year in the Vuelta, until he fell. Besides, it is the intention every year that Julian is top in the Tour.”
And in the spring?
“He is now focusing on the Flemish classics and then has to continue to Liège, but the latter is not yet certain. We had a meeting on Monday and some think that period is too long. I don't think so. Liège is on April 23, the Tour starts July 1. Then you have two months. That should be doable, right?"
What do you expect from Alaphilippe in Strade Bianche?
“He won in France on Saturday, he was also good on Sunday, but he forgot to eat because of the chaos of the fans. Fifteen kilometers from the finish there was a man with a hammer and he ran into it. In my time they said: 'Before you get the big form, you have to meet a hunger knock'.
So it looks good?
Serry and Bagioli are also fine. Serry was already close when Benoot won, but he then drove away behind a motorcycle. I expect something from Julian, although the luck factor always plays a role in Strade Bianche. You cannot judge a rider solely on the basis of Strade Bianche.”

[Remco Evenepoel]
How do you judge Remco Evenepoel?
"Very good. He still has a few pounds to lose, but he knows that too. I do notice that he is a little stressed to win a stage in the rainbow jersey as soon as possible. That hasn't happened yet, but it will come.”
Did he receive a bonus for his overall victory in the UAE Tour?
“Every rider who wins a WorldTour race gets a bonus.”

[money / bonuses / salaries vs. Jumbo]
When do you pay those bonuses?
“It used to be almost immediately, but that has changed. For example, the Tour does not pay its prize money until eleven months later. In the past, quite a few riders were caught doping after the Tour. The teams followed that system. With us, the bonuses of the first part of this season will be paid on June 30, the second part of the season will follow on November 30.”
Because the sponsors also pay in six-month installments?
“No, our sponsors pay every month. I hear from the French teams that they sometimes receive their total sponsorship money on January 1, but I am not that smart yet.”
How many brokers have already visited to sell riders for the climbing team around Evenepoel?
"A lot of. Prices are skyrocketing, but I'm not going to get carried away. We are having an aperitif and the brokers are already planning the next dinner. Let's see what the main course will be first. Even after dessert there will still be plenty of good climbers left.”
If Jumbo-Visma has not already got rid of it. 'That yellow', as you call them. It looks like a disease.
“They also call us ‘the blues’. I have nothing against them. I get on well with Richard Plugge, although I see that he gives us a lot of compliments in the press, I don't fall for that anymore.”
Aren't you a bit jealous?
“Jealousy is a bad gift, just like panic. For now it is their turn, our time will come. And if it doesn't come, we still have an explanation ready: we don't fight with the same weapons in terms of budget. I know the rider's price tags. For the price of Van Baarle you have two with us.”
Lampaert and Ballerini?
"It won't differ much."
But you also have Asgreen and Alaphilippe...
“Van Baarle costs more than Asgreen. You can only pay what you have.”

[Arnaud De Lie]
At Lotto-Dstny they are not so happy about the way you seduce to Arnaud De Lie...
“seduce? I already had contact with De Lie when he was sixteen via Instagram. Everyone tells me now that I have to catch him, then I play along with that game.”
Should you (try to) get him?
“If I can I will get him, but he has to be out of contract. Maybe they will find an extra sponsor, or that man from Dstny will add something. It will not come from Jannie Haeck (CEO of Lotto). He is trying to wipe Napoleon Games and Unibet off the map, but I saw an article in your newspaper entitled: 'National Lottery lowers the weekly deposit limit for online gambling to 200 euros.' So then it is a gambling office, right? If Napoleon Games has to go, then Lotto too.” (ed: gambling sponsors in sport will be forbidden in some years in Belgium, and there is discussion if sponsoring by the national lottery shouldn't be forbidden as well, and Lotto is ofcourse one of those sponsors longest in cycling)
Would the Lie suit you?
"Certainly. He is fast and has no pranks (as in: diva demands, ed.). I'm curious about the rest of the classics. I'm sure he will ride the Tour of Flanders. That is only fifty kilometers more than the Omloop, he will not die from those fifty kilometers extra.”
Just like you don't die from a non-business class flight.
“Ryanair doesn't even have that. I only fly in business for flights of six hours or more, at the age of 68 that seems to me to be allowed.”

Thank you for sharing this, it's this kind of thing I am on the forum for I am grateful.

I'm sure he glad he flew out there (on Ryanair!) to see his teams disastrous performance today. Best rider in 30th place