Patrick Lefevere: Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl have to race 'smarter' at Tour of Flanders
Belgian team head into Sunday looking for a result after being out of sorts at Classics
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl have to race "smarter" in order to make an impact at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, their boss Patrick Lefevere has said.
The team heads into the Ronde having only won once in Belgium this season, at the second tier Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne.
In the all-important run-up to Sunday, the team have managed 10th at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, 32nd at Gent-Wevelgem, and 14th at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
They are not favourites for Flanders, an unusual position for the Belgian squad that are usually so dominant, having won eight editions since 2003.
“We are not used to racing defensively,” Lefevere told the media on Thursday. “We have to accept this. We have 11 riders who are sick. Even me, I am home sick. We are hoping we can recover Sunday, and maybe if we are not 100 percent, we will fight for the victory.”
>>> Where are Quick-Step? The tale of the Belgian super-team missing in action
Illness, along with injury to some key riders, has hobbled Quick-Step. Tim Declercq only made his return to racing on Wednesday after suffering periocarditis, and Yves Lampaert and Florian Sénéchal are both making their way back from illness contracted during Paris-Nice.
“I always say that we will make the full report after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and maybe it’s lucky for us, Paris-Roubaix comes one week later this year,” Lefevere said. “I hope, I saw it in the past, I remember 2001, we didn't have one result and then at Paris-Roubaix we went 1-2-3, so you never know."
Rather than their usual format of having multiple options, Quick-Step will ride out of Antwerp focusing fully on getting Kasper Asgreen to win. He is the defending champion, and has looked good at times this season, but it will be a different situation for the team.
"This year I am going into the race a bit more as the sole leader," he said. "Last year, with Alaphilippe as the world champion, the leadership was more shared. It means I am going in a bit differently, but the legs will decide who will be in the final. It would be amazing to win Flanders again, but it will be very difficult. It gives me a lot of motivation to be the defending champion"
“The goal is to try to win again,” Asgreen continued. “The team was generally stronger last year without the sickness we’ve had this year. We will make the best of it. It makes it more difficult to make a move. It’s not so easy to sneak away anymore.”
Quick-Step are normally the aggressors in a race like the Tour of Flanders, helping to blow the race apart, but on Wednesday at Dwars they were strangely absent from the front move. However, Lefevere said that he would not change the way his team rode, saying that they were better than it seemed at Dwars.
“We never focus on the wheel of somebody else," he explained. "You have to be intelligent and know when to move. We are not used to racing to defend, we are used to racing an aggressive race. The race is very long and there are a lot of tricky points. I hope the guys can stay on the bike and we can be there."
Despite the lack of top results in the Belgian Classics, the team boss insisted that the team was not panicking, and that they could grow from their hardship at the moment.
“You can always learn off the difficult moments, so if later you can win, it makes a lot of difference for us,” Lefevere argued. “I always say panic is a bad advisor, I don’t want to see them race with stress. We have to be smarter but we are not used to racing like in this manner of waiting for others.”
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
-
From false promises and heartbreak to hope - How Heidi Franz is bouncing back from the last-minute collapse of B&B Hotels
Mind games, false promises and a life left in limbo. How American Heidi Franz navigated the B&B Hotels demise and found a kickstart to her new European life
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
Volta a la Communitat Valenciana: Biniam Girmay takes stage one sprint
It's another one in the bag for Intermarché-Circus-Wanty after Challenge Mallorca success
By James Shrubsall • Published
-
Speed Demons of the peloton: The six best sprinters of 2022
We take a look at the standout performers of the fast men and women in the professional scene this year
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Patrick Lefevere takes swipe at Julian Alaphilippe: 'It's always the same people who are unlucky'
The outspoken Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl boss has demanded that the former world champion returns to winning ways
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Remco Evenepoel to race Giro d'Italia in 2023
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl confirm that the world champion will ride the time trial heavy Grand Tour next year
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Tadej Pogačar eyes Tour of Flanders revenge in 2023
The UAE Team Emirates rider hopes to add to his Monuments collection next season
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Julian Alaphilippe: ‘I want to be 100% for the Tour of Flanders’
The Frenchman has said the Monument is his “big goal” for next season.
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Patrick Lefevere coy on whether Remco Evenepoel will target Tour de France in 2023
‘I don't rule out anything for Evenepoel. A good Remco can do well on every kind of course’ Quick-Step boss says
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Remco Evenepoel should ignore Ineos Grenadiers' overtures and stay put at Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
Interest from a Grand Tour winning machine like Ineos Grenadiers is flattering, but it's not sure to realise the World Champion’s massive potential
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Mark Cavendish's future still unclear as he bows out of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl with podium ride
The British national champion has been heavily linked with the B & B Hotels KTM team for 2023
By Tom Thewlis • Published