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

Patrick Lefevere has risked creating a new conflict between himself and one of his star riders, with the Quick-Step Alpa Vinyl team manager appearing to suggest that Julian Alaphilippe may no longer be worthy of his high salary.
The Frenchman, who was back-to-back world champion until this autumn when his trade teammate Remco Evenepoel inherited the rainbow bands off him, endured a difficult 2022.
A barren run of form in the spring - a stage win at April's Tour of the Basque Country aside - culminated with a nasty crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège that left him with a punctured lung and broken ribs, among other injuries.
He subsequently missed the Tour de France and despite impressing in a helper's role on his return to Grand Tour action at the Vuelta a España, he was forced to abandon on stage 11 with a dislocated shoulder.
Now recovered and preparing for the 2023 campaign, the 30-year-old has been given strict instructions by Lefevere that he must return to winning ways in the forthcoming season.
"I want him to recover - he owes me revenge," Lefevere told La Dernière Heure, a Belgian French-language newspaper. "Julian has a salary of a champion, but he needs to confirm that he is still a champion.
"I don't care that he is no longer world champion - he hasn't won much in recent years."
It is not the first time that the outspoken Lefevere has taken aim at one of his team's leading riders, with Irishman Sam Bennett being the recipient of repeated harsh words in 2021 when Lefevere claimed that his then-top sprinter did not really have a knee injury.
Although Lefevere hasn't criticised Alaphilippe's mental state, like he did of Bennett, he indicated that the Frenchman should shoulder some of the responsibility for his run of injuries, rather then bemoaning bad fortune.
"Yes, he's had a lot of bad luck," Lefevere continued, "but it's always the same people who are lucky and the same people who are unlucky."
The 2023 squad of the Belgian superpower, who will be rebranding to Soudal-QuickStep from January 1, are currently in Alicante at a pre-season training camp. It is not yet known when Alaphilippe will make his season debut.
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
Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.
Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
-
-
‘Moments to live and remember’: Roglič set to win the pink jersey after winning extraordinary penultimate stage of the Giro d’Italia
Thomas loses the pink jersey to Slovenian by just 14 seconds
By Stephen Puddicombe • Published
-
The best Memorial Day deals for cyclists
Memorial Day is coming up in the United States. We've rounded up the best Memorial Day deals for cyclists including bikes, apparel, gear and accessories.
By Anne-Marije Rook • 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
-
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
-
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
-
Remco Evenepoel wins maiden grand tour at Vuelta a España
Juan Sebastián Molano takes a surprise final stage win after a messy sprint in Madrid
By Owen Rogers • Published
-
Remco Evenepoel, carrying Belgium's dreams, vows to not panic at the Vuelta a España
There are two key mountain stages between the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider and sporting immortality
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Julian Alaphilippe dislocates shoulder in Vuelta a España crash
World champion was taken away in an ambulance on stage 11 in huge blow for race leader Remco Evenepoel
By Tom Thewlis • Published