Soudal-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere tried to put the fracas around his criticism of his rider Julian Alaphilippe to bed at the pre-Opening Weekend press conference with a non-apology, but the polemics have continued, with Geraint Thomas weighing in during his podcast this week.
Lefevere made cringe-worthy accusations that the Frenchman's lack of performance was because he partied too much. He also tried to pin the blame on Alaphilippe's partner Marion Rousse, who was not amused and laid into Lefevere in a social media post.
With Alaphilippe out of contract at the end of 2024, TotalEnergies manager Jean-René Bernaudeau said that the rider, who had an inspirational run in the Tour de France yellow jersey in 2019, was welcome on his team.
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Thomas interviewed Alaphilippe before the brouhaha for the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast but prefaced the chat with commentary about the Frenchman's run-in with his boss.
"It was bonkers," Thomas said. "To be fair, I've got a lot of respect for Patrick [Lefevere] and what he's done over the years with QuickStep - an unbelievable team: the results they've got, the results they've had, how they ride. It's incredible the team and the success they've had, so I have so much respect for him."
Lefevere has a history of making controversial statements from his assessment of women's cycling to his invoking domestic violence in describing his former rider Sam Bennett's return to Bora-Hansgrohe. Thomas said the "outbursts" have been "weird".
"For a team boss with so much history and respect from people ... just sort of losing the plot in public - it's mental. With Sam Bennett he had this thing and now Alaphilippe.
"As a rider, I feel sorry for my fellow riders. I know Sam well, less well than Julian, but it's just crazy, the situation, it shouldn't be done in public. Whatever his thoughts like that, just deal with it behind closed doors."
Thomas said that while some public criticism can be used to motivate athletes, but joked the comments about Alaphilippe may have been pointing the finger in the wrong direction, saying, "I thought he was drunk. Maybe he was, I don't know."
