QuickStep-AlphaVinyl team manager Patrick Lefevere has told Cyclingnews he believes he has an excellent relationship and a watertight long-term contract with Remco Evenepoel and so is not concerned about Ineos Grenadiers' attempts to try to entice the new world champion to switch teams.
Cyclingnews understands that Ineos Grenadiers have formulated an offer to Evenepoel and his father, who acts as his agent, after it emerged that the British team was interested in signing the new World Champion as a Grand Tour team leader.
Lefevere revealed to Velonews that Ineos Grenadiers team principal Dave Brailsford sent a message saying: " if one day you want to sell him, give me a call."
Velonews also quoted a source saying that billionaire Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe is desperate to win the Tour de France but the British team lack a surefire Tour contender after Egan Bernal's training accident.
Last week La Gazzetta dello Sport suggested that Ineos Grenadiers could offer Evenepoel €15-20 million so he can pay his way out of his contract with QuickStep-AlphaVinyl, plus €40-50 million for a multi-year contract.
Lefevere has dismissed any talk of a transfer, insisting it would cost Ineos Grenadiers at least €100 million and spark a legal battle.
Evenepoel also played down reports of a football-style transfer to Ineos Grenadiers during a dinner with Lefevere when he returned home from the World Championships and reportedly confirmed his loyalty to the team and his teammates at a recent QuickStep-AlphaVinyl get-together.
However, Evenepoel's success at the Vuelta a España and the World Championships has changed everything, making him one of the biggest stars of the sport. One leading rider agent suggested to Cyclingnews that if Evenepoel was earning around €2.5 million per season as part of a contract agreed to in the spring of 2021, he is now worth at least twice that amount.
Lefevere is known for his shrewd money management and ability to sign talented riders. He shrugged off the idea that Evenepoel could be tempted to jump ship to Ineos Grenadiers, confident in the contract that ties the Belgian to his team.
"Do I look stupid? People sometimes think I'm stupid but if I do a five-year contract, everything is in there, for every scenario," he told Cyclingnews.
"I signed Remco in February 2021 until 2026 and everything that has to be in the contract is in there. The only thing I have to do is pay it.
"I'm not like some of my colleagues, first they sign riders and then they go and look for sponsorship money. I'm a bookkeeper, you know. First I find the money and then I sign riders."
Lefevere will have a bigger budget in 2023 thanks to the arrival of adhesive brand Soudal, who are moving across from the rival Lotto Soudal team and joining forces with QuickStep. Specialized stay on board as the bike sponsor, with Evenepoel sharing team leadership with Julian Alaphilippe.
Lefevere rebuked the idea that big-money football-style transfers could become more frequent in professional cycling, with wealthy teams like Ineos Grenadiers able to buy riders out of their contracts.
"I wish I was in football, then I'd be a rich man," Lefevere joked.
"If there was a transfer system in cycling, I'd be one of the happiest people in the sport. I had Pozzato, Cancellara, then later Enric Mas when he was young, Julian Alaphilippe and Remi Cavagna. They have all been in my teams and I could have sold them on for a fortune."
Lefevere dismissed Ineos Grenadiers' attempts to sign Evenepoel.
"It's an easy tactic by Ineos Grenadiers to theoretically come along and say: 'You're on two, we can pay you six' But that's not how it works," he said dismissively.
"It's normal, they've been chasing Remco for years. They were too late when he was a junior, now they're too late again. I know that some riders go there and perhaps don't deliver what was expected, so they're trying to save their house."
Building a GrandTour team for Evenepoel for 2024
Lefevere appears keen for Evenepoel to target the Giro d'Italia in 2023, giving the 22-year-old Belgian time to develop further and give him to bolster his team with climbers and Grand Tour riders for a Tour de France bid in 2024.
Evenepoel is reportedly impatient to make his debut at the Tour de France and not happy that QuickStep-AlphaVinyl have signed Tim Merlier but failed to strengthen the roster in other ways.
"I said 2022 would be a transition year but Remco won [a Grand Tour] a year before we thought," Lefevere told Cyclingnews.
"Next year the team is strong, we have some good Grand Tour riders who didn't ride the Vuelta, like Mattia Cattaneo who was 11th in the Tour de France, he can climb. For 2024 I know I have to look for some new riders."
"The team was strong enough to help Remco win the Vuelta, with two young riders out of the race after ten days.
"I think it's actually easier to win the Tour de France than the Vuelta a España because there's more control by the other team, who watch each other. You only have to follow them and then beat them."
