Soudal-Quickstep manager Patrick Lefevere could have another Tour de France sprinter selection problem, with two Soudal-QuickStep's sprinters proving to be among the top fast men so far this year.
Fabio Jakobsen won stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and a host of other big-name sprinters, showing his class. Tim Merlier won the opening stage of Paris-Nice ahead of an equally strong field, also presenting a strong case for consideration for a Tour selection.
Lefevere has made it clear that Jakobsen and Merlier are on equal footing in competition for the sole Tour de France sprinter's slot but tried to rein in talk of any internal rivalry.
"I don't want to play the game that the media likes to play with my sprinters; that they're rivals, that Jakobsen is out of contract, that Merlier has a two-year contract and that with Evenepoel so strong, one of them has to leave. I don't want people to tell me what to do," Lefevere said at the Soudal-QuickStep bus in Follonica after stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico.
The Belgian team have long had the luxury of choosing between several of the sport's top sprinters, most recently picking Sam Bennett over Mark Cavendish in 2021 only for the former to suffer a knee injury. Cavendish replaced him and went on to win four stages and the green jersey.
In 2022, Jakobsen was the chosen man and Cavendish left out, and the Dutchman won a single stage before struggling in the mountains.
"I've always had more than one sprinter. I've had Cavendish and Bennett and it goes back to having Tom Steels and Jan Svorada. People forget there are 275 races in the year. The Tour de France is only 21 days. My sprinters don't disturb each other. Fabio is here at Tirreno and Tim is at Paris-Nice.
"They won't do one race together. For the Tour de France, we have 12 candidates and there'll be a natural selection. Let's hope they both stay healthy."
Merlier has four wins this season to Jakobsen's two - the Belgian champion won the first stage of the Tour of Oman and UAE Tour and stage 6 in the UAE before taking out the first stage in Paris-Nice. Jakobsen, meanwhile, won stage 2 of the Vuelta a San Juan before his second stage win today.
Lefevere spent much of the stage on Tuesday in the team car with directeur sportif Davide Bramati but has no plan to do the same for Wednesday's third flat stage to Foligno, insisting he is not superstitious and that his riders can win without his involvement.
Jakobsen's win on Tuesday could be considered a perfect response to Merlier's win in Paris-Nice ahead of an equally strong field.
Lefevere wasn't open to comparing the two sprinters, however.
"Our goal was to win stages here and at Paris-Nice and we've achieved both goals. But you can't judge riders after just a few sprints. Fabio wasn't as good as he hoped but it's only March 10 and we've already won 14 races."
Supportive rather than demanding of Alaphilippe
Lefevere has been critical of Julian Alaphilippe after he struggled to recover from his multiple crashes and illness in 2022 and their relationship seems damaged. But Jakobsen's win seemed to turn Lefevere into a supportive father figure rather than a demanding team boss.
"It's good for him to help the team win," Lefevere said.
"He feels the pressure to perform and expects more from himself. He was very disappointed after Strade Bianche but I told him that we should talk about results after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, not now.
"When he won Strade Bianche in 2019, he was finished for the Ardennes. This year he has to go well from Flanders Week to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, so maybe it's better he's not at his best yet."
