QuickStep-AlphaVinyl team manager Patrick Lefevere has played down suggestions that Remco Evenepoel could be tempted to leave the Belgian team for Ineos Grenadiers, insisting that the new world champion has also dismissed reports of a multi-million Euro football-style transfer.
"It's too stupid for words. Remco himself told me on the phone that I shouldn't believe it," Lefevere told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, trying to calm reports that he could lose his star rider to a rival team.
"Everything is for sale but give me a reason why our boss [Zdenek Bakkala] would sell his team to another billionaire? That will not happen. 0.00 per cent."
Lefevere sparked the swirl of reports and hypothesis himself when he told Velonews that Ineos Grenadiers team principal Dave Brailsford had recently sent him a message saying: "If one day you want to sell him give me a call."
Velonews suggested that billionaire Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe is desperate to win the Tour de France after ploughing millions into the British team and perhaps sees Evenepoel as the best rider to lead after Egan Bernal’s training crash and the time needed to develop young riders like Tom Pidcock and Leo Hayter.
Ineos Grenadiers told Cyclingnews they would not comment on the reports.
Evenepoel signed a new contract last April that runs until 2026 and Lefevere has secured the long-term backing of Soudal, QuickStep, Specialized and others to build a Grand Tour team around the young Belgian.
Lefevere fought off interest from Ineos to sign Evenepoel back in 2018 and last year dismissed approaches from Bora-Hansgrohe. He has helped develop Evenepoel but now - after a season that saw the 22-year-old also win the Vuelta a España and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - he faces extra costs of paying significant bonuses and perhaps even needs to negotiate a new contract.
One agent suggested Evenepoel has a contract of around 2.5 million Euros per season but his 2022 success has made him the biggest rider in the sport, meaning he is now worth close to five million Euros per season.
"I have signed contracts for five years, with Remco as well as with Soudal, Quick-Step and Specialized. Alaphilippe is also locked-in for another three years. Nothing is binding in life, but I will do my very best to keep those agreements," Lefevere told Nieuwsblad.
"I don't like to use the word 'family' because if you are married you can always divorce, but there are no intentions in that sense."
When it comes to a potential switch of teams, UCI regulations dictate that transfer fees are not officially permitted, making it very different from the football model, with contracts almost always honoured and seen through.
Riders do sometimes break their contracts but this requires mutual consent from the team following negotiations, while rarer still is unilateral termination in exceptional circumstances that could trigger a legal dispute. Top riders have been known to have clauses in their contracts allowing for an early exit in specific circumstances, such as a salary offer from a rival team that the current team cannot match.
A leading rider agent told Cyclingnews that Lefevere is unlikely to have accepted a transfer clause of any value to avoid any risk of a rival team simply buying Evenepoel out of his long-term deal.
Lefevere himself suggested this was the case, referring to the message he received from Brailsford.
"I sent him back [a message] that he might have to buy my whole team."
'Ghost story'
Lefevere indicated talk of the possible transfer had been blown out of proportion, suggesting there was no specific intention in Brailsford's recent message.
"This ghost story of that message apparently started to spread and almost the whole world has tried to call me," he said.
"There will be a lot of discussion in the café and maybe five more newspapers will be sold, but all because of a message. I get so many of those messages from my colleagues. That's the usual fare for almost any major win. But now it has taken on a life of its own."
Lefevere is a hard-nosed team manager, who often reminds people he is a former accountant who always drives a hard bargain and is cautious with his team budget. He has taken a more fatherly approach with Evenepoel - who is represented by his own father, Patrick - promising the family he would protect him during his early career.
"I told Patrick Evenepoel that I would treat Remco as my son. I do that with all my riders, but of course you have special guys," Lefevere said. "I said to his dad: ‘If there is a problem, anything, call me'."
Levefere revealed that both Patrick and Remco Evenepoel quickly called him when the reports of a possible transfer to Ineos Grenadiers emerged.
"I was glad that Patrick and Remco called me to reassure me, but actually I had to laugh about the whole saga," he said.
"I happen to be having dinner with Patrick on Thursday and we are going to discuss how we are going to handle things in the coming weeks: the ceremony in Brussels, the race in Binche, and so on. I also called Remco and he will also try to stop by briefly.
"They both urged me not to believe the Ineos saga. It's much more important how we handle everything around him."
