Patrick Lefevere has spoken again about Remco Evenepoel, the great Belgian champion whom Lefevere had originally wanted in his wolf pack. The former Soudal-Quick Step CEO is not regretful and harbors no resentment, and believes that Evenepoel's move to Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe is a good opportunity.

"Even with me as CEO, Remco would not have stayed" - Lefevere said in his Column column -: "Obviously, I can't pretend nothing happened with Remco this week, but I repeat, I can't say much contractually. When I sold my shares in the team, I also signed a non-disclosure agreement. This means I can't work for another team within a certain period and what happens inside the team must remain secret".

While a confidentiality agreement exists, Lefevere has never held back when it comes to giving his opinion about the team and Evenepoel. "This doesn't mean I can't comment on Remco's transfer. In short: no hard feelings. That's how life goes. The guy is 25 years old and if he can earn a few more million somewhere else, he should do it".

Lefevere always had a very strong bond with Evenepoel, and this relationship certainly carried weight over the years, convincing the Belgian champion to stay with the wolf pack. Now, however, the situation is different, and Lefevere himself is certain that his protégé's choice was right.

"Remco would not have stayed even for me. Looking at budgets, we can no longer compete with UAE and Red Bull. Obviously, I was aware of what was about to happen. The news did not surprise me. It's like in a relationship: when it's over, it's over. There was always interest in Remco, but we always managed to reassure him and keep him. It was when he won the Vuelta and then the World Championship in Wollongong that they started courting him".

Patrick Lefevere is proud of what he has managed to do with his team over the years, despite limited funds.

"We were never top in terms of budget. But by working hard, for years we worked miracles with the money we had. Jurgen Foré is convinced we can return to what we were. We were often criticized for not being a Grand Tour team, but we won a number of races in every Grand Tour and fought for classifications. With Remco we got the Vuelta victory and a Tour podium. Enric Mas wore the white jersey at the Giro like Bob Jungels. While Alaphilippe put on the yellow jersey at the Tour".

The Flemish manager then wanted to recall their nature as a Classics-specialized team and that perhaps they must return to this team concept to start getting important results again. "We won many Classics without having to make extraordinary contracts with riders. Many came from our development team, and we are proud of what we built together. I want to be realistic and I think we probably won't be the best at developing someone who will be on the final Tour de France podium. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that's how it will be".