Julian Alaphilippe took it for his rank again on Friday during the official presentation of his team, the Soudal Quick-Step.
Patrick Lefevere definitely has a hard tooth. Three weeks after beating the leader of his training, Julian Alaphilippe, the boss of Soudal Quick-Step did it again this Friday in La Panne (Belgium) on the sidelines of the official presentation of the team for the coming season. In mid-December, near the Last Hour, the person concerned had thus piqued the pride of his figurehead: ” I want him back. He owes me revenge. Julian has a champion’s salary but he must show that he is still one. »
Asked then by RMC, Patrick Lefevere did more than assume his words since he simply drove the point home: “ You, me… everyone has to justify their salary. It’s the same for him. Despite the bad luck he had, we have to keep up the pressure. I don’t like to put pressure, but I still have to say that he is a leader, co-leader, so we expect results! »
As for the state of health of his star runner, who appeared masked and had a cold this day in front of the press: “ He’s sick, but it’s better that he’s sick now than in a month or two. He had nothing on Thursday. We hope it’s nothing more than a cold. There are cases of flu in the peloton, we’ll see… »