Patrick Lefevere exclusive: I did it my way
'I’m not stupid enough or a dickhead who thinks that everyone loved me' says Soudal Quick-Step boss in his first face-to-face interview since announcing his retirement
Hi Subscribers,
Today was the last day of our training camp adventure in Spain, and before heading to the airport, we had one more interview to conduct.
This week, Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere shocked the world by announcing his retirement. The Belgian will step away from full-time duties at the end of the year, but after a successful, colourful and at times controversial career, the 69-year-old agreed to sit down for his first face-to-face interview with us since the news broke.
During a nearly 40-minute interview, Lefevere opened up about his time in the sport, why he decided to step away, the challenges he faced over his long career, his success, and his regrets.
What I took from this interview was far more than just a run-through of his sporting achievements. The veteran of the sport talked about the illness that could have killed him, the sacrifices he made in his life as a husband and a father and how much he wanted to protect his staff - more than his riders at times - during his life in the sport.
Before we head to the airport, I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the teams that opened their doors to the Substack this week, specifically dsm-firmenich PostNL, Jayco AlUla, UAE Team Emirates, UAE Team ADQ, Astana, Tudor, Lidl-Trek, FDJ SUEZ, and Bahrain Victorious.
We’re leaving Spain with close to 40 interviews, and I’ll be running an exclusive with Romain Bardet on either Sunday or Monday.
The audio from that interview will be uploaded and shared with the Founding Member WhatsApp Community in the next 24 hours. To join the group, simply upgrade your subscription, and you’ll receive extra features to your membership, such as audio interviews, transfer rumours, and a constant heads-up on my editorial plans.
Have a great weekend.
Dan