Deceuninck-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere has claimed Bora-hansgrohe has tried to buy Deceuninck-QuickStep so it would have Remco Evenepoel.
Writing in his weekly column in nieuwsblad.be, Lefevere complained as many of his riders were coming to the end of contracts other teams and agents were trying to entice them away with contracts worth millions of Euro.
He complained that salaries offered by teams like Ineos
Grenadiers were now the norm and in a sport of such financial “giants”, his
team was a “pauper”.
Making the point that other teams and agents were circling his riders aggressively with offers, he alleged that Bora-hansgrohe and its manager Ralph Denk had been the most aggressive of all and said he didn’t like it.
While Ireland's Sam Bennett - who left Bora-hansgrohe after a protracted process - joined Deceuninck-QuickStep only last year, it was on a two-year deal meaning it comes to an end this year. The contract of world champion Julian Alaphilippe also ends this year, as does João Almeida's, Kasper Asgreen's and almost all of the other riders on the team.
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Evenepoel has two more years to run on his contract after this season, though there are clauses in some contracts that state if another team offers a rider more money their current team must match it or let them leave.
He said Denk had sent Deceuninck-QuickStep riders
contract offers and has also contact him twice in a bid to buy his team; some
Bora-hansgrohe has denied, suggesting Lefevere
was misrepresenting what had happened.
“In January he suddenly he contacted me: Patrick, can we see each other in
Brussels? I didn't understand why, but it was apparently important. In the
Sheraton Hotel he told his entire life story: from small bicycle repairman to
driver to manager of Bora.
“Somewhere halfway through, I asked: Ralph, this is all very moving, but
why are we here? The former small bicycle repairman got to the point: What is
your price to take over Deceuninck-QuickStep? He explained that Willi
Bruckbauer, Bora boss, absolutely wanted to sign Remco. The shortest route was
apparently to buy the entire team.
“It was serious, because he also wanted to know what role I still saw
myself playing in that construction. As they say: questions are free, so I have
calmly explained the context. The team is 70 percent owned by Zdenek Bakala, so
he is the deciding vote in a takeover.
“Moreover, it is my ambition to continue with the team myself and I talk
about this with my sponsors. The deadline I still have in mind today to get
that done is March 31st. On February 20th, he called to ask if I could have
reconsidered his proposal. And in the meantime he is on plan B with individual
contract proposals for Remco and co.”
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