Patrick Lefevere has said a combination of his age and the size Soudal QuickStep had grown to - as well as the controversies, or "storms" of recent years - had persuaded him to step down from his role as chief executive of the team.
However, he insisted he was not being pushed out and had instead come to the decision alongside the team's owner, Zdenek Bakala, when they met for talks in Switzerland a few weeks ago.
Lefevere was also not slow in crediting himself for his leading role in forming the team and shaping it into such a successful outfit. He added he was walking away at a time when sponsors were in place and a lot more money was about to be invested.
“The team has been completely expanded, with the women who have joined," Lefevere (69) told Het Nieuwsblad of an organisation that now has 180 riders and staff.
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"We’re really big now and for me alone it was perhaps too much. I didn’t want to leave in the middle of the season either. This is a good time, my successor is ready."
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"Zdenek has committed to continue with the team, despite everything that has happened in recent years," Lefevere said of the team's owner. "He wants to invest. I won't mention any amounts, but it is more than everyone thinks. That was good to hear, so I knew I wasn't leaving a burning ship behind.
“The sponsors are now secured until 2027, but then you get questions from riders' agents about what will happen in 2028. I'm a bit tired of all that kind of thing.
"I'm not going to lie: physically I felt I couldn't do what I did ten years ago. Especially with all the storms that have happened in the last two years. And like I say: the team has grown very big. We are a company of 180 people. That was too much for me alone.
“I single-handedly built this team and made it what it is today. I fought for it, sometimes with a bit of pitbull behavior when they came to my people. I always kept the team safe, through all the storms. And there were many. Of course I don’t want to see it all go down the drain now.”
