Patrick Lefevere has hit out at Sam Bennett yet again; this time up in arms about the Irish sprinter returning to racing action with Team Ireland at the European Road Championships this weekend.
A knee injury sustained just before the Tour de France forced Bennett to miss the French Grand Tour. He has not raced since the final stage of Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta, four months ago today.
Lefevere suggested last month Bennett would need surgery on his knee injury, followed by several months of rehab. As a result, Lefevere said, Bennett would not race for the remainder of the season. That meant he’d ridden his last race for Deceuninck-QuickStep as he has signed for Bora-hansgrohe for next year.
However, when the Irish team for the elite men’s road race in Italy on Sunday was named in recent days, Bennett was the surprise name on the list. Lefevere has now expressed his annoyance about Bennett’s selection for Ireland, making his position clear in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.
Advertisement
He also revealed Bennett had contacted the UCI about previous disparaging remarks Lefevere had made about him in his weekly newspaper column. "What he's doing now is playing with my balls in public," Lefevere said in his latest comments in the Belgian media.
Related News
"He's already sent a letter to the UCI to complain how I've dealt with him in the media. It won't work. I'm going to take him back until the steam goes off his ears."
Lefevere also suggested he had begun the process of cutting Bennett’s salary by half, saying he would never normally try to cut the pay of riders who were injured, but accused Bennett of not acting as he should in his interactions with the team.
“He no longer loads training files. He doesn't want to be operated on. And he cries on the phone with our doctor Philip Jansen," Lefevere alleged. He suggested Bennett was using the Europeans to show he was fit and available to race - which would mean his salary could not be cut.
"I hear from his manager Andrew McQuaid that he will definitely finish the European Championship. I'm not so sure about that yet,” Lefevere said, saying the course was a hilly one.
“We have already suggested that we do an exercise test at our Bakala Academy, but he does not go for that. For me it's simple - first prove you're fit before you take the place of a team mate."
Topics
