Patrick Lefevere, the former Soudal-QuickStep team boss who sold his shares in the squad, said it would have been hard to keep Remco Evenepoel at the team as their relationship was over, and everyone felt it.
The veteran Belgian deal maker also said when he cashed out, and also moved out of the day-to-day management of the team, he signed a non-disclosure agreement. Under the terms of his exit he is also banned from working for any other team, due to a non-compete aspect of his exit deal.
However, he still offered up some insight into Evenepoel and his former team, where relations were often strained. That was especially the case when the star rider's father, Patrick Evenepoel, pushed for more from the team, towards winning the Tour de France.
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Evenepoel Snr at times also spoke openly about his son signing for another team, even though he had a contract until the end of 2026, resulting in Lefevere hitting back when controversy erupted two years ago over the matter.
"I can't pretend nothing happened with Remco this week, of course, but I repeat: contractually, I can't say much about it," Lefevere wrote in his latest column on Saturday in Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.
"When I sold my shares in the team, I also signed a non-disclosure agreement, which means I'm not allowed to work for another team for a certain period, but also that what happens within the team must remain confidential.
"Which doesn't mean I can't say what I think about Remco's departure. In short: no hard feelings. That's life. The guy is 25 years old, and if he can earn a few million more somewhere, he should. As far as I'm concerned, he's not staying. Budget-wise, we can no longer compete with the UAE and Red Bulls of this world.
"Of course, I was aware of what was going to happen. The news didn't surprise me. It's like a relationship: when it's over, it's over. You just feel it. Would this have happened with me still leading the team? It would be very arrogant to say no.
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"This was already happening when I was still in charge. There was always interest in Remco, but we were always able to reassure him. It wasn't until he won the Vuelta a España and became world champion in Wollongong that they really started chasing him."
Lefevere continued: "Remco said a few times that he would never leave us. People remember that, but I forgive him; you say something like that in an emotional moment. Do you have to conclude then that we've become a mid-table team? Budget-wise, we were never truly top-tier.
"Through hard work, we performed miracles for years with the budget we had. But at a certain point, you feel you have to let go," he said, though adding Evenepoel's exit now raised the question of what happens next for the team.
Soudal-QuickStep has always styled itself 'The Wolfpack', with a tight unit comprised of several high performers supported by team helpers. And in that 'pack' the team usually had several riders, all on the roster at the same time, who could win the biggest classics in the world and stages, usually via sprints, at Grand Tours.
But when Evenepoel was signed, he proved so talented - and he and his father so demanding - that the team morphed much more into a one rider set-up; and one pointed increasingly towards the Grand Tours, thus moving away from its traditional identity.
"Jurgen Foré is convinced we can get back to what we used to be and that includes the Grand Tours," Lefevere wrote of the team's new chief executive taking a bullish outlook towards creating a new team around its pre-Evenepoel identity.
"If we can't get them elsewhere, we have to try to train them ourselves, which we've been doing for a long time, by the way. The list of riders who came out of our Klein Constantia development team is long: Julian Alaphilippe, Enric Mas, Max Schachmann.
"We're quite proud of that. And it costs less than signing a rider. Although I'm also realistic: we're probably not going to train someone who will end up on the final podium of the Tour de France. I'd like to think I'm wrong, but I fear it."
