Lizzie Deignan has become the first pro rider to take a stand against Deceuninck-QuickStep team boss Patrick Lefevere, who has made a series of disparaging remarks about several riders in the sport in recent months.
As expected, it is the Belgian’s remarks about women
rather than Irish rider Sam Bennett, that have now sparked the first criticism
of him from inside the sport.
Deignan has taken aim at Lefevere’s comments suggesting
he was not a social welfare office and therefore would not start a women’s team.
The former world champion, Olympic medalist and classics
winner was speaking at the Worlds, where she will represent Great Britain. And
she did not mince her words.
"I really just take everything he says with a pinch
of salt," Deignan said. "So no, I'm not disappointed by his comments.
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“Actually, I'm pleased that he has no interest in women's
cycling because we have no interest in him either."
In recent days Lefevere was asked about the possibility of
Deceuninck-QuickStep starting a women’s team. He dismissed the idea, saying he
was not a social welfare office.
He added the female Belgian pro cyclists were not able to
hold their own in races, saying they would first need to become cyclists before
he could think of paying them.
He used the example of this year’s Brugge-De Panne race
to make his point; saying a group of 50 riders had ridden clear and no Belgian
women were able to stay in that group.
“If a group of 50 rides away in De Panne and there are
(no Belgian women) there… With all due respect, but I’m not the OCMW either,
hey,” he said – the OCMW being Belgium’s network of social welfare offices.
However, his remarks were completely wrong as there were
six Belgian women in the top 50 including Jolien d’Hoore (SD Worx) who finished
3rd and Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) who took 4th place.
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