Patrick Lefevere has been forced to admit he cannot cut Sam Bennett’s salary, because the sprinter started the European Road Championships for Ireland last weekend.
The Deceuninck-QuickStep team boss is currently at the Tour of Slovakia but with Bennett due to race again in Belgium for the team in coming days, Lefevere says he will soon see his Irish sprinter face to face. "When I get back and I run into Sam, we'll see each other," he said.
Under UCI rules, once a rider is available for selection their salary cannot be cut. It can only be cut after a period of three months of inactivity. And that means Bennett starting the men’s road race in Trento last weekend blocks any salary cut move by his team boss.
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Lefevere, who has
spoken very poorly of Bennett many times in recent months, had recently claimed
he was planning to cut his salary by 50 per cent. That threat was part of
Lefevere’s poor reaction to Bennett being injured and missing the Tour de
France.
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Lefevere has now
said he plans to start Bennett in every race he can to the end of the season
and claimed he was sorry racing in China had been cancelled.
"From now on he will ride every race in which we can
line him up in," Lefevere told Het Nieuwsblad .
“He rode seven kilometres,” he added of Bennett’s
appearance for Ireland in the men’s road race in Trento last weekend, which he
abandoned.
“Good for him because we couldn't stop that selection for
Ireland and so he avoids the UCI rule being activated,” he said of the measures
he planned to use to cut Bennett’s salary, but were now no longer open to him.
“On Sunday he will also participate in Gooikse Pijl, on
Tuesday he will start in Vichte plus everything that comes afterwards. He
wanted it that way. Now I’m suddenly sorry that the Tour of Guangxi in China has
been cancelled.”
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