Lefevere cashes in his chips and leaves cycling management

The news that Patrick Lefevere will step down as Quick Step boss marks the end of an era, after 22 years in charge

- Adam Becket

Patrick Lefevere became a sports director in 1979, the year Margaret Thatcher came to power, during the Cold War. Over 40 years on, it was announced last week that the Belgian would leave his role as CEO of Soudal-Quick Step, the team that he has been in charge of for the past 22 years.

For a remarkable 11 of those years, Quick Step in its various iterations won the most races of any cycling team on the WorldTour, taking 981 victories in total according to ProCyclingStats. During Lefevere’s time at the helm, the team won 22 Monuments, including eight editions of the Tour of Flanders, which gave them a reputation as the men to beat in the Classics. He also oversaw a transition into a GC team, led by their latest star rider, Remco Evenepoel, who claimed Quick Step’s first Grand Tour victory, the 2022 Vuelta a España. They also won 124 Grand Tour stages.

Over the years, his stars have included Tom Boonen - 120 wins for the squad - Mark Cavendish (59), Evenepoel (57), and Julian Alaphilippe (42).

Master tactician

Another of those stars, Johann Museeuw, who worked with Lefevere from his days as a sports director at Mapei to Quick Step, won 43 races while they worked together.