© BELGIUM
In the British podcast Radio Cycling, Ineos director Dave Brailsford has responded for the first time to the rumors that his team is pushing Remco Evenepoel hard. A transfer does not seem to be for immediately: “He is a good rider, but at the moment he is under contract with another team.”
Monday, July 17, 2023 at 4:42 PM
Every day a new episode in the serial ‘Remco Evenepoel and Ineos. The British Podcast RadioCycling dedicates a large part of the broadcast today. They sharpen all the rumors surrounding Evenepoel: according to the podcast, he is not satisfied with Soudal Quick Step, not about the value of his contract and not about the sporting future that lies ahead of him within the team.
That is why, according to RadioCycling, the Evenepoel camp actively contacts other teams and Team Ineos would be the ‘front runners’. Their journalist Jeremy Whittle put the question directly to Dave Brailsford, ‘Team Principal’ of Ineos: ‘are you interested if Evenepoel is available?’
Brailsford reacts very reluctantly: “Good question, but I can’t answer it. Of course he is a good rider, but at the moment he is under contract with another team.”
Brailsford. — © BELGAIMAGE
RadioCycling is also investigating the rumor that Ineos – and more specifically owner Jim Ratcliffe – suddenly wants to take over the entire Quick-Step team. However, there is no question of a buy-out, Brailsford assures: “You can forget about that. I can categorically state that this is not true.”
The podcast makers also throw up a lot of rumors around the Quick Step crew. One very concrete fact: for 2024, the team would face a budgetary deficit of seven million euros. When they ask questions about this to CEO Patrick Lefevere, however, he responds very coolly: “I don’t know what’s going on with you (journalists). But this is nonsense. My budget is around until 2027.”
Sell?
Another topic: the imminent sale of Soudal Quick Step. Lefevere and owner Zdenek Bakala would like to sell their shares – twenty and eighty percent respectively – to an American investor. Lefevere also speaks clearly about this: “I am sixty-eight years old”, says Lefevere. “I am retired. I don’t need money.”
Lefevere. — © © VRT
After some insistence, he goes into more detail about the question: “If someone comes who is interested (to buy his shares) I will first contact majority shareholder Zdenek Bakala. That’s only fair. I owe him a lot. I will never ever do anything without Zdenek’s authorization.”
Unpaid Bonuses
Finally, there is another story about unpaid bonuses. A rumor that circulated in the peloton at the beginning of this year: Lefevere would not be able to pay the profit premiums of Evenepoel, among others. Faced with questions about this, Lefevere repeats what he also told Het Nieuwsblad about this: “We are not obliged to pay bonuses before December 31. We always do that on June 30 and November 30. I don’t owe anyone a penny.”
