“Too many parties and too much alcohol. » Runner Julian Alaphilippe and his wife, Marion Rousse, were criticized by Patrick Lefevere. In the columns of the Flemish newspaper Therethe boss of Soudal Quick-Step tackled the French cyclist, under contract with the Belgian team until the end of the year, and mentioned the influence of his partner, which he considers harmful.
He criticizes him for not making enough effort to perform well and deplores his lifestyle with “too many parties and too much alcohol”, tackling Marion Rousse in the process, of whom Julian is “under the thumb”. “He is seriously under Marion’s spell. Maybe too much,” he judged.
“Please stop talking indiscriminately”
Accusations to which the main interested party responded on her social networks. “Whatever Mr. Lefevere’s feelings towards me, it is unacceptable to attack our private life as he does,” retorted the former runner on X.
“So, no, I don’t drink alcohol, ever. Missed for the holidays too, because, with a 3-year-old, we prefer to be in shape in the morning,” she continued, specifying that she “would continue to take care of and stay with Julian,” despite the opposition of Patrick Lefevere.
“Thank you from now on for stopping talking indiscriminately and showing more respect and… class,” concluded the former French champion. This response earned him a scathing response from Bettina Gibert, wife of a former teammate of Alaphilippe at the Quick Step. On Instagram, she validated Patrick Lefevere’s criticism and directly attacked Marion Rousse.
“It’s called the other side of the coin, Marion, and even then Patrick only displays a third of your man’s behavior,” she said. “You should even keep a low profile about it… He’s just saying out loud what he’s thinking and what a lot of people around you are thinking out loud!” His runner, paid a fortune, also owes accounts to his boss. That remains the rule,” she continued.
These attacks are just a new episode in the tensions between Julian Alaphilippe and his boss. Last year, Patrick Lefevere regretted that the French champion “eats a large part of [son] budget” without great results, pointing the finger at his large salary.
