'The world will go on' without a Soudal-QuickStep Paris-Roubaix podium
Patrick Lefevere aims for top placing to round out disappointing cobbled Classics campaign on a hig💝h
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Soudal-QuickStep are drinking in the last chance saloon of the 2023 cobbled Classics this Sunday, with the Belgian team bidding for their seventh 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Roubaix title and first major Classic of the season.
The 'big two' of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are the top favourites to haul the cobblestone trophy above their head in the Roubaix velodrome. However, Patrick Lefevere's team are perennial contenders at the race, and with the likes of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Kasper Asgreen and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Yves Lampaert heading up the squad, few♐ are prepared to totally count them out.
A cobbled Classics season without a big win isn't totall🍰y alien to QuickStep – they blanked in 2010 and 2013 – and ahead of the final big race on the pavé, Lefevere said that it's not the end of the world if they were to miss out.
"A podium, eh?" Lefevere told Cyclingnews about his hopes for his team in an exclusive interview at the start of the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift in Denain on Saturday.
"If not, then the world will go on," he added philosophically. "Then we go to the Walloon Classics the week after and we try something else at Amstel, Flèche and Liège. We'll 🌊see."
But the spring so far hasn't all been about the Clas🌠sics, of course, even if the cobbles are Soudal-QuickStep's bread and butter, their 'home ground'.
The team has racked up 18 wins so far in 2023, including Remco Evenepoel's UAE Tour victory, Julian Alaphilippe's Faun-Ardèche Classic win, and 😼Fabio Jakobsen's stage at Tirreno-Adriatico. Lefevere keeps a close eye ൲on his team's progress and has all the statistics to hand.
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"On the other hand, I look to yesterday 𓂃because when we look at Itzulia Basque Country we have our 19th second place and I know nobody that did better.
"I also count the Tour du Rwanda," he laughed, noting that Ethan Ve༒rnon's stage wins with QuickStep's development team should count towards the win total.
Lefevere said that morale among the team had ebbed at times during the past month, with Tim Merlier's Nokere Koerse win and 🏅168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lampaert's podium at the Classic Brugge-De Panne the highꦚlighꦑts of a troubled Classics season so far.
He noted, though, that illness and injury has affected the team ov🐟er the past month and mooted the idea of a 'bubble' style group for future spring campaigns.
"After Gent-Wevelgem the morale was not that good," Lefevere said. 💫"They were a litt🌺le bit like beaten dogs like I said to them, but I think we can't sing the same song every year. We have a lot of people injured, sick.
"I said that maybe next year we have to change something. I prefer that everybody s🦹tays in hotel for two weeks. Not just with seven riders but with nine if there are changes between the races.
"They are in the hotel, so you avoid brin𒁏ging in people who are sick – if they have kids at home and kids come home from the class with COVID, there you go. And it's only two weeks away, so if you cannot sacrifice two weeks..."
As well as taking in the men's race, and hopefully witnessing that elusive top result to end the cobbled season, Lefevere is also at the women's race on Saturday for the first time as part-owner of the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep team.
He praised the race sched൲uling – which sees the women's and men's races held on separate days, in contrast to the other major spring Classics.
🌱"I was never in the race before because it's also my first year as a co-owner of the team," Lefevere said. "It's also the only race - if I'm not wrong - where the women are riding on Saturday and the men on Sunday, so othe𒁃rwise it's difficult to do the races at the same time.
"I like it because it gives me th𝔉e opportunity to see both, and I don't think the girls mind with maybe a little bit less stress."
The Belgian Continental sqﷺuad are led in Roubaix by Romy Kasper and directeur sportif, 2001 Roubaix winner, Serva🔯is Knaven.
Lefevere said that he was💦 disappointed that illness and injury had also struck the women's squad, though he was upbeat about the team's chances of making the race on the cobbles.
"I'm a little bit sad in one way because we only have five riders. Three or four are sick and some are injured and of co𒅌urse, some girls want to do the Ardennes Clas🥀sics.
"I think we may have ambition♉s, ๊yes," he concluded without giving anything away on the team's plans for the afternoon.
Dani Ostanek is Senior𝓡 News 🍎Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.