Cycling: “Unacceptable to attack our private life”, Marion Rousse responds to Patrick Lefevere after his attacks on Julian Alaphilippe
The director of the women’s Tour de France, and partner of the Frenchman, responded to Alaphilippe’s manager, whom he once again tackled in the Belgian press on Monday.
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Julian Alaphilippe and Marion Rousse during the Bretagne Classic in Plouay (Morbihan) on September 3, 2023. (LAURENT LAIRYS / AFP)
Julian Alaphilippe and Marion Rousse during the Bretagne Classic in Plouay (Morbihan) on September 3, 2023. (LAURENT LAIRYS / AFP)
Julian Alaphilippe would probably have preferred a better climate to truly launch his season, Saturday 24 February, on the Belgian classic of the Circuit Het Nieuwsblad . Already criticised several times in the press by his manager Patrick Lefevere , the puncher of the Soudal-Quick Step team has once again taken a beating, before his partner Marion Rousse reacted immediately, Wednesday 21 February.
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Cycling: Patrick Lefevere attacks Julian Alaphilippe again. (.)
In a joint interview with former runner turned TV consultant José De Cauwer, published Monday 19 February in the Belgian satirical weekly Humo [article in Dutch, paid]
, the 69-year-old boss put the pressure on the double world champion again. “Julian is a good guy, but after he signed his mega contract, we didn’t see him anymore. I love my riders, but it has to be fair , ” Lefevere said of the rider.
“Too many parties, too much alcohol”
The man who has led the Belgian structure since its creation in 2003 has this time tackled the lifestyle of the Tricolore, who has only won four times since the start of the 2022 season, but who had started well at the Tour Down Under in January in Australia (6th). ” Too many parties, too much alcohol… As you get older, you have to be more careful, train harder,” continued the Belgian.
Marion Rousse, also targeted by Patrick Lefevere, who felt that the puncher would be “under Marion’s spell, perhaps too much” , reacted. “Whatever Mr. Lefevere’s feelings towards me, it is unacceptable to attack our private life as he does,” began the director of the women’s Tour de France on Instagram.
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“So no, I don’t drink alcohol, never. It was also a failure for the holidays because with a three-year-old, we prefer to be in shape in the morning. You will also not succeed, as you have already mentioned to me, in stopping me from working to keep myself busy and stay with Julian for the duration of his career. Thank you from now on to stop talking at random and to show more respect and… class”, she concluded .
“My English words sound heavier than my Dutch words”
While this interview quickly created controversy, Patrick Lefevere was keen to qualify his remarks a little later on Wednesday. “Once again my words in English – without the context of the interview – seem heavier than those spoken in Dutch. What did I say ? […] Not last year (as Humo says), but in November 2022, I took Julian Alaphilippe aside in Diegem (in Belgium), and I told him that things could not continue like this. Either I let him go, or we will do things differently from now on”, Patrick Lefevere was keen to clarify in the Belgian media Het Nieuwsblad
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“My message was: ‘talent alone will no longer work’. Julian has had great performances on the Tour, but at the time there were no, or fewer, top riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic against whom he is now competing,” continues the man who now looks after Remco Evenepoel.
“There was a period with too much partying, but he hasn’t drunk since our conversation in November 2022. Neither within nor outside the team. […] And training was never a problem, he always continued to do it […]. At some point, Julian lost confidence in himself. He remains valuable to the team.”
Patrick Lefevere, manager of Soudal-Quick Step
at the Newspaper
For two years, Patrick Lefevere had already criticized his rider’s performance several times. ” Julian has a champion’s salary but he must confirm that he is still one,” he said in 2022.
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