Patrick Lefévère



Biography of Patrick

What can be said about Patrick Lefevere that has not already been uttered or written? Perhaps that he is the bona fide admiral at the helm of the battle ship, the mastermind behind a plan that has made this team one of the most successful not only in modern day cycling, but in the history of the sport. “Every day is the first day of the rest of my life,” Lefevere often says, sometimes referring to himself as “a survivor”, remembering the battle he won against cancer in 2001. As the man responsible for all final decisions on the team, Patrick is a careful critic and observer of the cycling universe. Always open to an exchange of ideas, his staff likes to refer to him as a man who is energetic, passionate and at times emotionally involved.

Born in Moorsdele in 1955, Patrick Lefevere was also a professional racer during the 70s and 80s. His best year was 1978, when among other races, he won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and stage 4 of the Vuelta a España. Since the 90s, his name has been closely connected to some legendary pages of cycling history. He’s been sports director and then manager for some of the greatest champions in modern cycling, including Museeuw, Bartoli, Bettini, Virenque, and Boonen. More recently, the names include Cavendish, Gaviria, Kittel, Kwiatkowski, Martin, Terpstra, Uran, and last but not least, Viviani.

From 1993 to today, Patrick Lefevere and his teams have conquered dozens of Monuments and hundreds of Grand Tour stages. This remarkable slew of victories reflects his ability to start from square one, year after year, without thinking about the past, and testifies to his knack for managing champions with similar ambitions in the same group. “The strength of the squad is at the service of the strongest in the race”, Lefevere said. “It is the work of a cohesive unit that brings success. And this group is the Wolfpack, a family that moves together and lives together. Names aren’t important. What is important is to have no regrets when we cross the finish line and to know we gave our everything out there.”


"The Patrick Lefevere-era."

15 December 2024, by Mark van der Linden

Last week, Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere announced that he will step down as CEO of the Belgian cycling team after 22 years. This marks the end of an era in professional cycling, as the prominent Belgian will no longer lead what can, without exaggeration, be called his life’s work as of January 1. At Pro Cycling Stats, we felt it was the perfect moment to take a closer look at “the Lefevere era.”

Figure 1. Longest-serving staff members in teams' tactical framework.


#NameTeam and its predecessors#years
1 UNZUE Eusebio Movistar Team
45
2 LAVENU Vincent Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
30
3 MADIOT Marc Groupama - FDJ
28
4 BERNAUDEAU Jean-René TotalEnergies
25
5 JAVALET Stéphane St Michel - Mavic - Auber93
23
6 LEFEVERE Patrick Soudal Quick-Step
22
7 BIONDI Laurent Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
21
8 PEETERS Wilfried Soudal Quick-Step
20
9 VAUGHTERS Jonathan EF Education - EasyPost
20
10 PLANCKAERT Walter Team Flanders - Baloise
19
11 FIALA Otakar Elkov - Kasper
19
12 RIGATO Lucio Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
19
13 BOURLART Jean-François Intermarché - Wanty
18
14 BRICAUD Thierry Groupama - FDJ
18
15 TREHIN Roger Arkéa - B&B Hotels
18
16 ANDRES IZQUIERDO Julio Burgos - BH
18
17 SPEKENBRINK Iwan Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
18
18 LAUKE Ronny Canyon//SRAM Racing
17
19 VÁVRA Vladimir Elkov - Kasper
17
20 MERVAR Boštjan Adria Mobil
17

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