Would you look at that! Everyone’s favourite grumpy old Belgian Patrick Lefevere said something (kind of) nice about Julian Allaphillipe. And then followed up with something very Lefevere-esque.
The former world champion took a brilliant win in Stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday. In his inaugural Giro d’Italia appearance, Alaphilippe clinched his fourth breakaway of the race, thereby rounding off his trilogy of Grand Tour stage wins. This Giro conquest joins his impressive collection of six Tour de France triumphs and one Vuelta a España victory.
A brilliant win after a long day of racing
Alaphilippe broke away early with Polti–Kometa’s Mirco Maestri, and the duo would keep a lead of 1-2 minutes ahead of a chase group. Ultimately, on the final climb of the race with 10 km to go, The Frenchman would drop the Italian and solo to a well deserved victory.
After the race. Lefevere spoke to Belgian media at HLN. In the past two years, he’s been quite vocal about Alaphilippe. The Frenchman has struggled to get back to the form of a few years ago that saw him win the world championships twice, or take monuments like Milan–San Remo. Plagued by injuries, sickness and bad luck, he hasn’t had a big win like the Giro win. When he crossed the line, spectators were thrilled to see the Frenchman taking stage. He was equally as thrilled to be back on the top spot at a Grand Tour.
Lefevere wondered what Alaphilippe was doing
“At 96 km from the finish I saw that Alaphilippe was leading alone with someone from a Pro Continental team. ‘What’s he doing now?’ That was my first thought,” he said. “In the end he performs a great result as only he can. That’s Julian. Julian proved me wrong.”
Lefevere seemed to backtrack on some of his many comments in the media. He’s been quite nasty–saying he wasn’t worth the amount of money he paid him, or accusing him and his wife, former pro Marion Rousse, of drinking too much.
“My relationship with Julian is not what many would have us believe. This little guy has been riding with me since I was seventeen. I believed in him all these years,” he said. “Things weren’t going so well in recent years, yes. But it’s certainly not my fault. I’m not saying it’s his either.”
Only business, never personal
The 69-year-old then said that his comments were never meant to be mean.
“I have repeated enough why I was not satisfied. It wasn’t personal. His performances were not good enough…
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