Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl boss Patrick Lefevere described Jumbo Visma as "from another planet" after winning the Vuelta a España team time trial.

The Belgian boss saw his team succeed again in 2022, when they and others won 38 Tour de France victories, one of which was a team 1-2.

Jumbo Visma's latest success was his victory on the first day of the Vuelta on Friday. While Quick-Step conceded second place to Ineos Grenadier by one second, Jumbo was 14 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

According to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab), "They are from another planet," Lefevere said.

"When I see the way our riders take corners, I wonder how the Jumbo riders do it. If it were a car, they would say, 'On two wheels.'"

Lefebvre also wrote a Saturday column for Het Nieuwsblad, where he returned to the topic.

"I am not surprised by Jumbo-Visma's win itself, but by their lead," he explained.

"Fourteen seconds over 23 kilometers is huge," he explained.

Still, that did not mean that Lefebvre felt that his team had performed flawlessly. For starters, their team, which included many of Remco Evenpole's climbing domestiques, was weaker in the time trial than Jumbo Visma, and he also highlighted the world champion's mistakes.

"We have to be satisfied with third place in the time trial, which was almost perfect. Julien Alaphilippe ran on the wrong side of the train, against our instructions.

"In any case, we were able to finish in our position with a team that was not specifically constructed for the team time trial. For example, we did not use Josef Cerny, who has horsepower in the time trial.

Lefebvre's comments are not necessarily accusatory, but they may raise eyebrows given cycling's history and otherworldly connotations, as when Elisa Longo Borghini called Annemiek van Fruten "an alien" a few years ago.

Jumbo Visma's dominating performance in the Tour de France has provoked questions about doping.

While Wout Van Aert described the question as "a shitty question," Jonas Wingegaard argued that None of us are doing anything illegal

"I think the reason why we are so good is because of the preparation we do. We are taking high altitude training camps to the next level, materials, food, training, everything. I really think this team is the best. So you can trust us."