Lotto Soudal's former coach Marc Serge issued a scathing rebuke of current coach John Lerangue, which was announced on Thursday.

According to a team statement, Lelangue made the decision to move from the Belgian team to a new job (undecided) in the summer, while Lotto Soudal is fighting a losing battle against relegation from the World Tour.

After nearly two decades in which Sarge was Lotto Soudal's top director, Paul de Gator was named the new general director of the Belgian team in August 2017. Lelangue then ran the team from 2018 onward, and Serge was first relegated to a less influential role, leaving altogether at the end of last year.

Serge, whose longtime ally Hermann Frisson also left last year, made a scathing comment on Twitter on Thursday after Lerangue's departure was reported. He did not mention Lerangue by name, but the implication was clear.

"Imagine this. Suppose you have a beautiful ship, well maintained for decades, and then it starts to have holes in it. But it's a sinking ship, so first you get a new, different ship, and then you leave the sinking ship right away."

The sergeant concluded his message with two hashtags: "#missionsuccessful" and "scandalous."

Intentional or not, the sergeant's comments echo Lerangue's words in a team statement released Thursday afternoon: "I have fulfilled my mission after four years and have decided I am ready for a new challenge.

After a strong first season in 2019, results in 2020 and 2021 took a nosedive under Lelangue, coinciding with the start of the UCI's three-year ranking system to determine World Tour licenses from 2023 to 2025.

This year's results have picked up, thanks in part to 21-year-old newcomer Arnaud Des Ries, but with less than three weeks until the end of the season, the team is still deep in the relegation zone.

The team has now lost its World Tour status and will likely race as a second division professional team from 2023 to 2025. Because of their relatively strong ranking this year, the team will automatically be invited to race in the World Tour in 2023, but will compete for a spot in the Tour de France in 2024 and 2025 before returning to the World Tour in 2026.