Patrick Lefebvre, team manager of Quick Step Alphavinil, denied the possibility of Remco Evenpole leaving the Belgian team for Ineos Grenadiers.

"It's so ridiculous I'm speechless. Lemko himself called me and told me I shouldn't believe it," Lefebvre told the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab), trying to calm reports that he might lose his star rider to a rival team.

"Everything is for sale, but tell me why our boss (Zdenek Bakkala) would sell the team to another billionaire, 0.00 percent."

Lefebvre told Velonews (opens in new tab) that Ineos Grenadiers team principal Dave Brailsford said he had recently sent a message, and Lefebvre's own hypothetical and the press swirled: "If you ever want to sell him someday, give me a call."

Velonews reports that billionaire Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe is eager to win the Tour de France after pouring millions of dollars into the British team, perhaps after Egan Bernal's training crash, and that Tom Pidcock and He suggested that he sees Evenpoel as the perfect rider to lead, taking the time necessary to develop young riders like Leo Hayter.

Ineos Grenadiers told Cyclingnews that he would not comment on the report.

Evenpoel signed a new contract last April that runs through 2026, and Lefebvre has secured long-term backing from Sourdal, Quick Step, Specialized, and others to build a Grand Tour team around the young Belgian.

Lefebvre dismissed interest from Ineos to sign Evenpoel in 2018 and last year dismissed an approach from Beulah Hansgrohe. He has helped Evenpoel develop, but now that the 22-year-old is coming off a season in which he also won the Vuelta a España and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, he faces the extra cost of paying a hefty bonus and possibly even having to negotiate a new contract. He even has to negotiate a new contract.

One agent suggested that Evenpoel has a contract worth about €2.5 million per season, but his success in 2022 makes him the biggest rider in the sport, worth nearly €5 million per season.

"He has also signed five-year contracts with Lemko, Soudal, Quick Step, and Specialized. He also has a three-year contract with Alaphilippe. Life is not binding, but I will do my best to keep these contracts," Lefebvre told Nieuwsblad.

"I don't want to use the word 'family.' If you are married, you can divorce at any time.

If there is a possibility of transferring teams, UCI regulations do not officially allow for a transfer fee.

A rider may break a contract, in which case the team must agree after negotiations. Top riders have been known to include clauses in their contracts that allow for early termination under certain circumstances,

such as an annual salary offer from a rival team that does not match the current team.

A leading rider agent told Cycling News that it is unlikely that Lefebvre would have accepted a transfer clause of any value in order to avoid the risk of a rival team simply buying out Evenpoel from a long-term contract.

Lefebvre himself referred to a message he received from Brailsford, suggesting this was the case.

"I sent him (a message) back that I might have to buy my whole team."

Lefèvre said that he had received the message from Brailsford, and that he had been told that he would have to buy the entire team.

Lefebvre noted that talk of a possible transfer had been exaggerated, suggesting that Brailsford's recent message had no specific intent.

"The ghost story of that message has apparently started to spread and almost the whole world is trying to call me.

"There is a lot of discussion going on in the café and maybe five more newspapers will sell. I get a lot of those messages from my colleagues. That's normal for any big win. But now it has taken on a life of its own."

Lefebvre is a hard-nosed team manager, often reminding those around him that he is a former accountant. He takes a more fatherly approach to Evenpole, which is represented by his own father, Patrick, and has promised his family that he will protect him in his early career.

"I told Patrick Evenpole that I would treat Lemko as a son. I do that with all my riders, but of course there are special riders. I told his father to call me with any problems."

Lefebvre revealed that Patrick and Lemko Evenpoel both called him immediately when the possibility of a transfer to Ineos Grenadiers was reported.

"I was happy that Patrick and Lemko called me to reassure me, but the truth is that I had to laugh about this whole debacle. [I'm going to discuss what to do about the next few weeks, including the ceremony in Brussels and the race in Binche. I even called Lemko.

"They both told me not to believe the saga of Ineos. It's much more about how he handles everything around him."