Soudal-QuickStep team manager Patrick Leferet denied that his Soudal-QuickStep team has been sold to an American investor for $16.5 million and insisted that he is ready to complete the "Project Remco" five-year plan and help his main rival He insisted that he was ready to fight off offers from teams and help Lemco Evenpole win the Tour de France.

The futures of the Sourdal-Quick-Step team, Evenepaul and Lefebvre have become intertwined in recent months, each perhaps a factor influencing the other's future. Evenepoel has the potential to challenge Tadej Poguchar and Jonas Vingegaard in the 2024 Tour de France, but Soudal-Quick Step needs time and a big budget to compete on equal terms with the superteams.

The story that Soudal-QuickStep is for sale first surfaced on the In Het Wiel podcast. Lefebvre left the Tour de France on Sunday, but in a long interview with Bart Audore of the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, he discussed the offers he had received in the past to sell the team and why he would not be the one to make the final decision, and suggested that an American investor suggested that the team had been bought out. Lefebvre later reiterated some of his thoughts in an interview with GCN and with Het Laatste Nieuws.

"People always ask me how much a team costs. They ask me, but I don't own it. Baccarat bought the team in 2010. I have a 20% stake," Lefebvre said of Czech billionaire Zdenek Bakala, who owns the remaining 80% of the team.

"In recent years there have been five potential buyers, one of whom was a Belgian guy in his 20s who got rich off bitcoin.

"15 million euros, but then what happened? Three million euros for me and 12 million euros for Baccarat. Do you think he needs that?

But Lefebvre revealed that Baccarat might be interested in outside capital investment.

"After the Tour of Flanders, he stayed in Belgium for a day and said: we have sponsors until 2027 and a good portfolio of riders. But Baccarat does not need the money. He is more interested in people who want to buy shares and get millions of dollars. I can only watch and wait."

Lefebvre, 68, has promised a five-year plan to build a team around Evenpoel in 2023. He secured Soudal and QuickStep as title sponsors, securing the team's long-term future. He appears weary at times, but determined to follow through on his plan.

"Sometimes I don't want to do this anymore. Sometimes I ask myself," Lefebvre admitted.

"I'm not going to chase money for myself at all costs. If I had to do everything to get $3 million, I'd go to .......

"I committed to five years. I signed with Remco until the end of 2026 and with Soudal and Quickstep until 2027. After that, either someone else will come along or I will be done."

Lefebvre revealed that during the winter Ineos Grenadiers had approached Evenpoel and his father, who represented him. However, the three went out to dinner together, and Evenpoel denied any talk of a multi-million dollar transfer.

Ineos Grenadiers has denied any bid, but is clearly interested in signing Evenpoel as he rebuilds his Grand Tour team.

Ineos Grenadiers reportedly offered Evenpoel a three-year contract with an annual salary of €6 million.

During the Tour de France, it became clear that other teams were interested, with Het Laatste Nieuws reporting that Lidl Trek, Israel Premier Tech, and Bora Hansgrohe had contacted Evenpoel.

Lidl Trek's budget has increased significantly with the German supermarket becoming the title sponsor, placing the American-registered team in the top third of World Tour team budgets. It has already acquired Tao Geoghegan Hart and Jonathan Milano for 2024. Bora and Hansgrohe have extended their sponsorships, and Israel Premier Tech owner and billionaire Sylvain Adams has the money to acquire Evenpoel.

Lefebvre tried to discourage rival teams from making attractive offers to Evenpoel, explaining that there would be huge financial and legal costs under Belgian employment law if Evenpoel tried to break his contract and move to another team.

"What about his contract until the end of 2026, if the UCI deals with it fairly, they [rival teams] can do nothing," Lefebvre said.

"Whoever wants to buy Evenpoel will have to pay the contract and sponsorship fees for each year. I don't want to pay that bill."

"It must be stopped, but it cannot be stopped. It's undue pressure from Ineos. Sky started [the trial] before Even Paul became a professional. It's simple

"But what do we do? Do I have to write a letter by registered mail? Do I have to complain to the UCI that they are harassing Lemko? If they deny it, do I have to call them all liars?"

Lefebvre has received assurances from Evenpole that he wants to remain in Sourdal Quickstep.

"After his victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Lemko said. It's up to me, I want to stay here for the rest of my life. Of course there are external factors, he has an entourage and people are working on him. I'm 68 years old.

Lefebvre, unsurprisingly, revealed that he had never spoken directly to Ineos Grenadiers team manager Rod Ellingworth, but insisted that he would not sell Evenpoel.

"I will always say no. I don't like selling riders. They are not like cars."

"It happens in other sports. Too bad it doesn't happen in cycling. If it did, I'd already be a millionaire and wouldn't need $3 million anymore. Look at the talented riders who have grown up on our team: Pozzato, Cancellara, Evans, Eisel, Stegmanns, Kwiatkowski, Mas, Almeida."

To satisfy Evenpoel, Lefebvre knows he must build a strong Grand Tour around him. But the best mountain domestics will either not be on the market in 2024 or will cost a fortune.

Fifteen players in the Soudal Quickstep are out of contract for 2024, but Lefebvre has already made a strategic decision and extended several contracts. Fabio Jacobsen is set to move to Team DSM-Filmenig; Soudal-QuickStep's Tour de France team will consist mainly of Evenepoel, with no place for sprinters.

Lefebvre explained that Louis Verweke, Ilan Van Wilder, Fausto Masnada, and Matteo Cattaneo should form the core of the Evenepoel team. England's James Knox is also likely to extend his contract, but others will be let go or replaced by younger players.

"I am working on the team for 2024. Everyone talks about the weakness of the team, but last year in the Vuelta we were inferior to everyone else." Lefebvre asked, recalling Soudal Quickstep's victory in the 2022 Vuelta a España.

"A million dollars is no longer a million dollars today; Soudal signed for a good price in 2021, but last year inflation was 14%. Taxes and social insurance costs are also higher in Belgium.

"We have to think carefully about what to do with our budget. We are looking for one or two riders who would be in the top 10 or top 15 at the Tour. The top 10 climbers in the Tour are probably good climbers."

However, most of the riders in the Tour de France's current top 15 seem to be beyond Lefebvre's reach. Carlos Rodriguez is expected to move to Movistar, and Intermarché Circus Wanty is confident that Rui Meintjes will stay.

American Matteo Jorgenson will move from Movistar to Jumbo Visma, while time trial world champion Tobias Foss is rumored to be moving to Ineos Grenadier. Pavel Sivakov is leaving Ineos Grenadiers for UAE team Emirates. Lawrence de Plus, a friend of Evenpoel, pledges his loyalty to Ineos Grenadiers after two years of problems.