A year ago, minutes after Il Lombardia, Remco Evenpoel put an end to reports and speculation that he would leave Soudal-Quick Step to pursue his Grand Tour ambitions with a rival superteam. This year, after reportedly failing to reach an agreement on his contract with Red Bull-Borla Hansgrohe, which was set to expire, he publicly pledged during the World Championships to honor the 2025 contract, which he said would “be a great opportunity for me to get back to my roots.

Team manager Patrick Lefebvre and new CEO Jurgen Foer were able to enjoy a more widespread success in the 2024 season after Evenpoel finished second at Il Lombardia on Saturday. They again fought off hostile bids from their star rider and biggest asset, and did what they could to satisfy and support the high ambitions of Evenpoel.

Even though Evenpoel is hungry for success, he seems to accept that he needs to be patient and play the long game for another year. He just turned 25 in January and his contract with Sudar Quickstep runs through 2026. His father, Patrick, is his agent and often criticizes Sourdal-Quickstep, but Evenpoel is far more diplomatic. He has always publicly denied any problems with the team.

“He's not stupid,” Lefebvre told Cycling News when asked about Evenpoel's patience.

“His goal was to compete in the Tour in 2025, and he achieved that a year before. They have to give him the time he needs to adapt to the possibilities we have. You can't call the sheikh and ask for an extra 5 million euros. Remco understands that."

Lefebvre made it clear several times this summer that rival teams would have to pay millions of euros for a contract if they wanted to acquire Evenpoel for 2025. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe tried to do so, but was apparently rebuffed.

“Three parties can decide a rider's future: the current team, the team he could go to, and the rider. No one made an offer. It was only in the minds of some people and journalists,” Lefebvre told Cycling News.

“Some people made noise, but nothing happened.

Lefebvre's personal relationship with Evenpoel and his father seems to have cooled, and they are rarely seen together, but that has not stopped them from working together to make Sudar Quickstep a success.

“He's very good when he's on form. I think he has won every time trial. He's only 25 next January, so he still has a lot of progress to make,” praised Lefebvre.

“He won two Olympic gold medals. In the Tour, he won a time trial stage and finished third overall. He had the misfortune of crashing and breaking his collarbone in the Ituria-Basque Tour, but he was consistent.”

Lefebvre lost Julien Alaphilippe, Kasper Agrin, and Jan Hilt, but he was able to sign Valentin Palais-Pantre, Max Schachmann, Pascal Enkhorn, Ethan Hayter, and talented young Italian Andrea Lacagni- They signed with Noviero. Mikel Landa, James Knox, Mattia Cattaneo, Luke Lamperti, Tim Merlier, Paul Manier, Mauri Vansevenant, and Martin Svrcek remain, making for a mix of experienced and young talent.

2024 Soudal Quickstep is likely to be third in the World Tour rankings, behind UAE Team Emirates and Visma Lease-a-Bike.

“Our budget is seventh or eighth on the World Tour, so third is pretty good,” Lefevere said proudly.

Outgoing Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout is associated with Soudal Quickstep for a performance role in 2025, perhaps assuming some of Lefebvre's responsibilities.

Although Vanthourenhout and Evenpoel have a close relationship due to his success with Belgian national colors, especially at this year's Olympics, Lefebvre seemed less than enthused about the drastic change in staff composition and the arrival of a performance manager

“He is a very good friend of mine.

“I've talked to him, but I won't make a decision before the team day,” Lefebvre said, hinting that it would probably not happen.

“Performance is the new sexy word. But what are the qualities of a performance manager? Lessons from the street or lessons from the school?”

Soudal Quickstep aims to replicate and even improve upon the 2024 season.

The team will gather next week to lay the groundwork for 2025, although Evenpoel has made it clear that he wants to enjoy the end-of-season break before thinking about new goals.

“We talked briefly about 2025 this week, but there will be a team day from October 21-25 to put together an outline program for 2025. I don't think there will be any major changes this season,” Rufevia revealed.

Lefebvre has previously suggested that Evenpoel will target the Giro d'Italia in 2025 and possibly compete in the Tour de France. Evenpoel is in love with the Tour and finished third in his debut race this year.

“He wants to win three Grand Tours in his career. Until the Tour de France and Giro routes are revealed in late October to mid-November, Lefebvre said, “He has one win in the Vuelta, so he has two more.”