Patrick Lefevere (born 6 January 1955) is a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
former professional cyclist, who currently serves as the general manager of
UCI WorldTeam
A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour
...
. According to the ranking site ''
Cycling Ranking
Cycling Ranking is an online database that offers insight into the yearly and overall career performances of professional road racing cyclists. The database contains race data going back to year 1869. Its aim is to provide historical context to ri ...
'' he is the most successful cycling manager in history.
Career
Lefevere is from
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, the Dutch-speaking region of the north and was a professional racer from 1976 to 1979, winning
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season. ...
and the fourth stage in the
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
, both in 1978.
When his sports career ended, Lefevere began a new enterprise as a ''
directeur sportif
A ''directeur sportif'' ( French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...
'' (team coach). In 1980, he was ''directeur sportif'' at Marc Superia and then spent time at Capri Sonne (1981–1982). From 1985 to 1987, he was with
Lotto Lotto may refer to:
* Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery
* Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy
* Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesque pattern
* Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian sports apparel manu ...
; in 1988 he joined Tvm and from 1989 until 1991 he was with Weinnman.
From 1991 to 1994, Lefevere was one of the orchestrators behind team
MG-GB, with riders such as
Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini (11 December 1964 – 7 February 2010) was an Italian road racing cyclist.
Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling ...
and
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 pro ...
.
Lefevere became ''directeur sportif'' of
Mapei
Mapei S.p.A. () is an Italian limited company founded in 1937 in Milan that manufactures chemical products for the building industry. History
Innovation and research
The company was founded and originally called ''Materiali Autarchici per ...
in 1995, a team which was known for its success in one-day races. Riders included
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw (born 13 October 1965) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist who was a professional from 1988 until 2004. Nicknamed ''The Lion of Flanders'', he was particularly successful in the cobbled classics of Flanders and No ...
and
Michele Bartoli
Michele Bartoli (born 27 May 1970, in Pisa) is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. Bartoli was a professional from 1992 until 2004 and was one of the most successful single-day classics specialists of his generation, especially in the Italia ...
. In 2001, Lefevere returned to Belgium and created
Domo-Farm Frites, with which he won several races, including two Paris–Roubaix (
Knaven, Museeuw).
In 2001, Lefevere won a battle with a pancreatic tumor that had been diagnosed in September 2000. A few months later, he was back and continued leading his squad.
In July 2002, after the Mapei team announced it was withdrawing from racing, Lefevere joined with the owners of Quick-Step,
Frans De Cock
Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is ''Francis''.
Given name
* Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplomat ...
, and the head of
Davitamon,
Marc Coucke
Marc Coucke (born 27 January 1965) is a Belgian businessman, multimillionaire and media figure. Founder of former BEL20 pharmaceutical company Omega Pharma, he has spread his business interests across several sectors including art, through his c ...
, to announce the founding of team .
The team changed denomination several times but always had Quick-Step as its primary sponsor. The formation became a point of reference in one-day races thanks to victories by
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Tuscany, Cecina, Province of Livorno, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle ra ...
, twice World Champion, Olympic Champion and record victory holder in the Classics, along with
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...
, who made his mark more than a few times at the
Paris–Roubaix
Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...
and in the
Tour of Flanders
The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...
, won a World Championship and took home the green jersey in the 2007 Tour. In the early years of 2000, the team could also count on
Richard Virenque
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", ...
who, as part of the team, became the record-man for victories when it came to the polka dot jersey for best climber (7 times).
In October 2010, Lefevere formed a joint venture with the Czech businessman
Zdeněk Bakala
Zdeněk Bakala (born 7 February 1961) is a Czech entrepreneur and investor. He is a stakeholder in mining, energy, financial businesses and owns the media company Economia, the publisher of ''Hospodářské noviny'' and ''Respekt'' magazine among ...
, who became the owner of the team. After a transitional 2011, in 2012 the team became , with Lefevere as CEO.
In 2012, the team won 60 official victories, including the Paris–Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the first edition of the World Championship Team Time Trials, 9 national titles and the World Championship Time Trial with Tony Martin.
In 2013, with the arrival of Mark Cavendish, the team had more than 50 victories to its name, including five stages at the Giro d’Italia and four stages at the Tour de France.
In 2014,
Michał Kwiatkowski
Michał Kwiatkowski ( , born 2 June 1990) is a Polish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Kwiatkowski is seen as a strong all rounder, with good sprinting, time-trialling and climbing abilities allowing him ...
of won the
rainbow jersey
The rainbow jersey is the distinctive jersey worn by the reigning world champion in a cycling discipline, since 1927. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the UCI colours around the chest. From the bottom up the c ...
at the
2014 UCI World Road Race Championships in Ponferrada, Spain.
Major results
Sources:
;1975
: 1st Stage 4
Olympia's Tour
The Olympia's Tour is a cycling stage race held in the Netherlands.
History
A.S.C. Olympia was founded in Amsterdam on 27 November 1898. It ran one-day races but wanted a race through all the Netherlands. The first Olympia's Tour was in 1909, wi ...
;1976
: 1st Stage 6a
Vuelta Ciclista a la Comunidad Valenciana
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often ...
: 5th
Le Samyn
Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held usually in late February or early March. The event was created in 1968 as ''Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc'', named after the former municipality where it started and finished. In 1 ...
: 9th
Brussel-Ingooigem
;1977
: 2nd
GP Victor Standaert
: 8th Overall
Ronde van Nederland
The Tour of the Netherlands ''(Dutch: Ronde van Nederland)'' was a road bicycle racing stage-race in the Netherlands, founded in 1948. It's an annual race since 1975. Because of the start of the UCI ProTour in 2005, it was replaced by the Enec ...
: 10th
Dwars door België
Dwars door Vlaanderen ''( en, Across Flanders)'' is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI W ...
;1978
: 1st
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
: 1st Stage 4
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
: 6th Overall
Tour Méditerranéen Cycliste Professionnel
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
;1979
: 4th
Le Samyn
Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held usually in late February or early March. The event was created in 1968 as ''Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc'', named after the former municipality where it started and finished. In 1 ...
: 8th
GP du Tournaisis
Gp or GP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming
* Gameplanet (New Zealand), a New Zealand video game community
* GamePolitics.com, a blog about the politics of computer and video games
* ''GamePro'', a monthly video game magazine
* ...
References
External links
*
Patrick Lefevere's Team Manager page on Cycling RankingOmegapharma-Quickstep''Bicycling''CQ RankingCycling News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevere, Patrick
Belgian male cyclists
Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners
Cycle racing in Belgium
1955 births
Living people
Cyclists from West Flanders
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
People from Moorslede
Directeur sportifs