“It was never my intention to hurt”: Patrick Lefevere apologizes for his “denigrating remarks towards women”

The general manager of the Soudal-Quick Step team, Patrick Lefevere, apologized for having made “denigrating” remarks towards women.

“I recognize that some sentences may have been perceived as hurtful and denigrating. It was never my intention to hurt anyone and I therefore apologize,” he said in a statement on the Belgian team’s website.

Lefevere had to apologize to avoid a fine of 20,000 Swiss francs (20,800 euros) imposed by the International Cycling Union. According to the Ethics Commission of the governing body of world cycling, which did not give details about the content of these, Patrick Lefevere made two statements violating the UCI code of ethics: one on July 3, 2021 on the Flemish daily Het Nieuwsblad and the other on March 8, 2023 on the Belgian television VRT. The public apology now exempts him from the fine.

Belgian media recall that in the VRT program De Afspraak, Lefevere suggested that women expose themselves to sexual violence when they drink a lot of alcohol. Furthermore, at the end of February, he caused a controversy by criticizing the performances of his runner Julian Alaphilippe to Humo magazine. He notably estimated that the Frenchman was “seriously under the control of Marion Rousse”, his partner.

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