Articles

Patrick Lefevere, born in the Flemish town of Moorslede, spent four years as a professional cyclist in the mid-1970s. His most successful year on the bike was 1978, when he won both Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and a stage in the Vuelta a España while riding for Marc Zeepcentrale. The following year, the West Flemish rider began his career as a sports director with the same team. In 1981, he moved to Capri-Sonne–Koga-Miyata, the successor of the IJsboerke team, where he became the right-hand man of Walter Godefroot, a former rival in the peloton. It was from Godefroot that Lefevere learned the intricacies of managing a cycling team.

Three years after Capri-Sonne exited professional cycling, Lefevere and Godefroot returned to the sport as the technical backbone of the newly established Lotto team. Riders like Jozef “Jef” Lieckens and future team manager Marc Sergeant brought home many victories under their leadership.

Lefevere spent a year with the newly formed TVM team before rejoining Godefroot at the new Weinmann team. Riding bikes equipped with components from the Swiss sponsor, successes came mainly through Adrie van der Poel and Thomas Wegmüller. Lefevere then moved to MG Maglificio, this time under the guidance of legendary former rider Roger De Vlaeminck. This Belgian-Italian team featured star riders from both countries, with cyclists like Chioccioli, Cipollini, and Museeuw achieving major victories.

Lefevere continued to progress, maintaining the Italian-Belgian connection. Together with sponsor GB and top rider Johan Museeuw, he transitioned to Mapei. Under Lefevere’s management, the team, featuring stars like Museeuw, Rominger, Olano, Tafi, Bugno, Tonkov, Bettini, Bartoli, and Vandenbroucke, became the dominant force in the peloton. The pinnacle of their success came in the 1996 Paris-Roubaix, where Museeuw, Bortolami, and Tafi famously crossed the finish line in Roubaix’s velodrome as the top three—a “clean sweep” in the most prestigious one-day race on the calendar. ;-) 

Lefevere later took charge of Domo-Farm Frites, merging the remnants of the disbanded TVM team with Belgian stars from Mapei. Over two years, Paris-Roubaix was won by Servais Knaven and, once again, Museeuw. Sprinter Robbie McEwen also brought success, though the team never quite reached the legendary heights of Mapei.

In 2003, Lefevere began what would become his life’s work: leading a new team supported by Belgian flooring manufacturer Quick-Step. He combined the best elements of Mapei–Quick-Step and Domo-Farm Frites to create a cohesive unit. 

In 1995, riders under Lefevere’s management achieved the highest number of professional victories in the peloton for the first time. In the years that followed, this feat would be repeated many times—an incredible 17 times in total. This included an unmatched streak of nine consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2021, during which no team won more races than Patrick Lefevere's Quick-Step.

The successes of Quick-Step were also reflected in the PCS Teams ranking, which evaluates team performances over the entire season. Since the team’s inception in 2003, Quick-Step has stood on the "podium" of the ranking 12 times, including seven times in the top position.

All these successes together led to a staggering total of 981 professional victories that Patrick Lefevere secured with Quick-Step. A number that other teams active during the same years could only watch from a distance.