Quick Step boss holding out for contract to expire while team enjoy first training camp
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The 2011 Quick Step team(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sylvain Chavanel will lead co-lead the team in the Classics(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen gets some rest before the season starts(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The team pick up the pace in the hills around Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The riders gather before their morning training ride(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Riders pose for a sponsorship photoshoot(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen is all smiles at the team training camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen will be the main leader in the major races(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dries Devenyns starts his third season with Quick Step(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Can Gerald Ciolek rescue his career after two disappointing seasons at Milram?(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Gert Steegmans signed from RadioShack after another tough year(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
New signing Niki Terpstra comes from Milram(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick Step are also sponsored by Innergetic, a mattress company(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Patrick Lefevere is still holding out for Zdenek Stybar’s signature but has told Cyclingnews that he will not be dragged deeper into a negotiation battle involving the cyclo-cross rider and his current team, Telenet-Fidea.
The Czech rider’s contract runs out on February 28 but despite Telenet-Fidea having first refusal on any contract offer before that point Lefevere could wait before signing his man as a free agent.
“The ball is still in the court of his manager and Telenet-Fidea. There was an offer but they have to decide if he’s going to stay with the team or leave,” Lefevere told Cyclingnews.
“I don’t want to talk too much about it because I’m only interested if he’s free to move. I don’t want to be involved in a fight for him. If they want to fight between themselves that’s up to them but I’m just going to concentrate on my team. I don’t want to pay him out of a contract, if he wants to do that then that’s fine.”
Stybar has made clear to sections of the press that he wishes to sign for Quick Step, while Lefevere is keen to bolster his team after a number of riders left the team at the end of 2010.
“He knows he’s welcome in the team. He’s a good rider, he makes a lot of publicity and I’m convinced he can be important at the Olympics and he can try things on the road too. He’s an interesting rider but I don’t want to be involved in a fight. If he’s free he’s more than welcome.”
Calpe Training Camp
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Quick Step leave for Calpe, Spain in the next few days for there second pre-season training camp. According to Lefevere, team leader Tom Boonen is in fine form as he aims to build up for another Classics campaign.
“He’s in good form. Last time we spoke was at the training camp in Calpe. We have another one coming up in the next few days too.”
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
