Lefevere satisfied, but looking ahead

The Quick.Step team has good reason to be satisfied with its spring season, with victories by Tom Boonen and Nick Nuyens in several of the major northern classics. Boonen in particular has led the charge, with his impressive Ronde van Vlaanderen/Paris-Roubaix double.

"As far as publicity goes, we stand out above all the other teams," said team manager Patrick Lefevere in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "One million Flemings who watched Paris-Roubaix for five hours: phenomenal! And Boonen dived on by all the media. Only with his dog I've read no interviews.

"At the start of the season, I said one classic, a good Tour, and the World Championship. We already have a third of that, the rest can follow easily."

As usual, Lefevere is not 100 percent satisfied with his team. "Pozzato has disappointed me already: one flash in the Hell, that was it," he said, but added: "The Belgian/Dutch core around Tom Boonen really surprised me. The guys improved beyond themselves: Hulsmans, Cretskens, Lotz, Tankink...they didn't want to be inferior to one another."

As for certain stage racers, Lefevere is not as happy: "Mercado and Pecharroman have been sent off to the giro. Completely invisible. I want to build my classic core and thus they have to leave. I'm at the limit of my budget. I heard the asking price of Flecha: I had to go and sit down.