Patrick Lefevere is Belgian cycling manager of the cycling team and, according to the ranking site CyclingRanking.com, the most successful cycling manager in history.
Career
Lefevere is from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of the north and was a professional racer from 1976 to 1979, winning Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and the fourth stage in the Vuelta a España, both in 1978. When his sports career ended, Lefevere began a new enterprise as a directeur sportif. In 1980 he was sports director at Marc Superia and then spent time at Capri Sonne. From 1985 to 1987 he was with Lotto; 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 and Mario Cipollini. Lefevere became sporting director of Mapei in 1995, a team which was known for its success in one-day races. Riders included Johan Museeuw and Michele Bartoli. In 2001 Lefevere returned to Belgium and created Domo-Farm Frites, with which he won several races, including two Paris–Roubaix. In 2001 Lefevere won a battle with a pancreatic tumor that had been diagnosed in September 2000. A few months later Lefevere was back and continued leading his squad. In July 2002, after the Mapei team announced they were withdrawing from racing, Lefevere got together with the owners of Quick-Step, Mr. Frans De Cock as well as the head of Davitamon, Marc Coucke, to announce the founding of team. The team changed denomination several times but always featured Quick-Step as its primary sponsor. The formation became a point of reference in one day races thanks to victories by Paolo Bettini, 2-time World Champion, Olympic Champion and record victory holder in the Classics, along with Tom Boonen, who made his mark more than a few times at the Paris–Roubaix and in the Tour of Flanders, 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 who, as part of the team became the record-man for victories when it came to the polka dot jersey for best climber. In October 2010 Lefevere formed a joint venture with Czech businessman Zdeněk Bakala, who became the owner of the team. After a transitional 2011, in 2012 the team became, with Lefevere as CEO. In 2012 the team captured 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 their name, including 5 stages at the Giro d’Italia and 4 stages at the Tour de France. In 2014 Michał Kwiatkowski of won a rainbow jersey in 2014 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race in Ponferrada, Spain.
