Mark Cavendish revealed more about his final years at Soudal-Quick Step in his new biography, 'In Believe: Achieving the Impossible' where he focuses on the contract negotiations with Patrick Lefevere. The Brit is critical of his former team boss, who in turn responded sharply.
In the biography, which Cavendish wrote in collaboration with Daniel Friebe, the Brit states that Lefevere postponed the contract negotiations several times after his successful 2021 Tour de France. During that Tour, Cavendish won four stages and took home the green jersey, but a new contract would still wait until the autumn.
And Cavendish holds Lefevere responsible for that. "He made me sweat for months again. It felt like he was messing with me. I found the whole saga quite insulting. I settled for €500,000, but I should have held out for €750,000. Somehow, Patrick again found a way to come out on top."
Lefevere responds to the biography
Lefevere responded to Cavendish’s statements in Het Nieuwsblad. According to the Belgian, there are some inaccuracies in the account from his former rider. "I find it unfortunate what Mark writes in his biography. I saved him from a difficult situation and gave him a contract when no one else wanted to. And now we get this..."
"Mark received everything we agreed upon during that period," he concludes. "Just like with all the other riders who raced for our team. There are inaccuracies in his story that I don’t want to go into further, but ingratitude clearly has been the reward."
