Lefevere says Emirates money decisive in UAE Team Emirates success: "It's hard to compete like this"

UAE Team Emirates is having an unbelievable season. 77 victories in one year, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and the World Championship: it rarely happens. In addition, 20 riders from the team managed to take a win in 2024. Patrick Lefevere bows deeply to the team's achievements but sees that financial power plays a significant role in its success, so he writes in his column for Het Nieuwsblad.

"Obviously, the power of money plays a role in UAE's dominance. It is no secret that their domestiques would be leaders in most other teams,' Lefevere writes. 'At the same time, I don't want to minimize the merit. UAE's team is also composed intelligently, with many young talents. Middle Eastern money plays a different role in racing than in soccer."

"Qatar and Saudi Arabia attract the stars of traditional soccer countries, so those clubs cash in on celebrities who may be just past their prime. That works until lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont knocks down the transfer system. In that case, I tell my many soccer friends: welcome to our world where transfer money never existed."

While in the soccer world, it is mainly the experienced guys who choose Emirates money, the youngsters in the cycling world make the switch. "UAE Team Emirates doesn't do celebrities; it just bets very hard on young talents. The list of their 20 winners includes names like Isaac Del Toro, Jan Christen, and Antonio Morgado, who are all 20 years old. They have the biggest talent at the top of the pyramid with Tadej Pogacar, but also invest a lot in the base."

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Youngster chooses UAE: "Pogacar was not possible with that budget"

"This way, of course, it is difficult for the rest to compete. I am not stretching the truth when I say that most of those talents are also on the radar of other teams. Joxean Matxin, UAE's sporting manager, is a good scout, but so is our Johan Molly. We also talked to Antonio Morgado. If I am well informed, Jan Christen was close to the Roodhooft brothers (of Alpecin-Deceuninck, ed.) if he had not already signed a contract there. We also knew Pogacar and Mikkel Bjerg, but they were budgetary impossible."

So you can have the best staff and the best climate, it is often no longer the decisive factor, Lefevre argues. "In the end, then, money often determines the choice of riders. There's nothing to complain about. A family with 70,000 euros in the bank will naturally accept a contract proposal where the sixteen-year-old son can suddenly earn a multiple. I get it, but at the same time, I regret that the romantic idea of "discovering a rider" is gradually disappearing," concludes the Soudal Quick-Step team boss.

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