Julian Alaphilippe's coach let go by Soudal Quick-Step amid tensions with Patrick Lefevere

The successor of Patrick Lefevere was announced a week ago today by his Soudal Quick-Step team, but seven days on, the 68-year-old's oft-controversial name is back in the headlines, with tensions revealed between him and his team's enigmatic Frenchman, Julian Alaphilippe.

Julian's cousin, Franck Alaphilippe, has been a coach for Soudal Quick-Step since the end of 2019, but has announced in conversation with CyclismActu that he will be leaving the team ahead of 2024. The Frenchman has admitted that the news of his contract expiry did not come as much surprise, given the tensions that he reports exist between Julian and team boss, Lefevere.

"I would have seen it coming a bit. There was already a first signal with everything that happened around the merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step," Franck Alaphilippe told CyclismActu. "Since my contract expires, I got into a difficult situation. When the merger didn't go through, I was still not reassured. But I dared to hope.

“After the merger [discussions], there were tensions between Patrick Lefevere and Julian, which again made my situation a bit uncertain. So I wasn't really surprised when I heard that I wasn't allowed to stay.”

Franck was made aware of his release in discussions with Lefevere towards the end of October and early November, but the tensions that he reported between his cousin and the Belgian team boss have long been rumoured in the French press.

After a disappointing 2022 season, Lefevere publicly lambasted Julian Alaphilippe, accusing him of hiding in the wake of various setbacks.

"I told him I was not happy at all. I understand his illnesses and falls, but you can't keep hiding behind that," Lefevere told Sporza in January. "It was the cold truth. Everyone knows that I do not attack injured riders, but if there is a high price tag attached to it, then I can respond."

Once one of the finest one-day racers in the world, the two-time world champion's stock has fallen somewhat in the past couple of years, with Alaphilippe unable to reach his previous heights since a nasty crash at the 2022 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. As one of the team's highest earners, Julian Alaphilippe would have felt assured of his place in the Quick-Step hierarchy in the past, but his most recent contract extension was signed in 2021 and this is due to run out at the end of next season.

Speaking to the press at Coppa Bernocchi during the height of the merger speculation, Alaphilippe called the rumours "tiresome", which revealed his frustrations at the lack of clarity over the team's future. This, says Franck Alaphilippe, is when tensions between his cousin Julian and Lefevere reared their head.

• Read more: Talk of the Visma-Soudal merger is 'a bit tiresome', says Julian Alaphilippe

Just a few weeks later, Franck received the news that he was to leave the team at the end of the season, having formally coached Alaphilippe since 2019, and informally for much of the 31-year-old's career. Such is the importance of Franck to his cousin's success that he may remain a personal trainer for Alaphilippe into the New Year, despite losing his position within the team.

"For the future, conversations are currently being held with the team and Julian," he noted. "What is certain is that I will never abandon him. So if the team gives him the chance to continue with me... I've already spoken to a team leader from the team and he thinks it's the best solution for Julian and me if I keep training Julian.”

For the time being, Julian Alaphilippe will remain a member of Soudal Quick-Step through 2024, unlike his cousin. Time will tell whether the tensions between him and Lefevere will result in his departure, or if the arrival of Lefevere's successor Jurgen Foré may help mend ties in the New Year.