Patrick Lefevere: I tried to sign Brandon McNulty and Matteo Jorgenson

Patrick Lefevere has a reputation for many things, including a shrewd sense of the transfer market, and the Belgian has admitted that both Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) were on his radar before they turned pro.

According to the Soudal Quick-Step boss, he attempted to lure the American riders to his team because of their raw talent and due to Specialized's keen desire to have US riders on the squad. Specialized has been supplying Lefevere’s squad with equipment since 2007.

Writing in his weekly column for Het Nieuwsblad, the Belgian picked out McNulty and Jorgenson after the pair were sitting one-two in Paris-Nice. The race was eventually won by Jorgenson, with Lefevere’s team leader Remco Evenepoel winning the final stage and finishing second on GC.

“It's ironic that McNulty and Jorgenson are now number one and number two in the overall standings. Two riders whose sleeves I have pulled quite hard in recent years. That has to do with their talent that we identified early, but also with their nationality. Our bicycle manufacturer Specialized likes to see good Americans in our team,” Lefevere wrote.

Finding talent in the US is a tough process for European teams, especially with the demise of several key races Stateside, and the folding of several key development teams in the last few years. Scouting at an early age is therefore more vital than ever, but Lefevere’s main obstacle has been budget. He was unable to compete with UAE Team Emirates for Brandon McNulty, who joined the team from the Gulf in 2020. Jorgenson initially signed with Movistar that same year before moving to Visma-Lease a Bike at the beginning of 2024. 

Read more: The teams of the 2024 American professional peloton

“They are quite difficult to find for all kinds of reasons. An open door: cycling is not a major sport in the United States, so the pond is small anyway. This will not improve because after Coronavirus, the two major American stage races, the Tour of California and the Tour of Utah, have disappeared,” Lefevere added.

“Brandon McNulty was a rider who was already on our radar when he was still riding for the Rally team. We shouldn't push too hard with that, because at that time he already finished second in Bergen and third in Harrogate in World Championships. If you don't see that as a team, you are sleeping. Too bad for us, but UAE Team Emirates also made a proposal. And their pockets are still deeper than mine.”

According to Lefevere, Jorgenson already had designs on signing for Visma during his early negotiations with the American rider.

“We talked to him last year when he was still riding for Movistar, but I immediately felt that he had already set his sights on Visma-Lease a Bike.”

Read more: Instagram selfies and WorldTour vultures – Mike Creed on the challenges facing the US youth scene

Lefevere has brought on one US rider for this year in the form of Luke Lamperti. The neo-pro has had a promising start to his life in the WorldTour, with several top-ten places this spring.

“We have really found our talented American. Luke is a promising Classics rider and sprinter who I think can initially learn a lot as a lead-out from Tim Merlier. After that, he can become the American poster boy that Specialized has been waiting for for a while."

Read more: I won’t force it: Luke Lamperti chasing his first Soudal Quick-Step win after top-ten Classics debut