Quick-Step Floors team manager Patrick Lefevere jokingly suggested he may need medical assistance and an ambulance if Tom Boonen ends his career on a perfect high by winning a record fifth Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
The successful careers of the two Belgians are closely intertwined. Boonen has spent the past 14 seasons with Lefevere's teams, winning a string of Classics and other races thanks to strong support from the various incarnations of Lefevere's set-up. One would arguably not exist without the other, and both would no doubt be poorer without their combined efforts.
Boonen never had any serious intentions of ending his career with a different team, and Lefevere is hoping that the end of the Boonen chapter of his team will help mark the start of the next chapter with a new team leader and new sponsors.
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"Paris-Roubaix marks the closing of the door on 15 years of happiness, success and big wins, but also failure, sadness and a lot of shared emotions," Lefevere told Cyclingnews after letting his emotions slip while introducing Boonen's final press conference.
"I wouldn't describe Tom as a kind of son for me because you have only one father, one son and they're your blood and you're together for life," Lefevere said. "But of course my relationship with Tom is special. A lot of riders come and go in some teams; they change their team colours like I change my pants. I don't like that. I love to have riders and staff that I can trust to do their job. It is one of the most important values of the team and is one of the most important values that Tom has shown to the team. These days are a lot like the moment when Johan Museeuw retired. He joined my team in 1993 and left in 2004. Tom joined us in 2003 and is finally ending his career in 2017."
Lefevere was initially against Boonen retiring after the spring Classics, fearing he would be distracted and lacking in motivation. Boonen has proved him wrong by being close to his very best and being focused on racing, despite his career ending on Sunday.
A new cycle of success for Lefevere's team
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