Lefevere Strikes Back

Patrick Lefevere is mad — fighting mad — about doping allegations leveled against him in an article published yesterday by Het Laaste Nieuws. And it didn’t take long for him to strike back. Reader Marc provides the following translation, which we’ll dissect paragraph by paragraph:

Lefevere defends himself and counterattacks
Eight figures in the cycling world made revelations Tuesday to the Flemish neswpaper Het Laatste Nieuws regarding Patrick Lefevere, head of the QuickStep cycling team, revealing details of 30 years of his doping activities, from the 70s up to today. Patrick Lefevere characterized these revelations as “absolute nonsense and bullshit [last word in English].”

Well, of course he’s going to come out and attack the allegations. Apparently, he’s rather upset. But as Peloton Jim noted in comments here and over at Endless Cycle, when you set yourself up as a paragon of virtue, don’t be surprised if someone uncovers your dirty laundry. Lefevere is threatening to take some strong action against Het Laatse Nieuws. And he’s looking for a massive damage award.

50 million euros

“Their accusations are very serious,” Lefevere commented in VRT (Radio 1). “But the bill that I’m going to give them is pretty steep, too.” He continued, “I work hard for 25 years, and I am negotiating with various sponsors at this very moment, in hopes of signing them through 2011, with an option for 4 additional seasons. It’s a deal whose value could be estimated at 50 million euros, and it isn’t going to be overturned because of some mischief.”

And he’s claiming slander. As Lefevere points out below, it’s easy to make statements when hiding behind the cloak of anonymity. I can understand why the six cyclists quoted in the story would want to remain anonymous. Being branded a snitch could have a seriously negative impact on one’s future within the sport.

But just as it’s easy to make outrageous or slanderous comments anonymously, it’s also easy to make outrageous or slanderous comments when one is up on his high horse acting as a “paragon of virtue” and commenting about ongoing doping cases, such as the Landis case. So who’s telling the truth — Lefevere or Het Laatse Nieuws’ sources?

Slander

Lefevere consequently is going to court. “I’m not going to let myself be slandered so seriously without reacting,” he warned, speaking from Geneva where he was chairing a meeting of ProTour teams. “And I am certainly not going to let myself be called a drug user and drug dealer by someone who is still in prison for a triple charge of attempted murder [note: the former racer Luc Capelle]. Nor by someone who himself was doping. The other so-called testimony is anonymous. It’s easy to talk big from under cover. But to claim that I was an addict when I stopped racing, and that I even spent time in a detox center is to lie utterly. I’ll offer a prize to anyone who can prove that.”

It’s a dangerous game to challenge people — especially journalists — to dig up your dirt, M. Lefevere. You’re taking a huge risk in making this challenge. Somebody may well find the records of your rehab stint — if it happened and you’re trying to cover it up.

Perhaps you should talk to the American politician Gary Hart about such matters before issuing such challenges. As you may recall, Hart was knocked out of the 1988 U.S. Presidential race when Brian Smith, a photojournalist for the Miami Herald, captured pictures of Hart and Donna Rice leaving Hart’s Washington, DC residence in 1987 — after Hart had issued just such a challenge to the press.

“Nothing escapes them”

Patrick Lefevere, a central figure in Belgian cycling, having led Johan Museeuw and Tom Boonen to its highest summits, formally contests the role that some want wrongly to assign to him of “concertmaster of doping practices in his team.” “I never even involved myself in the medical treatment of the riders,” he assures. “Because it wasn’t necessary, given the indisputable competence of Dr. Van Mol and Dr. Squinzi. Moreover, Dr Squinzi even anticipated the Puerto affair, and turned away Spanish riders who had patronized Dr. Ferrari’s office. I founded the Mapei center with Van Mol, among others, in order to protect young riders like Cancellara and Pozzato even when they were in junior categories, and to keep them from falling into bad hands. The inspectors from the Olympic Committee came to our camps in Sierra Nevada, and it’s well known that nothing escapes them. . . .”

OK, so let’s get this straight, there were two doctors: Dr. Van Mol and Dr. Squinzi. Is Squinzi the Italian doctor referred to in the Het Laatse Nieuws articles? And by the way, hasn’t Johan Museeuw all but admitted to doping in his last year of racing? That would be, oh I don’t know, while he was a part of Lefevere’s team?

Right, I hear some saying, one shouldn’t argue guilt by association. And yet, many would argue that Floyd Landis must have been doping because of Phonak’s history. Or that Lance Armstrong must have been doping because some of the riders on his team have admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. Perhaps even Patrick Lefevere would have made such an argument.

“This isn’t Festina”

What about the accusations of the Italian doctor at Mapei? “I never worked with any other doctor than Ivan Van Mol during this period. Only with him. I was still director-sportif at that time. I didn’t become manager until 1999. It’s easy to make anonymous denunciations. Those who want to give me trouble don’t even dare to reveal themselves. Why do they do that? All of this is false. I’ve always said that a Festina affair would be impossible on our team. And that was the truth. But I couldn’t predict that someone would fabricate something out of whole cloth, in our own family. . . .” Patrick Lefevere’s future? “I’m with colleagues in Geneva,” he ended, “who supported me at the time of the Dedecker affair. I’ll see how they’re going to react this time. . . .”

What, ho? Previously he said there were two doctors, and now he’s saying there was only one? OK, M. Lefevere, just how many doctors did you work with, and when did you work with them? As to whether this is another Festina case, or whether these charges prove to be true, only time will tell.

In the meantime, Patrick Lefevere will try to clean the stench of barnyard muck off of himself. Perhaps he will be successful in his defense. But if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t be placing any money on him right now.