October is usually a quiet month in the cycling market. The big stars have already been placed for next year and only minor signings remain to be made, to complete squads, and to make some of them official. However, this October aims to be an unprecedented earthquake in world cycling. El Jumbo-Visma de Vingegaard, Roglic, Kuss y Van Aert finalizes negotiations with the Soudal-Quick Step by Evenepoel, Alaphilippe and (since January) Landa to merge into a single team.
Cycling is used to seeing license purchases and team relocations throughout its history, but mergers of two teams have rarely been seen, much less between two of such size: according to the UCI ranking, they are the second and third best of the year 2023only behind the UAE Tadej Pogacar y Juan Ayuso.
The failed Ineos-Soudal merger
During the summer rumors intensified about a possible merger between Soudal-Quick Step and Ineosan operation with which the British team wanted to complete its aspiration of signing Remco Evenepoel, given their lack of a great leader. As the Belgian star has a contract with his current team until 2026, Ineos intended to buy the entire structure, given the refusal of its bosses to negotiate a transfer of Evenepoel alone.
That operation did not work out and it seemed that everything would continue as it was in the peloton for 2024. Until a few days ago the Dutch press began to give shape to information that pointed to the merger that is now being negotiated. On the one hand, the team that has won this course the three grand tours with three different riders; on the other, the best squad in history in classics, although in the last two years it has not met expectations.
Goodbye to Jumbo supermarkets
The reasons, of course, are economic. Jumbo supermarkets, a great patron of the Dutch squad, are withdrawing from sports sponsorship. They are willing to continue for another year out of commitment, to not leave them stranded, but they are willing to step aside. At the same time, Soudal, Belgian manufacturer of adhesives and silicones, wants to put its name on a champion team, after many years of investments as a secondary sponsor.
The largest shareholder of the squad now called Soudal-Quick Step also comes into play, Zdenek Bakala, who seems willing to leave professional cycling if he has a good offer on the table. And, although there is talk of a merger, the information that is arriving points rather to an absorption intended for Jumbo-Visma to retain the sponsorship of Soudal, which would coexist with Visma, a Norwegian software services company.
An operation of this type, of course, presents endless difficulties and even more so at this time of the year, since the UCI must announce in less than two weeks the list of teams that will compete in each category next year. In this sense, he has already warned that In case of merger there will be only 17 teams in the World Tour, the first division, instead of 18, filling its gap with invitations in each race.
But the crux of the matter lies in the contracts in force with the brokers. Between the two teams, they have about 50 cyclists signed for 2024, when the squad limit is 30.. This means that around twenty professionals will be left without a contract at a time of year when there are hardly any gaps in other teams. And that’s not to mention the technical staff of both squads: directors, mechanics, assistants, medical staff, office workers…
Roglic leaves Jumbo-Visma
The latest information indicates that Jumbo-Visma’s idea is to continue with its team of runners and incorporate around half a dozen from Soudal-Quick Step, negotiating the freedom or dismissal of the rest, around 20. For now, they have already made a hole with the announced departure of Primoz Roglic, who will leave the Dutch team despite having a contract in force to be the undisputed leader in other squads (it seems that in Bora-Hansgrohe), something that he can no longer do in Jumbo-Visma in the presence of Jonas Vingegaard. A priori, there is no relationship between the departure of the Slovenian and the merger.
Even so, there are many proper names to locate. The main one is that of Remco Evenepoelwhich he has had on his table for months a monstrous offer from Ineos, just waiting for him to achieve his freedom. Until now it was impossible, but with the new scenario it seems the best way out for all parties. There wouldn’t be so much room in the superteam pen.
The situation of Mikel Landa
Another of those affected will be Mikel Landa. The Spaniard (the only one of the two teams) has ended his contract with Bahrain-Victorious and committed to Soudal-Quick Step, with the aim of being Evenepoel’s main support in high mountain stages, the great deficit of the young Belgian star . According to Relevo, neither the man from Alava nor his trusted people have no communication from his new team about the possible merger.
What is evident is that not all of them fit. Vingegaard, Kuss, Keldermann, Evenepoel y Landa for big tours; Van Aert, Van Baarle, Benoot, Laporte, Alaphilippe, Asgreen y Lampaert for one-day tests; Kooij y Merlier for sprints; and a long list of first-rate gregarious people such as Tratnik, Jorgenson, Kruijswijk, Valter, Van Wilder, Cattaneo…
Not to mention the damage that the reinforcement of a structure that this year has dominated with an iron fist both the Tour and the Vuelta, in addition to other races of less impact, can cause to the spectacle. And the last three level races on the cycling calendar have been won by riders involved in the merger: Roglic (Giro de Emilia), Van Aert (Bernocchi Cup) and Van Wilder (Tres Valles Varesinos).
2023-10-03 15:55:30
#fusion #century #Vingegaard #Evenepoel #Landa #Van #Aert #suspense
