According to several Belgian media, two of the country’s major professional training courses would work on a merger from 2026: Intermarché-Wanty and Lotto. The first has the smallest budget of the WorldTour while the second has been looking for a new co-sponsor since the end of its partnership with DSTNY.
Two of the major cycling training courses in Belgium could only form a team in 2026. Intermarché-Wanty and Lotto, looking for a co-sponsor since the end of its partnership with DSTNY at the end of last season, are in advanced discussions for a merger, as reported by several Belgian media.
“I have acquired certain certainties on the means that will allow us to continue our project and stop making us loot. The future should no longer be a stressful subject for our runners and our staff,” said Stéphane Heulot, the CEO of Lotto, before the departure of the Tour de France.
“The same vision on a lot of aspects”
This would also benefit largely in Intermarché-Wanty, which has the most budget of the WorldTour and which still remains under the threat of relegation to the lower level. “We have been in conversation for some time, it is correct,” confirmed Jean-François Bourlart, the general manager of the team, in the evening. “We realized that we were sharing the same vision on a lot of aspects of our sport, from the training of young people to the professional team.”
The two teams, which each have an estimated budget around 15 million euros, have every interest in the project to materialize. However, it should not be presented on Monday, during the second day of rest of the Grande Boucle. If the two teams came to combine their forces, several points should still be debated, such as the name, the jersey, the sports management or the integration of the workforce.