The merger proposal for 2024 between the formations Soudal-Quick Step and Jumbo-Vismawhich has been much discussed in recent weeks, has been abandoned, according to a letter from the Dutch team made public on Saturday by various media.
“We want to be ready to face the organizational, financial and sporting future after the Jumbo era as the main sponsor. In this process we have decided that the merger with Soudal-Quick Step is not the best option. We will see later what it is. the best option”, read this message from Jumbo-Visma, the Dane team Jonas Vingegaarddouble winner of the Tour de France.
The shareholders of the two teams met this summer to consider a merger in reaction to Jumbo’s impending departure as a sponsor and the desire to Patrick Leveveremanager of Soudal, who stepped down after 30 years at the helm of the team.
This project quickly caused an outcry, especially in Soudal, where cyclists and members of management feared many job losses. For them, “undoubtedly what prevails is relief,” Le Soir newspaper wrote on Saturday.
Questions of a sporting nature also arise, especially about the possible coexistence between Jonas Vingegaard and the Belgians Remco Evenepoelleader of Soudal-Quick Step, with the same goal of winning the next Tour de France.
Finally, according to some Belgian media, the complexity of the file caused the project that would combine two of the largest structures in the world to fail. For example, the new entity will have to complete and pay for UCI licenses by October 19, a deadline considered too strict.
The equipment issue is also difficult: Evenepoel had an exclusive contract with the bicycle firm American Specialized, while Jumbo wanted to continue its collaboration with Cervelo.
The end of this series, however, does not end a series of uncertainties, especially regarding the sponsor that will replace Jumbo as the main sponsor of the team led by Richard Plugge in the coming times. He will remove one of his figures, the Slovenian Primoz Roglicwhich will run in Bora.
The aforementioned investment (of around 15 million euros) by the American platform Amazon will ultimately not be carried out, according to the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reported on Saturday.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
