Lotto-Intermarché merger faces roster chaos and staff exodus amid further UCI deadlines
Despite the 2025 season now in the books and 2026 on the horizon, many still remain in limbo regarding their futures for next season as the merger between the two Belgian teams is yet to be completed.
The ongoing merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty looks to have hit more roadblocks regarding roster uncertainty and staff departures, as time becomes scarce, just weeks before crucial UCI deadlines.
Het Laatste Nieuws described the current situation as "chaos reigns," reminding that "the team must meet numerous financial and administrative requirements according to the UCI registration," with the next UCI deadline looming on November 1, an important date also for the Australian team Jayco AlUla, who missed the October 15 deadline to complete its 2026 WorldTour license application.
The merged Belgian team is currently holding team days in Charleroi, but with numerous absentees and no clarity on which riders will actually comprise the roster for next season.
Star rider of Intermarché-Wanty, Biniam Girmay, is one of the many riders with whom it remains to be seen where they will apply their trade in 2026, whilst the key rider of Lotto, Arnaud de Lie, is set to be a key part of the team's future potential success.
Meanwhile, plenty of riders and staff have been left jobless for next year, forcing some to even retire from the sport altogether, adding to the growing list with the folding of teams such as Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Wagner Bazin WB at the end of the 2025 season.
Reports in recent months have linked Girmay with a move to Israel-Premier Tech, who will rebrand and drop its Israeli identity in 2026. However, the Eritrean is reportedly included on the current provisional roster for the merger team.
The UCI confirmed 20 teams had applied for the 18 available WorldTour places for 2026, with Lotto being one, but not Intermarché-Wanty.
This indicates that the merger team plans to operate under Lotto’s license, which means that Intermarché-Wanty riders are technically free to terminate their contracts, with Het Nieuwsblad reporting that "Intermarché riders can unilaterally terminate their current contracts. But anyone who does so also loses all their rights.”
The staff situation appears equally chaotic. After laying off several Lotto employees citing excessive costs, management for the merger team has attempted to rehire mechanics, only to be rebuffed, as they've already found new jobs.
Nick Mondelaers and Jeanick Verstraete, two experienced long-serving mechanics, declined return offers, having found employment elsewhere. Dutch mechanic Martijn van Schaijk has also departed after a promised promotion to head of development was reversed along with a planned pay increase, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Meanwhile, Intermarché-Wanty staff reportedly remain uninformed about their futures with the new team.
Among the few certainties are that Orbea will continue as bike supplier and the service course will be located in Temse, at Lotto's headquarters. A settlement has been reached regarding the €2.5 million debts of NV Continuum Sports, the structure behind Intermarché-Wanty.
However, with the next key deadline of November 1 edging closer, it appears that there is a lot of work that still needs to be done in order to get the merger up and running.
