The big cycling earthquake will not happen; according to consistent reports, Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep will not form a new “super team” for the 2024 season. There is great relief over the collapse of the mega deal.
The merger of the two professional cycling teams Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep has not officially collapsed yet, but Belgian, Dutch and British media are now unanimously reporting that the deal will no longer go through. An official statement from the teams is expected at the beginning of next week.
However, the news about the broken deal has long since spread among the drivers. And the reactions are profound. Almost all those surveyed were relieved about the latest development.
Broken cycling merger “best for everyone”
QuickStep sports director Davide Bramati is part of the camp that was particularly satisfied. Before the Tour of Lombardy starting this weekend, he told the Italian portal “Bici.Pro”: “The news made the rounds at the meeting of sports directors. If it’s true, then it’s good news for everyone in cycling and cycling itself. “
Jumbo Visma sports director Frans Maassen had previously made similar statements. He told Het Nieuwsblad that the collapsed merger was “the best thing for everyone.”
A merger of the two well-known and star-studded teams would have had a major impact on the entire cycling scene. Numerous drivers and employees of the two teams would have been threatened with unemployment.
The drivers of other teams also feared serious consequences, especially since the driver market would have been flooded with the “rejected” people from Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep. Due to this perspective, the transfer market, which was always busy in October, recently came to a standstill.