Bruyneel himself was involved in cycling's last big merger as the team now known as Lidl-Trek was formed. "Jim Ratcliffe (INEOS owner) sees this as a small operation.
Patrick Lefevere has indicated to Soudal and Zdenek Bakala (Quick-Step owner) that his team will continue with or without
Remco Evenepoel. This has started the ball rolling for a possible merger."
For Jumbo-Visma, Bruyneel feels the merger is more appealing than the rumoured Saudi interest. "They have an infinite budget, but they are only interested in a takeover and not in a sponsorship deal. I understand that
Richard Plugge doesn't like that," he concludes. "It shouldn't be allowed, but I'm afraid it's a serious possibility. I started thinking about it and asked some questions and now I think it might just happen. Whether a merger will actually take place remains to be seen. In any case, it would be a huge surprise."
