"Jumbo hates Remco and Remco hates Jumbo, that's not going to work, is it?" - Geraint Thomas doubts whether groundbreaking merger is viable
Cycling
Geraint Thomas has had his fair share of battles with both Jumbo-Visma and Soudal - Quick-Step over the course of his career. With news breaking recently of a possible groundbreaking merger between the two, the Welshman has expressed his doubts.
“I didn't know, you only told me just before we went online," says a shocked Thomas on his Watts Occurring podcast alongside INEOS Grenadiers teammate, Luke Rowe. "Poah, the only thing I would say is: Jumbo hates Remco and Remco hates Jumbo, that's not going to work, is it? You should hear what Roglic says about Remco. I don't want to start rumours, but I'm just saying."
The possibility of Evenepoel joining up with the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Sepp Kuss would make a formidable opponent for Thomas but in truth, Jumbo-Visma alone are proving incredibly difficult to overcome, even without the addition of Soudal - Quick-Step's top riders.
"Why would Jumbo even want that, they just won the three Grand Tours? But how can you not find a sponsor? They have won the Tour twice, dominated this season, have the best riders..." continues Thomas. "If two teams merge, half the jobs will be lost. You can only have the maximum number of riders, and you're not going to hire twenty soigneurs. That would be sad too."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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It's been a while eh? @LukeRowe1990's ready to rumble in Croatia, @GeraintThomas86 has recovered from his idyllic month in Spain, and there's plenty of your questions on the agenda in the new pod 👇 pod.fo/e/1f1d78
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