Marc Fayet believes UCI will control the merger: "I dare to believe in the intelligence of David Lappartient"
Cycling
Marc Fayet, actor and director but also cycling enthusiast, currently part of the committee of Tour du Finistere, looks back at the merger that's been shaking up the cycling world like an earthquake in his 'The Secret Notebook' column for Cyclism'Actu.
"Dozens and dozens of victories between them. Tens of thousands of UCI points accumulated. Tens of millions of euros of budget added up. Which would make it by far the largest cycling team in the peloton but which would also cause the biggest wave of layoffs of the sporting year."
"Although we know that in business there are no feelings, we must recognize that in this case there are even fewer, especially when at the head of these two structures is a Dutchman who never wants to lose time to smile and a Belgian who never wants to speak for the sake of saying nothing."
"Faced with this threat, I dare to believe in the intelligence of David Lappartient, a true political machine from the highest sporting spheres, with a controlled diplomatic smile, to know how to bang his fist on the table in the face of the Belgian-Dutch duo who are not there at all."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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