Recently it was confirmed by the Antwerp Court of Cassation that Wout van Aert did indeed illegally break his contract with the Sniper Cycling BVBA team in order to join Jumbo-Visma back in 2018. The court ordered the payment of €662,000 to team boss Nick Nuyens, but it seems that might not be the end of the story.
After winning the case against Van Aert and getting the compensation, it seems Nuyens and the Sniper Cycling BVBA team might now try to take on the now-Team Visma | Lease a Bike. “It’s actually pretty clear,” says Rudi Desmet, Nuyens and Sniper’s lawyer, in quotes collected by HLN. “A team that gives a rider a contract while he is still bound by a contract with another employer, must pay that initial employer compensation. According to the UCI regulations, that amount is the same as the severance pay for which the Labour Court convicted Van Aert.”
Walter Van Steenbrugge though, who has assisted Van Aert through the entirety of the case, doesn't seem to agree that Visma should also be made to pay for the illegal breaking of the contract. "That is purely to destabilize Wout and his team. Typical Nuyens," Van Steenbrugge says. "I have been working with Wout for six years. He does not let this throw him off balance."