"UCI themselves had concerns about the project": Lotto-Intermarché boss speaks about the dramatic merger

The merger of Lotto-Intermarché was one of the most ambitious - and chaotic - projects cycling witnessed in recent years. Within less than a year, two WorldTour-level teams with nearly 60 riders (90 if you count development teams), had to combine to create only one new team. It didn't come without controversies, shedded tears, and even some unplanned retirements. But the team boss believes it was the only option to ensure that at least one of the two projects survives in the long run.

"I'm talking to the press for the first time, and I must say I'm sorry for this lack of communication regarding the project," Lotto-Intermarché boss Jean-François Bourlart told reporters, including Dernière Heure, at team presentation.

"It's not been an easy operation. At one point, the UCI themselves had concerns about the project. But at the end of it all, they almost congratulated us… One thing is certain - I'm in no rush to do the same operation again," he knows for sure.

Bourlart explained that at Intermarché-Wanty, the situation had become too challenging financially to continue as a solo project. Despite the rise of Biniam Girmay in 2022 and again in 2024, the team was unable to secure sufficient funding to keep the project growing at a high enough pace to keep up with competition.

In other statements reported by Cyclism'Actu, Bourlart recognised that "a maximum" number of team staff from the two squads had been retained, but that "others had had to find a new job." "It wasn't the most fun part of the operation," he admitted, "but we had to go through with it, and today we're proud of the team we have."

The Eritrean sprinter was obviously high on the wishlist of the new team management, but the 25-year-old ultimately opted to trigger a clause in his contract to find a new home at NSN Pro Cycling. That's one of the defeats Bourlart laments.

"Biniam was very much in demand from other teams with big budgets," Bourlart said, before going on to point out, "We've done some very good things with him. Seeing him win in Gent-Wevelgem [in 2022] was a surprise, but not for us. Then there was that stage he won in the Giro d'Italia on a route designed for Mathieu van der Poel, his three wins in the Tour de France and the green jersey… it's incredible what we've been through in our little project."

With Girmay reportedly on an annual salary of €1 million once his contract was renegotiated after his Gent-Wevelgem victory, Bourlart agreed categorically that the team’s budget limitations had played a part in his departure.

"Certainly," he said, according to Cyclism'Actu. "There was the question of the sporting side and the budget. We had 43 riders under contract and we had to make choices. Some were unchangeable because the UCI made the riders from Lotto a priority. We didn't push Biniam out, there were offers, he made his choice."

The fusion has now gone ahead in any case, and the idea is to take the best from the two respective teams, Bourlart explained in Derniére Heure to try and improve all around. As he said, "One plus one doesn't add up to three, but we'll try to get as close as we can in that direction. certainly we'll try to make it more than two."

And there's certainly some making up to do, since in 2025, Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty individually finished 23rd and 24th respectively in the annual UCI ranking, performing worse either than the now dibanded Arkéa - B&B Hotels (21st), or TotalEnergies (22nd).