Lack of clarity regarding future plans: Intermarché-Wanty rider, bound by a 2026 contract, voices uncertainty amid discussions of a potential Lotto merger.

The cycling world is abuzz with news of a potential merger between Intermarché-Wanty and Lotto. This exciting development is causing a ripple of uncertainty among some of the team's key riders, most notably Dion Smith.

Dion Smith, a seasoned cyclist with eight Grand Tour and nine Monument appearances under his belt, has been racing for Intermarché-Wanty for five years. However, the looming merger has left him in a state of limbo, unsure about his future with the team.

Biniam Girmay, a three-time Tour de France stage winner and a member of Intermarché-Wanty, seems to have a clearer future. His agent, Alex Carera, recently posted on Instagram that Girmay's future is now more apparent.

The merger deal is understood to be moving forward, but the details about sponsorship are still unclear. What is known is that the merged team is expected to be boosted up to ProTeam level, and the merged budget is anticipated to be closer to that of the top teams, though not at the level of super teams like UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Lidl-Trek.

The manager of the team emerging from the merger will be Jean-François Bourlart as CEO of the project, with performance manager Aike Visbeek also involved in leading the new team. Development project teams could potentially be used to keep the large majority of contracted riders with the new project, but the merged team will have to fit 38 contracted riders into a maximum of 30 spots.

Dion Smith remains hopeful of a future on the team resulting from the merger with Lotto, despite his uncertainty about his current situation. The deadline for essential documents to be submitted by the teams registering for the next season has passed, leaving riders such as Smith hoping for a resolution to the merger soon.

The UCI still needs to green-light the project once all the paperwork and details are ready to be presented to the governing body. Meanwhile, the performance team is making more of the staffing for the merger, with several Lotto sports directors moving on.

In a positive note, Arnaud De Lie, a promising young cyclist from Lotto, recently won a stage and the overall victory of the Renewi Tour, boosting their team's palmares. As the cycling community waits for more details about the merger, they can look forward to exciting times ahead.

Lack of clarity regarding future plans: Intermarché-Wanty rider, bound by a 2026 contract, voices uncertainty amid discussions of a potential Lotto merger.