The difficult merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty has blocked the market for weeks and, apparently, many riders have their future hanging in the balance. While the two Belgian teams are tallying their riders after their merger, other teams are keeping roster spots open for potential signings from the Intermarché-Wanty Team, thus leaving other riders in limbo for weeks, or even longer.

Why is all this happening in the cycling market? As per the agreements between the two teams, Lotto will become the "paying agent" of the team resulting from the merger, which means that the contracts of Lotto riders will be automatically transferred to the team resulting from the merger. In contrast, Intermarché-Wanty riders with ongoing contracts are free to leave.

Several Intermarché riders have already enthusiastically taken advantage of this opportunity: Laurenz Rex has moved to Soudal Quick-Step and Louis Barré will ride for Visma-Lease a Bike for the next three seasons. Even Biniam Girmay, the team's most important name, still has a contract with the Belgian squad, but for weeks there have been rumors of his move to Cycling Academy, the former Israel-Premier Tech. Similarly, Gerben Thijssen is about to leave the team, but his contract with the new team (which should be Alpecin) has not yet been signed. Gerben Kuypers (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw), Hugo Page (Cofidis), and Alexander Kamp (Uno-X) have also found new teams, while Louis Meintjes, Hugo Page, Simone Petilli, and Adrien Petit have chosen to end their careers.

Riders with ongoing contracts but who are now free agents continue to receive their salaries even though there is no longer a place for them in the team, and among these is Arne Marit. The Belgian sprinter had a contract with Intermarché-Wanty until the end of 2026, but he was told there is no place for him in the new team born from the merger. Marit is therefore looking for a new team, and until he finds a new contract, he will continue to receive his salary until the natural end of the agreement, which is at the end of 2026.

Luca Van Boven is one of those riders with a contract until 2026 with Intermarché-Wanty, but at the moment he has not managed to find a new team, and the new squad has not made him any proposal to stay. Some Intermarché-Wanty riders claim they have not received any communication from the team and that all news is coming through the media. The team should have sent written communication by October 1st, but to date, no one has received letters, and only some have had verbal information.

For rider Tom Paquot, the situation is even more difficult because his contract is ending this year, but the team, verbally promising last spring that there would be a contract extension, convinced the Belgian not to accept other offers. "The frustrating thing is that during the Classics in spring, I was in contact with other World Tour teams. But I did not proceed with negotiations because I had faith in the Intermarché-Wanty project".

For Lotto riders, the situation is quite different, and those with contracts expiring in 2026 need not worry as they will continue to ride and be paid normally, while those with contracts expiring obviously must look around and hope to find something. For example, Toon Aerts and Lionel Taminiaux are among the lucky ones who will continue to ride for the new team despite their expiring contracts. Meanwhile, Arjen Livyns will go to Xds Astana, Brent Van Moer to Q36.5, Alec Segaert to Bahrain Victorious, Henri Vandenabeele to Team Flanders-Baloise, and Jarrad Drizners will wear the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe jersey.

The conclusion, however, remains bitter: while this merger has saved two teams in some aspects, on the other hand, many riders, mechanics, and masseurs risk being left without a job.