Jumbo-Visma are set to feature global mega-corporation Amazon on their jerseys next season, with the company set to join as sponsor regardless of whether the mooted merger with Soudal-QuickStep comes to pass.
The news was broken in a report by Dutch marketing expert Chris Woerts on TV program Inside Today on Thursday. He reported that Amazon is set to come on board with €15 million in sponsorship money.
Any further details on the potential deal between the Dutch team and the Seattle-based tech company are slim on the ground. However, a report by WielerFlits confirmed that the deal will be as a minor sponsor rather than as title sponsor, contradicting Woerts' report.
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The move wouldn't be the first time Amazon and Jumbo-Visma have worked together, with the team featuring in the Amazon Prime series 'All-in Team Jumbo-Visma' in 2022.
The series will continue for a second season based around the squad's unprecedentedly successful 2023 campaign which saw them win all three Grand Tours.
Regarding the potential Visma-Soudal mega-merger, meanwhile, there was little movement in the story on Friday, with Soudal-QuickStep riders and staff admitting they had nothing new to report at Thursday's Circuit Franco-Belge.
The team has over 20 riders and numerous staff members under contract for 2024, adding up to 52 riders contracted across both teams – many more than the 30 that could fill out a post-merger squad.
While Pieter Serry joked that "I have signed with Jumbo – I get to start at checkout 13" referring to the Dutch team's supermarket title sponsor, he, Yves Lampaert, and team DS Iljo Keisse dismissed any thoughts of worry ahead of the potential merger.
"We don't know what the outcome of the story will be. Of course, we have questions. We have to wait patiently," Lampaert told Het Laatste Nieuws. "My contract will not suffer in this. I will always have my place in the WorldTour. Everyone with a contract must have confidence. I'm sure everything will be handled correctly."
Keisse, meanwhile, a veteran of the Belgian team who moved to the directeur sportif role this year, said that the team had little new information beyond an email sent by boss Patrick Lefevere on Monday. He said that he was confident that the veteran team manager would tell them all if he had any news.
"Everyone knows Patrick well enough. If he has something to say then he will say it," Keisse said. "It wasn't nice news for anybody – not riders or staff – when we read about the possible merger of our team with Jumbo-Visma.
"The email doesn't answer all questions. As for myself, I think I do have a future. Other team leaders here are approaching retirement age so for them it's a different story."
Both Serry and Lampaert were confident in their futures, too. The two riders are among the list of men who are under contract, with both deals running through the 2025 season.
"Hopefully the contract will still be valid," said Serry. "We're at the end of September and it will be difficult if I have to look for a new team now. I'm not worried – Patrick always takes good care of his staff."
Lampaert was philosophical on the situation, saying that he and the rest of the riders and staff would continue to do their jobs as normal regardless of the rumours and news stories.
"We are professional cyclists. We get paid for it and we do our job whatever happens," he said. "Every rider knows that, sooner or later, there will come a time when he has to change teams or that their career ends.
"That shouldn't be a reason to start racing for yourself – that doesn't help your market value either. We'll be better continue doing our job as best we can. There's always a place in the WorldTour."
