'I've succeeded in my mission' – Lotto CEO Heulot departs ahead of mooted team merger with Intermarché-Wanty

With a possible merger of Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty still on the cards for 2026, Lotto CEO Stéphane Heulot will be leaving the Belgian squad, with his departure set to come on September 30.

The Frenchman has been in the position at the team since 2023, but a number of staff and riders across both teams will be forced to move on should the merger of the two teams be finalised over the winter.

Talks concerning a merger got underway in the summer, with rumours intensifying during the Tour de France. A merged team will likely retain Lotto's ownership structure and all-but-confirmed WorldTour licence, while Intermarché-Wanty's Jean-François Bourlart is set to take on the new leadership role as Heulot departs.

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Heulot has stewarded Lotto during their time as a ProTeam following the squad's relegation from the top-level WorldTour. John Lelangue had previously led the team before the relegation.

Since Heulot has taken over, the team has scored 57 wins and can look forward to WorldTour promotion and a future featuring young homegrown talents such as Arnaud De Lie and Jarno Widar.

Heulot spoke to L'Equipe about his impending departure, saying that he's happy with the job he's done at the team.

"Above all, I needed to be back with my family because I've been 1000% involved for three years," he said. "It worked out pretty well since we've improved the structure on a sporting and organisational level.

"I'm the happiest man, but unhappy for my staff and riders because I loved this team and that's still the case. I'm happy with what I've experienced because, in my opinion, I've succeeded in my mission – we've brought the team back to the WorldTour."

Heulot and Lotto have had to navigate several difficulties during their time in the second division, notably Arnaud De Lie's well-publicised struggle with illness, Caleb Ewan's controversial departure, and the loss of key riders – including Victor Campenaerts, Maxim Van Gils, and Florian Veermersch – to richer teams.

They've come through the hard times, though, and currently lie 12th in the three-year UCI points rankings, certain to return to the WorldTour for 2026 to 2028, whatever guise the new-look merged team will take.

"There was still a lot to do, but I have the feeling that people questioned themselves, that they exploited their area of ​​expertise because I gave them this freedom," Heulot said.

"On a human level, we managed to create this climate; we went back to basics. There were many complicated episodes, and the hardest was surely the three months in spring with Arnaud, where we found ourselves alone.

"It is not my achievement," he stressed about De Lie's return to form. "I contributed to helping him, to elucidating the consequences of Lyme disease. But it is his achievement. He had to realise that what he was experiencing was not the result of chance.

"He remains a 22-year-old who no longer understands anything about life. I managed to make him understand that he had to create his ecosystem. We thought about it together, around his family, a very small circle. I am not surprised by what he is achieving today."

Heulot had a few regrets during his time with the team, including the handling of the Ewan situation, saying he "mismanaged the communication" during the team's falling-out with the sprinter.

"I would also have liked to make decisions more quickly on the organisational level," he said. "Things that we don't necessarily see from the outside, I could have been more efficient. I sometimes gave people too much time, the chance to understand what I expected of them.

"We established the whole logic of scanning, a real follow-up that I put in place after two and a half years, so that every item taken, a gel or a tyre, was scanned. When I arrived, it was post-its that flew away."

Now, Heulot leaves Lotto certainly in a better place than when he joined. He said he already has offers from other teams, but looks set to take some time off before returning to cycling.

"I have already had several offers, but often with the question of knowing if I can bring Arnaud or a sponsor. And that is out of the question, because Arnaud is Arnaud," He said. "That we'll meet again later, in another way, probably, but at this point, it only concerns me. It's as if you had just divorced and were to remarry the next day.

"I need to settle down with my family, I'm going to come back to live in Brittany because I have plans on the French side, but I have to think before committing myself 100% again. I'm not saying no to cycling, of course. What surprises me the most is the feeling of relief. It means that it was weighing on me."