The UCI has been informed of the potential 2024 Soudal-QuickStep - Jumbo-Visma merger, according to Belgian media, which also reports that meetings continue between various sponsors involved in the possible fusion of the two WorldTour teams.
At the same time, legal question marks have now emerged over the 'spare' WorldTour licence, should the Belgian and Dutch squads finally combine, and how easily it can be transferred to any of the teams aspiring to cycling's top professional league.
According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the UCI has been notified about the merger plan for 2024, and Jumbo-Visma CEO Richard Plugge met UCI President David Lappartient last week. HLN also reports that a meeting has been scheduled between Plugge, the UCI and Soudal-QuickStep.
If confirmed, the UCI's notification would constitute another step in the process of a potential merger. Both Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep have refused to comment formally on any kind of deal.
In yet another possible sign of the merger, HLN claim that a conversation between Specialized, the bike sponsor for Soudal-QuickStep and a Jumbo-Visma representative took place this week.
However, Patrick Lefevere, Soudal-QuickStep boss, has issued a firm denial that reports he visited the Jumbo-Visma service course in Holland were in any way accurate.
Amidst the ongoing mishmash of reported indications that the deal may be progressing and others suggesting the contrary, legal complications have emerged about the WorldTour licence that would be made available by a hypothetical fusion.
The current WorldTour licences are available for a further two years, and no single company can own more than one licence.
Multiple media sources reported on Thursday that the UCI’s regulations prohibit a transfer of a WorldTour licence for up to 24 months after they were first issued, on January 1st 2023.
This would, if applied strictly, add another layer of legal complexity to the fusion should it go ahead within that 24-month period, particularly for any teams interested in acquiring the 'spare' licence.
One loophole for avoiding this issue, according to Het Nieuwsblad, is to buy the company that owns the licence, rather than the licence itself. The strategy was used by Intermarché-Circus-Wanty when the team bought CCC's Continuum Sports company in order to move up into the WorldTour at the end of 2020.
Teams likely to be in the frame for a potential purchase of the 'spare' licence would include the recently relegated Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto-Dstny as well as several other ProTeams such as Uno-X and TotalEnergies.
Israel-Premier Tech told Cyclingnews earlier this week that: "It is no secret we would like to return to the WorldTour, so if a WorldTour licence were to become available, then Israel-Premier Tech would be interested in obtaining the licence."
