Cycling: Due to impending merger: Roglic leaves Jumbo Visma

The apparently impending merger of the two largest cycling teams Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step is having its first personnel consequences. Giro winner Primoz Roglic is leaving the Jumbo-Visma team with Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard at the end of the season and thus before his contract expires.

It is said that he has not been satisfied with his role at the Dutch racing team for a long time and has been linked to several teams. “I can only confirm that I will be leaving the team,” said the 33-year-old Slovenian before the start of the one-day race Giro dell’Emilia. His contract runs until the end of next season.

New super team?

“Wielerflits” had reported that Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step are in advanced discussions with time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel. Completion of the merger is only a matter of time. The racing team is scheduled to race under the name Soudal-Visma next year.

Since the supermarket chain Jumbo is withdrawing as the main sponsor, the Dutch team, which won all three major national tours this year, is looking for new donors. Investors from Saudi Arabia were recently discussed.

The merger is expected to trigger a number of high-profile driver transfers, with Jumbo having 27 and Soudal 23 professionals under contract for the coming year. The maximum team size is 30 drivers. Evenepoel has been aiming for a move to the British Ineos team for a long time – and with Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss or Wout van Aert as well as Evenepoel or Julian Alaphilippe, there would be an oversupply of top people in the new team.