'Remco hates Jumbo, Jumbo hates Remco' - Geraint Thomas casts doubt over Jumbo Visma-Soudal Quick-Step union
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Published 26/09/2023 at 15:34 GMT
Members of the cycling world continue to have their say over a rumoured merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step, with Ineos Grenadiers pair Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe discussing whether a union would work for Remco Evenepoel, while also questioning why the move is happening at all. Stream top cycling action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com.
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A proposed merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step is "not going to work" due to animosity between the Dutch team and Remco Evenepoel, says Geraint Thomas.
Speculation has been rife following a report in Dutch outlet WielerFlits that the two teams are in talks over potentially joining forces to become one.
The move could see Evenepoel - of Soudal Quick-Step - become team-mates with Primoz Roglic, Jonas VIngegaard and Sepp Kuss – three riders he recently locked horns with at the 2023 Vuelta a Espana.
The race was ultimately won by Kuss, taking the title away from 2022 winner Evenepoel and making it a clean sweep for Jumbo-Visma in Grand Tours this year, with Roglic winning the Giro d’Italia and Vingegaard successfully defending his Tour de France crown.
And Thomas suggested that supposed bad blood between Evenepoel and the all-conquering Dutch team might cause some friction should they come together.
“The one thing I would say is that Remco hates Jumbo and Jumbo hates Remco, so that’s not going to work, is it?” Thomas, alongside fellow Ineos Grenadier Luke Rowe, said on their podcast. “Unless they do different programmes.
“You should hear what Roglic says about Remco!”, he joked. “Not trying to start any rumours, just saying!”
The Ineos pair discussed the possible reasons behind such a move and pondered the financial state of professional cycling.
“Why would Jumbo want to do that?” asked Thomas.
“Because they’re losing their headline sponsor,” responded Rowe. “They’re losing Jumbo.
“That’s a sad state of affairs for cycling if that team can’t get a new headline sponsor.“
Thomas added: “How can you not get a new sponsor after you’ve just done what you’ve done?
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Remco Evenepoel
Image credit: Getty Images
“You’ve won the Tour the last two years, you’ve just dominated this season, you’ve got the biggest riders. [Wout] van Aert in his own right is huge. Sad.”
Former UCI president Brian Cookson has also come out against any possible merger between the two teams, telling GCN it would not be in the best interest of the sport to have ‘one mega mega strong team’.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for two big teams like that to come together. It reduces competition,” Cookson told GCN.
“It would be in everybody’s interest if there are stronger teams existing in the UCI WorldTour, rather than one mega mega strong team. I think it’s imbalanced enough as it is at the moment.”
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