This week, the merger between the Lotto team and Intermarché-Wanty was officially announced. Not only did the team receive a WorldTeam license for 2026, 2027, and 2028, but the new Belgian team also revealed its rosters for the men’s, women’s, and U23 squads. But how is the management structured? In this regard, the now-defunct Intermarché team holds the most influence.
Although the initiative for the merger came from National Lottery boss Jannie Haek, the team’s management now consists of Jean-François Bourlart as CEO, Kurt Van de Wouwer as sporting director, and Aike Visbeek as performance manager. Lotto CEO Stéphane Heulot has stepped out of the picture. The team has not confirmed who the other team directors will be. Apart from Bourlart and Visbeek, the majority of the sporting staff will come from the Intermarché-Wanty side.
This is related to the fact that many Lotto team directors are moving elsewhere. From the core group of directors, only Mario Aerts remains alongside Van de Wouwer. Nikolas Maes and Alec Segaert are making the move to Bahrain Victorious; Dirk Demol (Flanders-Baloise) and Tony Gallopin (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) have already secured their new destinations. Marc Wauters is retiring after fifteen years of loyal service. This suddenly frees up quite a few spots among the team directors.
[caption id="attachment_888280" align="alignnone" width="2000"] Kurt Van de Wouwer stays on and becomes the new sporting director - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos [/caption]
Regarding the regular Intermarché-Wanty team directors, Dimitri Claeys is joining Biniam Girmay at Israel’s successor NSN Cycling Team, and Walloon Sébastien Demarbaix is moving to Cofidis. Adriaan Helmantel opts for an adventure at Tudor. Bart Wellens has already confirmed to us that he is staying, and Pieter Vanspeybrouck will also be on board in 2026. There is still some uncertainty about Franky Van Haesebroucke, Frederik Veuchelen, Kévin Van Melsen, and Steven De Neef, but the expectation is that they will remain.
But there is also a new name to report. Zico Waeytens, a professional rider from 2012 to 2019 and once part of Lotto’s youth development program, will take on the role of guiding the youth teams, supplemented by a few days with the pro squad. Waeytens was already working at Lotto as a VIP driver and is now being promoted.
