It turns out to be no simple process, but in recent weeks there appears to be progress: the merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty is imminent. Both Belgian teams have jointly submitted an application to the UCI for a WorldTour license for the next three seasons. The deadline to do this was last Wednesday, October 15.
The joint project is called Lotto-Intermarché according to Het Nieuwsblad. The company Captains of Cycling will be the license holder, meaning the contracts of the riders and staff from Intermarché-Wanty are no longer legally valid. They are therefore free to go wherever they want. "The license application had to be submitted to the UCI before October 15, and that deadline has been met," reads a statement from the Lotto team.
In the coming weeks, the UCI will review all license files, including that of Lotto-Intermarché. In due course, the team hopes to publicly elaborate on the further details of the project. Various teams are courting several riders from Intermarché-Wanty, but a few Lotto riders are reportedly also in demand. The merger project involves more contracts than the UCI allows.
