A possible merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-Quick-Step could also mean that a WorldTour license might become available. Among the ProTeams, there are several teams with ambitions for the WorldTour. One of them is Q36.5 Pro Cycling, the Swiss project led by general manager Doug Ryder. “But we won’t make that leap in 2024; it’s too early for us,” said sports director Aart Vierhouten to the Dutch website WielerFlits.
The emergence of Q36.5 Pro Cycling as a potential candidate for a WorldTour license didn’t come out of nowhere. The team’s major investor is Ivan Glasenberg (born in South Africa, became a Swiss citizen in 2011), with an estimated fortune of $8.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Investor owns Pinarello
Last summer, Glasenberg became the new owner of the Pinarello bicycle brand for an estimated value of 200 million euros. When rumors circulated that Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of INEOS, wanted to take over Patrick Lefevere’s team, there were also rumors that Glasenberg would then take up the vacant WorldTour license, with Pinarello and Q36.5.
Aart Vierhouten continues, “It seems easy to acquire a WorldTour license. If we were to accelerate a bit now, suddenly we’d have to put even more pressure on the riders. They really need another year or two. We have no interest in the WorldTour right now. If we were to vote internally, I would vote ‘no’.”
Team has a six-year project
The sports director indicates that the new team had to work hard to get everything in order during the season. “Something beautiful has been created. When we started last year, we did so with a six-year project. Every year there is an additional financial step, so we can grow steadily. By the end of the third year, at the end of 2025, we should be among the top 3 ProTeams.”