In his regular column for the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Patrick Lefevere addressed in detail for the first time the imminent merger between the Soudal Quick-Step and Jumbo Visma teams. It has become evident that the potential entry of Amazon as a sponsor for Jumbo-Visma could represent a significant change.
“With Soudal, Quick-Step, and Visma, everyone can find their place on an equal footing. With Amazon as the fourth party involved, that proportion is no longer viable. As far as I know, there has been no mention of their arrival last week,” said the leader of the Soudal Quick-Step team, who is 69 years old.
How it all began
In his column, Lefevere clarified several questions that were previously unanswered. For instance, he discussed the moment when the possibility of a merger was initially discussed with the Jumbo-Visma team. This took place before the Tour, in a conversation between Zdenek Bakala (the majority shareholder of Soudal Quick-Step) and Robert van der Wallen (a member of the Supervisory Board of Jumbo-Visma).
Lefevere explains: “The meeting took place as part of the OneCycling project, in which several elite teams are seeking to join forces to position themselves more strongly in the cycling economy. It was clear that we had a good relationship, but at the same time, there was dissatisfaction with our team, claiming that it wasn’t working well enough.”
This led to another meeting between the two parties in Vienna, on the penultimate day of the Tour. “This time with Richard Plugge as well. We talked for an hour and then returned to Paris. After that, some time passed. I got Quick-Step and Soudal involved. Richard visited Visma. Until at a certain point, a letter of intent for a merger was signed. The intention was to create a major force in which Bakala, Van der Wallen, and Richard Plugge would share the shares. I would sell all my shares in the team.”
Does the arrival of Amazon make the merger unfeasible?
“I can’t answer that. Apparently, things sped up on the Dutch side. But I don’t know how they would fit into this process. The fact is that with three parties, Soudal, Quick-Step, and Visma, everyone can find their place. With Amazon as the fourth party, that’s no longer possible. As far as I know, there has been no mention of their arrival last week. This could be a game-changer.”