This is the situation in which literally dozens of riders find themselves with training camps set to open on November 1, due in part to the dissolution of the French team Arkéa–B&B Hotels and the ongoing merger of the Belgian teams Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty. According to reports, among the riders still without contracts – or at least without publicly divulged contracts – are Derek Gee, Matej Mohorič, Torstein Traeen, Rainer Kepplinger, Jack Haig, Andrea Pasqualon, Michel Matthews, Michal Kwiatkowski, Ben Swift, Florian Sénéchal, Iván Sosa, Victor Lafay, Sam Welsford, Luke Lamperti, Lukas Nerurkar, Archie Ryan, Rui Costa, Jensen Plowright, Henri Uhlig, Stefano Oldani, Matthew Walls, and Pascal Ackerman.
Presumably, many if not most of these riders are just a signature away from signing with their old teams or finding new squads – though the INEOS Grenadiers riders Kwiatkowski, 35 years old, and Swift, 37, may be forced to mull retirement. Gee’s predicament will be harder to resolve as he has been involved in a months-long attempt to break his contract with Israel–Premier Tech and is being sued by the team for €30 million in damages for breach of contract.
And there is the puzzling case of Bahrain-Victorious, who has yet to ink Mohorič, Traeen (who had such a standout Vuelta), Kepplinger, Haig, and Pasqualon. The team did not have a good year, winning only eight races, half of them by 22-year-old Lenny Martinez, who is being groomed as a Grand Tour GC rider. It could be that a major shuffle is underway as the team looks to build a stronger support squad for the young French rider. The signing of Attila Valter from Visma–Lease a Bike and Alec Segaert from Lotto may just be the start of such a move. But it’s hard to see Mohorič and Traeen not being signed.
Kwiatkovski at the 2023 Tour. © Profimedia
What is Girmay’s future?
But the most mysterious situation of all is that of last year’s Tour de France Škoda Green Jersey winner Biniam Girmay, who is under contract until 2028 with the soon-to-be non-existent Intermarché-Wanty. Since Intermarché did not apply for a 2026 license ahead of its merger with Lotto, Girmay’s contract is presumably no longer valid, and negotiations are presumably currently underway between the new team (which does not yet exist formally) and Girmay. On the other hand, the virtual peloton has been rife with rumours that the 25-year-old Eritrean will be riding for Israel–Premier Tech next year (when it will presumably be called Premier Tech).
This seems to be a good move for the team, whose primary sprinter, Ackerman, is widely expected to be moving to Jayco-AlUla, as soon as that team sorts out its paperwork and has its license approved. It would also be good for Girmay, who is coming off a poor season in which he did not win a single race. He did crash in stage 3 of the Tour and was said to be carrying a minor knee injury before that. But what struck me most in the races I saw him ride was that he seemed to be on his own most of the time, without a proper lead-out, and on occasion seemed not to be riding at full gas. I have no idea if that was because of some physical issue or issues with the team or if he was simply not fit enough. In any case, next season will be crucial for Girmay if he is to resume winning. And given the quality of the current crop of sprinters, he will need all the help he can get.
Most, if not all, of the riders named above as being still without a contract probably have written assurances or some other formal understanding with their teams for next year. And perhaps an announcement regarding Girmay’s future will soon be made – though I have read reports that Lotto threatened to cancel the merger with Intermarché if he was not part of the team, and that this is why nothing has been made public. Stay tuned for the next chapter.