Former Lotto manager spills the beans: "We were going to unveil our co-sponsor on the Tour’s second rest day"

Heulot explains why he left Lotto in September and looks back on his time with the team. “I enjoyed these three years with my staff and my riders; I met some fantastic people. But the way the lottery, and in particular the Lotto team, functions and is managed is very complex and politicized.”

“Some people don't share my values. They are the ones who pay, so you have to accept the rules of the game,” says Heuot. “I was able to maneuver as I wanted for almost three years, but I had used up my energy and vision. It's an exhausting job,” the Frenchman says honestly.

“Being a manager means being constantly alert, listening, and often, you only hear about problems when the pressure is already high. I enjoy it, but you still need to have all the cards in your hand and be informed in time. That was not the case. I had maximized my capacity for acceptance. I feel that I have fulfilled my mission.”

“I ended up in a team that had been disintegrated at all levels: financially, materially, and humanly,” he recalls. “There was no management left. It was a huge project. The team had just been transferred and had to be rebuilt. I discovered a board of directors, a lottery manager who interfered in everything...”

"If you read the press, you quickly understand that it's not easy to deal with certain personalities. But I put that aside. What mattered to me was my team, my staff, my riders, and the project's sustainability. And I think we succeeded in that. These three years have been great, both on a human and sporting level," Heulot reiterates to Cyclism'Actu.

The impending merger with Intermarché-Wanty came as a shock to Heulot. "During the second week of the Tour, I was in Brittany to finalize talks with sponsors who wanted to join us. After the agreements were reached, I called a Board of Directors meeting to present the project. There, the director of the lottery told me that I was too late, that a merger with Intermarché was already underway. I fell off my chair," he recalls.

“We were going to announce the co-sponsor on the Monday of the second rest day of the Tour. Everything was ready. The sponsor became confused when he discovered a completely different strategy. From that moment on, everything was called into question,” says the Frenchman. “So I decided to quit. My departure took effect on September 30.”

"Between the Tour and that date, I only arranged the administrative transition, but without information about the merger and without wanting to. I kept in touch with several riders and staff members to help them on a human level, because they had been promised that their contracts would be respected, which was not always the case. My only wish today is that everything goes well for them," he says, addressing his former employees.