Lotto–Intermarché already leaving their mark — and the best is still to come with De Lie and Widar

Anyone who walked into the team presentation in January still saw plenty of Lotto colours. The red jersey remains the foundation, the bikes are Orbea — the brand Lotto already rode in 2025 — and roughly two-thirds of the squad consists of riders who raced for Lotto last year. Only within the staff does the balance feel closer to a true fifty-fifty split.

Kurt Van de Wouwer (formerly responsible for Lotto’s sporting direction) and Aike Visbeek (who held that role at Intermarché–Wanty) are now working side by side on what is meant to become a new, ambitious and major Belgian cycling project. “I believe we’ve grown in depth,” Van de Wouwer said during a conversation with the staff.

It was no coincidence that three riders from the former Lotto set-up were immediately highlighted as leaders. GC man Lennert Van Eetvelt, classics and sprint spearhead Arnaud De Lie, and big climbing talent Jarno Widar will lead the squad. Meanwhile, Intermarché–Wanty’s previous figureheads have moved on — including Biniam Girmay and Gerben Thijssen — while Louis Meintjes has retired.

For Van de Wouwer, that is why the project feels less “new” than it does for Visbeek. “In a normal season you’re always integrating seven or eight riders, so for me it’s not that special,” he said. Visbeek added: “There wasn’t really a shock effect, partly because the news came out quickly. The connection is good. I came over and did my rounds at Lotto in August and September.”

“A lot happened behind the scenes, starting already from the Tour de France,” continued the Dutch sporting manager. “Because of circumstances we didn’t know all the details for a long time, but the groundwork was done. We can be proud that we managed it. I’ve seen the opportunities of this project from the start — I just didn’t really get a proper ‘closing’ process with Intermarché, because I’ve been so busy.”

The heavy criticism of the drawn-out merger — and the uncertainty that many riders and employees faced deep into October — was not a popular topic on media day. “We prefer to look at the riders we do have,” Van de Wouwer said pointedly. Visbeek echoed that view: “It was a difficult period, but that also comes with a merger. The process is tough, but you do it because you know what you’re building.”

“On a human level it’s a shame, but this is elite sport and it can happen,” Visbeek continued. “Look at what we have here with 30 riders. There are really interesting profiles — riders I can put my energy into and enjoy working with. We lost a lot of riders and staff. That’s hard, but you feel that pain every year.”

In short: sacrifices had to be made to get a new project off the ground — and Visbeek is keen to do things differently. “Are we going to do it the way we’ve always done it, or are we going for the best plan? You can rebuild a culture from scratch — and we’re right in the middle of that. The right people are around the table, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe we can build something together.”

From his time at Intermarché–Wanty, Visbeek already knows what it is like to lose good riders almost every year. Perhaps that will happen less at Lotto–Intermarché. Van de Wouwer has already expressed hope that the Belgian team will race in an attractive way, with wins in semi-classics among the possibilities. Mathieu Kockelmann (at the Étoile de Bessèges) and Baptiste Veistroffer (at the Tour of Oman) have already delivered victories.

And there is more firepower still to come with Van Eetvelt, Widar and De Lie. Van Eetvelt was forced to abandon at the Tour Down Under, but is set to ride the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. De Lie will focus on the (big) classics, while Widar is targeting the Ardennes. “2026 might be a transition year, but in the long term we mainly want to bring stability,” Visbeek concluded. “Lotto has to be a strong team, with a good development set-up and plenty of Belgian riders.”

Giro d'Italia
Tour de France

Figueira Classic
Tour of the Algarve
Tour of the Basque Country
Walloon Classics

San Sebastián
Tour of Burgos
Vuelta a España

Clásica de Almería
Tour of the Algarve
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Tirreno-Adriatico

GP de Denain
Ghent-Wevelgem
Dwars door Vlaanderen
Tour of Flanders
Paris-Roubaix

Copenhagen Sprint
Tour of Switzerland
BK
Tour de France
WORLD CUP

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])