‘Unfortunately, we sometimes get stuck on the other side of the fence’ – Intermarché-Wanty rider with 2026 contract unsure of future amid talks of Lotto merger

Three-time Tour de France stage winner Biniam Girmay is the big star at Intermarché-Wanty, and while the potential merger between his team and Lotto hasn’t yet been confirmed, his agent Alex Carera shared a post on Instagram this Saturday that announced ‘After today, his future is more clear.’

It’s unknown yet whether that means he will stay on board with whatever project emerges from the two Belgian teams merging, which Cyclingnews understands is set to go ahead. However, the certainty of a place for 2026 isn’t a luxury afforded to at least one of his teammates.

New Zealander Dion Smith has raced for Intermarché-Wanty for five years throughout his career, but amid talks of the merger continuing and several decisions still being made behind the scenes to try and find a suitable solution for all the riders and staff involved, the Kiwi is unsure of where he stands for next season and beyond.

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This is in spite of Smith being under contract for 2026, having extended in September of last year, and a successful merger could leave him without a team. He’s still hopeful, given that the team only 12 months ago decided he’d shown enough to stay as a versatile domestique, but remains mostly in the dark about the progression of the merger.

“Honestly, I still have no idea. I still have a contract, but I think there are still quite a lot of things happening behind the scenes,” Smith told Cyclingnews, speaking amid his participation at the ongoing Vuelta a España.

“They haven’t given us too much information, but I’m hoping that it can be resolved soon. Guys with contacts, hopefully we can do something, but it’s really uncertain.

“Obviously, I’m 32, so it’s even more difficult with all these young guys coming through. I’m hoping I can carry on, but it should be fine – things will work out.”

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While the deal is understood to be going ahead, the details are blurry on the sponsorship side for the moment. Details to work out include fitting 38 contracted riders into a maximum of 30 spots and which WorldTour license they will use, having done enough to avoid relegation and manage WorldTour promotion respectively in the latest three-year cycle.

Smith admitted that it has been difficult for the riders, fully aware that the business implications of such a merger mean that little can be discussed with them before anything is final, but was understandably frustrated to have his future still undecided.

“More or less being told that discussions are happening is all we’ve gotten at the moment, and just that both teams are trying to work out something that can be good for everyone,” said the Intermarché-Wanty rider.

“We still don’t know if it’s going to be our license or Lotto’s license. I think they are doing their best, and at the end of the day, cycling’s a business.

“I mean, unfortunately, us riders sometimes get stuck on the other side of the fence and can’t do much, but I obviously appreciate all the hard work that goes behind it, and I hope that everyone who has a contract can carry on next year.”

For Intermarché-Wanty specifically, it’s not been a strong season, netting only three wins so far – one of which was Smith at the Volta NXT Classic – and failing to have much impact on the Grand Tours. Smith didn’t downplay how the development of a merger could have played a part in this poor form, but said the morale in the team was currently at a good level for those racing in Spain.

Lotto have been similarly unsuccessful in this latest campaign, also only managing three wins for the year before August, after which Arnaud De Lie buffed their team palmarès with a stage and the overall victory of the Renewi Tour – ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), no less and by winning the Bretagne Classic.

Despite the current nature of his situation, Smith remains hopeful of a future on the team which emerges as a result of the merger with Lotto. He’s been a loyal domestique over the years and would be a valuable addition to the support squad, with eight Grand Tour and nine Monument appearances under his belt already.

Other highlights include wearing the iconic polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey at the 2018 Tour – the first Kiwi to do so.

“I think it’s affected the team a little bit, yeah. It’s hard to say if that’s the reason why we haven’t had too much success this year,” said Smith.

“There’s definitely been some positives – like actually here in the Vuelta, the morale has been super high and everyone is still motivated, so it hasn’t really affected us here. I think that’s because you still have a job to do. I’m lucky enough to still be in the game, really, and I’ll just take every day as it comes now.”

Having struggled in recent years financially, joining the two Belgian teams together would bring a merged budget closer to that of the top teams – though still, of course, not at the level of super teams such as UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek.

Het Nieuwsblad‘s recent update on the progress of the merger also suggested that the merged women’s team would be boosted up to ProTeam level and that development project teams could be used to keep the large majority of contracted riders with the new project.

Intermarché-Wanty’s performance team are said to be making more of the staffing for the merger, with several Lotto sports directors moving on. The top roles are expected to be filled by Intermarché-Wanty’s Jean-François Bourlart as CEO of the project, and performance manager Aike Visbeek is also on board.

Contrastingly, with balance and not one team taking over the other required for a merger to be approved by the UCI, earlier reports in Het Laatste Nieuws also said that the riders contracted with Lotto for 2026 have received promises of their deals being offered – vastly different from the experience Smith described at Intermarché-Wanty.

Autumn should see a resolution to the merger, with the UCI still needing to green-light the project once all the paperwork and details are ready to be presented to the governing body.

Mid-October was the deadline for essential documents to be submitted by the teams registering for the next season, so riders such as Smith will be hoping the uncertainty doesn’t last for much longer, either confirming his place or allowing enough time to find pastures new