• Friday, October 11, 2024 at 7:25 PM
Things have been going on behind the scenes at Lotto Dstny for quite some time. Sources from within the team’s broad framework step forward to tell their stories CyclingFlits. They do this anonymously for fear of reprisals. They paint a picture of sporting mismanagement, bullying and intimidation.
In this article you will read:
- Riders who have to wait (too) long for a concrete proposal after verbal agreement
- Major cuts that affect the riders
- Possible break with Vermarc, who – like Ridley until last year – has been in a relationship for years
- Criticism directed at Stéphane Heulot and sporting management Kurt Van de Wouwer
Things are not going well at the moment at the Belgian ProTeam Lotto Dstny. This has been clear in recent months, among other things, during contract negotiations. The team and Victor Campenaerts reached an agreement in January 2024 to continue working together for longer. However, a concrete offer never materialized, after which the Belgian decided in June to move to Visma | for three years Lease a Bike to go. Harm Vanhoucke chose Q36.5 Pro Cycling last week, because he no longer wants to sit in the waiting room. Arjen Livyns still does that now. He has a verbal agreement, but is still waiting for his contract. There is currently no money to make that concrete.
Arjen Livyns – photo: Cor Vos
Cost savings that riders pay for
At the beginning of August we received information that lender Dstny still has to pay the last part of the sponsorship money. We confronted the team management with this during the Tour de France Femmes. “We are not going and cannot answer that,” is the official statement. With the addition that it is not a problem ‘yet’. Off the record: “That won’t be too bad.” But in practice this appears not to be the case, as several sources tell us. It has now CyclingFlits also obtained some emails and invoices that underline the financial problems.
The altitude training for the Vuelta a España was also canceled in two phases, because the team appears to have no budget for it. Riders will also no longer be reimbursed for travel and accommodation costs if they travel on their own. They can ride to the race in the team leader’s cars. If they choose to travel with their own transportation or require an additional hotel night, riders must pay for this themselves. In addition, staff sometimes have to wait months for reimbursement of advances in the name of Lotto Dstny. Normally the team has credit cards for this, but the staff can no longer always use them.
After breach of contract with Ridley, now also with Vermarc?
Money worries are not new. In June, the team’s CEO Stéphane Heulot already talked about liquidity problems The Newspaper: “We will not spend money we do not have […] Financially, I aim for a higher budget so that we can continue working comfortably and not have to constantly wonder how we pay the bills,” the Frenchman said in that interview.
Many riders leave Lotto; Will Maxim Van Gils wave goodbye to them soon? – photo: Cor Vos
This already emerged in 2023. After a collaboration of twelve years, the management is tearing up the contract with the Belgian Ridley that runs until the end of 2025, much to the dismay of the bicycle brand. It results in a lawsuit. The Basque company Orbea has been the new bicycle supplier since this year. “We choose a different brand because we want to improve financially,” Heulot says at the end of 2023 The Latest News.
At the moment, a relationship that has lasted many years is about to break down. Clothing brand Vermarc has been supplying clothing for the Belgian formation since 2004, but that may stop. It remains to be seen whether this will happen, because we hear different voices in that area. One of the rumors is that discussions have been held with the Italian sportswear brand FILA. In that slipstream, Danny van der Tuuk would drive for Lotto in 2025.
The deal with the Dutch Pole Van der Tuuk has been canceled. He also has a unilaterally signed contract on which the team’s signature is still missing. The explanation given to him is that they want to focus more on Belgians. Another source states that it has also been said that there is currently no budget to sign Van der Tuuk.
The agreement with FILA is also cancelled. Whether that potential deal was used by Heulot to pressure Vermarc to pump more money into his team has not been confirmed. However, it does seem plausible to our sources.
Heulot (left) and Van de Wouwer (right) – photo: Cor Vos
Heulot responsible, criticism of Van de Wouwer
Internal and external sources outline CyclingFlits an image of Heulot who is difficult to work with. Several riders say they have been victims of harassment by Heulot in recent times. This was also the case last year with Caleb Ewan, who was even openly attacked by the Frenchman in the media. In an interview with The Latest News he later said: “I should have handled that internally and I regret it.”
In terms of results, Lotto Dstny is nevertheless having a strong season. Now that 2024 is almost over, they are ninth in the UCI Ranking and are the best ProTeam. They won 21 times, including the UAE Tour (Lennert Van Eetvelt), the Belgian championship (Arnaud De Lie) and a stage in the Tour de France (Campenaerts).
Nevertheless, there are doubts about some tactical and strategic choices made by sporting director Kurt Van de Wouwer. Riders complain about rest periods between races that he does not grant them and he would not listen to preferences for race programs either, despite the insistence of team leaders and performance staff. The atmosphere within the Lotto Dstny team is currently unenviable.
Fewer matches in 2025
Cutbacks, broken promises, severance of long-standing relationships, dissatisfaction with Van de Wouwer’s sporting policy and team manager Heulot who is at odds with a number of riders. There is also no second name sponsor for next year to replace Dstny. The Belgian Lottery is prepared to slightly increase the budget to reduce the resulting gap – reportedly approximately six million euros.
A consequence of this is that the Lotto team will run fewer races in 2025, and can therefore reduce the number of contracted riders. This season Lotto Dstny consists of 29 drivers.
There is no panic yet at the Belgian ProTeam. The Lotto team is said to have secured a major new sponsor for 2026 and beyond. This party only wants to join once a WorldTour license for 2026 to 2028 has been secured. With two of the three years in this cycle behind us, Lotto can hardly avoid that license in terms of UCI points. With one season left, the Belgian formation has collected almost 26,000 UCI points. Number eighteen – the last safe place – is currently Cofidis with more than 17,500 UCI points. Number nineteen Arkéa-B&B Hotels now has almost 15,750 UCI points.
De Lie’s spring was disastrous – photo: Cor Vos
Response from Lotto Dstny
Two days before publication CyclingFlits provided the article to Lotto Dstny for inspection, to give them the opportunity to respond to it. You can read that response below:
“The team achieved excellent results in 2024, which led to ninth place in the rankings and the status of the best ProTeam. These achievements guarantee access to all WorldTour races again in 2025 and in preparation for this the bank guarantee was submitted on October 2.
The team’s board of directors emphasizes that the budget has been drawn up with care so that maximum certainty can be guaranteed for the commitments made for 2025. There are therefore no financial problems or uncertainty.
Furthermore, the team regrets that internal matters or even rumors come out in this way, apparently with the aim of creating a negative climate. New potential partners are also knocking on our team’s door. As far as the clothing sponsor is concerned, there is a current agreement with the Vermarc company that both parties wish to respect. There is no way that this will be stopped by one party or another.
The agreements and rules surrounding the preparations and internships and the associated costs are part of the team’s internal responsibility. The programs are always drawn up in consultation with the riders and the performance team, which also includes the team’s trainers and doctors. Decisions are always taken in consultation, but must also respect the available budget. The same applies to sporting decisions, where the right balance is always sought between the team interests and the individual wishes and expectations of the riders.
Finally, the team confirms that discussions are ongoing with potential sponsors with the aim of creating certainty that we can continue on the same path for the next four years and again as a WorldTour team from 2026. That means with a major focus on talent development and with respect for our values of passion, bravery and courage.”
