Bout d'interview avec Plugge (pas trop compris où est le reste)
https://theouterline.substack.com/p/all ... a-progress
Despite all of the media hype and swirling rumors around Team Jumbo-Visma over the last few weeks, and handwringing over cycling’s weak business model and ubiquitous sponsorship challenges, team leader Richard Plugge told The Outer Line earlier today that there was never any risk to the continuity of his team. “We’ve known for quite a while that Jumbo would be scaling back after 2024, and fortunately we’ve had the time and opportunity to talk with various parties about coming in to replace them.” Plugge had conversations with a number of major brands, acknowledging that one of the options the team investigated was the discussion with Soudal-Quickstep. “That discussion didn’t work out for a number of reasons,” said Plugge. “One of the reasons was that after our discussions with the UCI, we found that there wasn’t a good solution for both teams; we didn’t want one team left in limbo.” Plugge said that the process ultimately led to both new and strong existing partners coming together to secure the future growth of the team.
When asked about whether public opinion and social media had influenced any of the team’s recent decisions, including its competitive strategy at the Vuelta, Plugge said, “That’s nonsense. We have a very strong internal culture in our team, and every decision we make leads back to it – does it fit with our culture, or not?” Plugge also confirmed that there is in fact “continuing interest” from Amazon, pointing out that the two parties are already working together, but he refrained from confirming the rumors yesterday that another subsidiary of PON group – Lease-a-Bike – would step up as the primary naming sponsor next year.
More generally, Plugge highlighted distinct progress toward some of cycling’s broader goals, saying that the AIGCP team’s organization (of which he is currently the elected President) has had productive talks with the UCI and organizers, and there is better momentum than in the past. The group is working in close concert with the key organizers to push key changes on the UCI during the next round of WT licenses in 2026 – including minimum and maximum budget controls. One of the specific outcomes of the efforts so far is the new SafeR program, creating an independent entity geared to improving the safety of road cycling. Also going largely under the radar in the “merger mania” and hysteria of the last few weeks, was the announcement that AIGCP and the CPA rider’s group have successfully negotiated a new Joint Agreement – cycling’s embryonic version of a collective bargaining agreement. Although the details are not yet public, Plugge confirmed that the agreement includes new minimum salary requirements and better insurance for the riders.
