The CEO of Belgian bike brand Ridley has issued a statement accusing Lotto Dstny of "reputational damage" consigning the two sides' 12-year partnership to the bin after it emerged the team will cut ties with the brand and switch to a new bike sponsor in 2024.
The ProTeam were set to continue aboard Ridley bikes for another two years, in a deal signed in 2021 that was set to last until the end of the 2025 season. However, it was reported in the Belgian press this week that the team is ready to switch to Orbea.
Het Laatste Nieuws cited the delayed supply of time trial bikes as one reason for the split, but when the reports were later confirmed by the Lotto Dstny CEO Stéphane Heulot, he admitted financial motivations were also at play.
Describing them as "ongoing press leaks from new management at Lotto-Dstny," Ridley's CEO, Jochim Aerts, who helped to cement the team's future in 2011 with an eight-year commitment at a time when only two riders were on the team's books, pointed to Arnaud De Lie's contract negotiations as the catalyst for the split in a statement issued to HLN.
"Ridley feels compelled to respond to ongoing press leaks from new management at Lotto Dstny. A current agreement is unilaterally terminated and 12 years of intensive and positive cooperation are consigned to the wastepaper basket," he began.
“In 2021, we were asked by the then Management to break open the current agreement, something that we as a company went along with to please the team and the riders. Two years later, when we are fully investing in optimizing the material for the team, we get a cold shower."
“At the end of May, several shots were fired in the press in which the CEO of the team claimed that Ridley's bikes would not be ProTour worthy. There would be doubts, especially about the new time trial bike, the new Dean.”
The Dean launched in August at the World Championships in Glasgow but was spotted beneath riders as early as June at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Interestingly, an unnamed road bike was also seen at the Dauphiné and later in more detail at the Tour de France. That bike is yet to be launched, but Aerts' statement has today confirmed its name as the 'Falcn.'
“It is remarkable when you see how many races Arnaud De Lie wins on our new “Falcn” and when you read that Alec Segaert states on September 16, 2022, following the signing of a professional contract, that the new Ridley time trial bike has certainly played a role in his decision!
“A good and attentive reader understands that there is more to it. Just before the termination of the current agreement with Ridley, Lotto-Dstny announces the opening and extension of the agreement with Arnaud De Lie. This obviously required a budget, more budget than anticipated. And that is where the shoe is pinched.”
The team have not been without success this year, 21-year-old De Lie broke through with a bumper Classics season, but despite supplying the team with two new bikes, it was extra financial support that the team needed. Belgian media reports suggested that De Lie's contract negotiations were hinged on the confirmed sponsor of a new bike brand, and Aerts' statement points to the financial element of that negotiation as the reason why.
“The new Chairman of the Board of Directors [Karel Van Eetvelt], for whom I have a lot of respect as well as for his predecessor Jannie Haek, made it clear to me that further cooperation would be possible if we made an extra financial effort. The health of our company has always been sacred to me and a guiding principle in my policy. What was asked could jeopardize our future, something I did not want."
“In the search for extra budget, it was therefore decided [by the team] to unilaterally break the current agreement and to work with a new partner who is not even active in the WorldTour!”
Reports suggest Orbea is coming on board as Ridley's replacement.
To put all that simply, the team management came to Ridley asking for more money, Ridley refused, so the team went elsewhere. Naturally, as the CEO of Ridley, Aerts is particularly keen to point out that the breakdown wasn't related to the performance of the bikes.
“It should be clear that it was not the technological aspect that was important in the choice, but the financial contribution of the new partner. I deeply regret that for financial reasons a long-standing and successful cooperation is being unilaterally terminated. On the part of the Lotto-Dstny Management, people forget what investments we made again this year so that the riders could also compete at the highest level next year on more than competitive material!"
Aerts also hinted that Ridley will be seeking compensation from the team.
"This disloyalty and reputational damage and the lost investments will have to be compensated. It is a pity that I also have to end with a financial aspect, but as I said, the future of my company and its employees are sacred to me. Ridley is therefore looking forward to the proposals that the Management and/or the Board of Directors of Lotto-Dstny will come up with to repair the damage suffered.”
