Bjarne Riis is reportedly set to announce that he will become co-owner of WorldTour team NTT Pro Cycling (formerly Dimension Data).

According to the Danish news media B.T., Riis will make the announcement at a press conference at the Hotel D'Angleterre in Copenhagen on Wednesday.

B.T. reports that co-ownership of NTT Pro Cycling, which is owned by Virtu Cycling Group, will be shared with the team's current owner, Douglas Ryder. Ries currently owns one-third of Virtu Cycling Group, which is also co-owned by Lars Thayer Christensen, chairman, and Jan Beck Andersen, president of the Danish soccer club Bremby IF.

Danish media have suggested that the Virtue Cycling Group was prepared to become a co-owner of the team last year, but negotiations proved difficult. It has also been reported that Velux, a Danish manufacturing company specializing in windows and skylights, has expressed interest in partnering with Riis as a major sponsor for the 2021 Tour de France, which will start in Copenhagen.

Riis is a controversial figure in professional cycling circles. He was once hailed as Denmark's most recognizable athlete, but later admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his career, particularly during his 1996 Tour de France victory.

He then went on to coach WorldTour teams CSC, Saxo Bank, and Tinkoff-Saxo from 1999 to 2015. Due to a deteriorating relationship with the team's financial backer and owner, Oleg Tinkoff, Ries left the team.

In 2016, Ries took over the Danish Continental men's team TreFor and renamed the team Team Virtu Pro-Véloconcept.

He launched the women's program from his former BMS Birn team. Despite the success of Team Virtu Cycling Women, which won last year's Tour de Flanders with Marta Bastianelli, Riis announced that the program had to be terminated due to lack of sponsorship. Bastianelli, who had signed a two-year contract with Riis' team, was forced to find a new team and eventually rejoined his former team, Ale BTC Ljubljana, for 2020.

The men's program, currently operating as Team Waoo at the continental level, will continue in 2020.

Riis and his partner Virtu Cycling Group have a goal of attracting a WorldTour team to Denmark. Last August, French media reported that Riis was interested in buying Patrick Lefebvre's Deceuninck-Quick Step shares. Later, it was reported that he might buy Katusha from Russian owner Igor Makarov. Riis denied the reports, stating that such rumors were "new to me."

In a social media post this month, and as reported in the B.T., Seier wrote that although it is taking longer than expected, getting the team to the 2021 Tour de France remains a priority.

"I admit that it has taken longer than Bjarne Riis and I expected when we started the project in 2016, but it remains our goal to be at the highest level when the Tour starts in Copenhagen in 2021... During January I think it is possible that we will get good news in the next few weeks, but if not, it will be difficult to reach it," Seier said.

NTT Pro Cycling has revealed its 27-rider roster for 2020, including Danish riders Michal Valgren and Andreas Stockbro. The team will also be directed by former Team CSC riders Lars Bak and Lars Mikkelsen of Riis.

The Danish news media outlet Ekstra Bladet reported that some of the new members of the NTT Pro Cycling staff were hired at Riis' request in anticipation of him taking over the team.

These hires include team doctors Piet de Moore and Piet Daniels. Other hires included soigners Linda Cosado and Steffen Lunsgaard, who had worked on Riis' team, and mechanic Alejandro Tralbo.

Mark Cavendish has moved on from NTT Pro Cycling and Steve Cummings has retired. New riders on the roster include Victor Campenaerts, Domenico Pozzovivo, and under-23 world champion Samuele Battistella.