5 major world tour teams, including Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma, are reportedly working on a secret plan to shake up the business model of professional cycling by attracting venture capitalists to the sport as investors and stakeholders.

The Reuters news agency "allows a number of major cycling teams in Europe to rebuild the sports landscape and allocate more funds for participants"

Cyclingnews has also been informed of some of the details.

Groups of teams involved are less dependent on sponsorship because they are trying to find ways to generate extra revenue.

This new project is not a segregated league, and Reuters suggests that the venture can merge new and existing races to create new revenue streams and teams. The team will probably want to race in their new series and the Tour de France and other major races.

However, the arrival of venture capital and the new race series will change the status quo of the sport.

The UCI currently owns the World Tour, while the ASO dominates the Tour de France, Vuelta and other races, while the Giro d'Italia is dominated by RCS Sport and the Flanders Classics owns many of the biggest spring classics.

Reuters reports that accounting and consulting firm EY is seeking expressions of interest from potential investors in the project and has set a deadline for signs this week. Reuters also suggests that "an agreement is not imminent and a deal may not proceed.""

A source told Cyclingnews that money could come from Saudi investors, as would be the case with the liv golf breakaway league. Saudi Arabia has recently invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Saudi Professional League football tournament, paying huge sums to some of the world's biggest football players.

Reuters suggested that CVC partners, former owners of F1 Motor Racing, may be interested in investing in the team. In 2021, CVC Capital Partners paid 14.3 million pounds (ポ36,500 million) for a 5,900% stake in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.

EY and CVC partners declined to comment to Reuters on the deal. Ineos Grenadier also declined to comment.

Jumbo-Visma Team Manager Richard Plugge issued a brief statement to Cyclingnews.

"It's clear that cycling is a sleeping giant and deserves an improved business model," says Pluge.

"For all stakeholders, especially for the (WorldTour) team. The only way to get there is through cooperation."

The WorldTour and ProTour teams are part of the Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionals (AIGCP), but we have been deeply divided in recent months about the work of the AIGCP President, who is also the Jumbo-Visma team manager.

Plugge is reportedly working on a venture capital plan and a wider "one-cycle" reform project with uci and race organizers. Venture capital projects and one-cycling projects seem to have similar objectives, but they have very different strategies.

In recent months, Plugge has also been working on finding a new title sponsor for his team and is considering a merger/acquisition of Soudal-QuickStep before a change of heart. The privately owned Pon Group and Visma will sponsor the team in 2024.

Cyclingnews revealed the details of the power struggle within the AIGCP in the summer, and a special AIGCP meeting before the Vuelta a España was described as "very hot" the team voted on important matters and final votes

Some similar projects and departures from the UCI have been discussed in the past, but the team has not been sponsored. It was never realized because it relied heavily on the Tour de France to promote the Tour de France.

Many major teams created Velon in 2014 with the aim of generating extra revenue by monetizing rider data, onboard video footage and collective race fee negotiations. Felon tried to create a race for the Hammer series, but UCI refused to register the event as a series, and the race ended 2 years later in 2020.

Several teams have recently questioned their continued involvement in Velon after years of investment in the company.

This new project will be much more aggressive due to the involvement of venture capitalists who, along with the team, will become shareholders of the new company.