Soudal-QuickStep Lead Sponsor Soudal aims to remain a title sponsor in the event of a merger between the Belgian team and Jumbo-Visma.

Since the news of a potential mega-merger between the two teams broke just a week ago, a practical idea was that the resulting team would carry title sponsors Soudal - a Belgian sealant and adhesive company – and Visma – a Norwegian business software provider.

Jumbo is expected to withdraw from the sponsorship at the end of 2024, leaving the Jumbo-Visma funding shortfall that the team is trying to fill in with a merger. The Dutch supermarket had previously indicated that if the team found a replacement before the end of the contract, they would withdraw from cycling more quickly.

Soudal, who moved from Lotto's sponsorship at the beginning of the season, signed with Patrick Lefevere's team in 2027 on a 5-year contract until the end of the season. QuickStep is also participating in 2027, and the flooring company renewed its long-term contract in mid-2021.

It is unclear how the big sponsorship deal will wield in the post-merger team in 2024. However, Soudal wants to continue as a title sponsor, the company's sponsorship and corporate communications manager told Het Laatste Nieuws.

"Name sponsorship is our strength," said Marco Heil. "It provides a return on investment. Our marketing strategy is focused on it and there is no reason to deviate from it until further notice.

"We made a contractual commitment at the time as an enthusiastic name sponsor, and it's our ambition to remain so."

The future new look Soudal-Visma team can also count on the €15m sponsorship money reported by American tech giant Amazon. The team will appear in the Amazon Prime series "All-in Team Jumbo-Visma" last year and will welcome the company as a non-title sponsor for 2024.

The deal, in addition to the cash put in by Soudal and Visma, could lift the team to one of the most funded at the Peloton 1.

The move to a specialized bike, driven by several Belgian media sources last week, will further increase the budget, but the deal there will depend on the future of Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian star is increasingly associated with the switch from the newly merged team to the Ineos Grenadier, and sources at L'Equipe say the deal is ready to be signed over the weekend.

On Saturday, Soudal-QuickStep boss Lefevere acknowledged that Amazon's involvement with Jumbo-Visma could be a "game changer" for a potential merger, and he promised that there would be "much clearer" about the merger on Monday, however.