Teams & Riders Derek Gee is the new G

[Squire]

G-West, the new hiphop sensation.

 

[Bolder]

He may have prematurely burned his bridges with the team formerly known as IPT, who knows what it might look like next season? There are a bunch of good riders still there l. Not guaranteed that Adams will still be the principal.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Gee will ride for whichever team Premier Tech decide to invest their money in, Ineos perhaps.
Unless of course Premier Tech go with St Michel Preference Home Auber93.

 

[CyclistAbi]

With title sponsor Premier Tech pulling out it seems like there is no IPT team any more and hence UCI basically has nothing to decide any more. Derek should be free to sign for any team he chooses going in the 2026 season and UCI will need to register him as a rider of that new team. Possibly indeed Premier Tech and Derek might continue their partnership in the future. We'll see.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

With title sponsor Premier Tech pulling out it seems like there is no IPT team any more and hence UCI basically has nothing to decide any more.

I think this is wrong

 

[CyclistAbi]

I think this is wrong

Tell me more.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Tell me more.

The team management contacted stuff and riders and informed them that the team will be continiung next season. It was also posted in the IPT thread:

"Hi everyone,

A quick update regarding sponsorship in 2026.

Today, Premier Tech announced their intention to step down as co-title sponsor in 2026. This announcement was not made in consultation with the team which is why we were not in a position to inform internally prior to the announcement. We have many ongoing and exciting conversations with potential partners and we expect to be able to update you all in the coming week.

Please note, this news, although disappointing and something we will continue to work through, does not change our approach to the 2026 season. We are as motivated as ever to hit the ground running and I look forward to seeing you all at camp in two weeks’ time.

Cheers,

Kjell"

Kjell = Kjell Carlström, the General Manager of the team.

 

[ingsve]

Ya, some type of team has registered for WT for next year and unlike Jayco on deadline day, they have also sent in bank guarantees etc. So whatever formation that team will have they are legally still the same entity as IPT as far as the UCI are concerned, are they not?

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Eddy Evenepoel

I see, some potential partners might emerge in the coming weeks.

@ingsve

I sincerely doubt that, but if by some sort of a miracle they do secure a spot, that highly likely still won't be the same legal entity. Therefore any current contract must be resigned and employees are free to do so or to decline that. If this team is to survive i feel it will merge with another or will get sold. I don't see any other viable option ATM.

On top of that Derek had legal grounds to terminate his contract just like Premier Tech had. That is on why we are not hearing about any lawsuits in terms of Premier Tech and that is on why Derek is free to sign for another team going into 2026 season and UCI will need to register him as such. Any potential private lawsuits against Derek, that is still possible but here i feel that the law is again on Derek side. He had legal grounds to terminate his contract. Unfortunately on this forum we can't discus this further as often such discussion get interpreted as politics. And supposedly that is currently a bad thing here. Anyway, we'll see, season 2026 is just around the corner so ultimately we need to get Derek a new team, he needs to provide for his family, the rest as it seems will sort itself out just fine.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

I sincerely doubt that, but if by some sort of a miracle they do secure a spot, that highly likely still won't be the same legal entity. Therefore any current contract must be resigned and employees are free to do so or to decline that. If this team is to survive i feel it will merge with another or will get sold. I don't see any other viable option ATM.

You are just wildly speculating without any connections to the real world. It will of course be the same legal entity, if not they wouldnt even have the WT-spot.

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Eddy Evenepoel

Sure, anyway season 2026 is just around the corner and lets see on who got it right.

 

[ingsve]

@Eddy Evenepoel

I see, some potential partners might emerge in the coming weeks.

@ingsve

I sincerely doubt that, but if by some sort of a miracle they do secure a spot, that highly likely still won't be the same legal entity. Therefore any current contract must be resigned and employees are free to do so or to decline that. If this team is to survive i feel it will merge with another or will get sold. I don't see any other viable option ATM.

On top of that Derek had legal grounds to terminate his contract just like Premier Tech had. That is on why we are not hearing about any lawsuits in terms of Premier Tech and that is on why Derek is free to sign for another team going into 2026 season and UCI will need to register him as such. Any potential private lawsuits against Derek, that is still possible but here i feel that the law is again on Derek side. He had legal grounds to terminate his contract. Unfortunately on this forum we can't discus this further as often such discussion get interpreted as politics. And supposedly that is currently a bad thing here. Anyway, we'll see, season 2026 is just around the corner so ultimately we need to get Derek a new team, he needs to provide for his family, the rest as it seems will sort itself out just fine.

He may have had legal grounds to terminate his contract, that I have no insight into. I was just speaking about the team and it's status.

The team that has registered for the WT must surely be the same legal entity as IPT or else they would not even be eligible for the WT. The sponsors are not the legal entity, most often you have some other organization that is the legal license holder. In this case that's Cycling Academy. They are the ones that earned the promotion and have stated that the team will go on. So far they have complied with all requirements just like most of the other WT applicants so the only way the team won't go forward is if they fail completely at finding a sponsor by December 10th. Since they already have the bank guarantees submitted it's not like they are standing completely without funds currently either.

 

[CyclistAbi]

He may have had legal grounds to terminate his contract, that I have no insight into. I was just speaking about the team and it's status.

Both Derek and Premier Tech had legal grounds and one doesn't need much insight as it's common in corporate environment (law) for such things can lead to lawful one sided contract termination if one party chooses so.

The team that has registered for the WT must surely be the same legal entity as IPT or else they would not even be eligible for the WT. The sponsors are not the legal entity, most often you have some other organization that is the legal license holder. In this case that's Cycling Academy. They are the ones that earned the promotion and have stated that the team will go on. So far they have complied with all requirements just like most of the other WT applicants so the only way the team won't go forward is if they fail completely at finding a sponsor by December 10th. Since they already have the bank guarantees submitted it's not like they are standing completely without funds currently either.

I already said that beyond merger or selling the team i don't see any other viable solution, now that Premier Tech left and considering the circumstances. So what i do expect is for that new team to not be the same legal entity and as such riders and staff will need to resign their contracts or if they choose so not to resign them. As for UCI and their decision in regards to licences and similar. I am rather sure that it won't represent a problem for as long as the solution in the sense of team merger or selling the team is found.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Ultimately license can be transferred (sold) to a new team (legal entity) and as far as Derek goes he might even decide and sign for that new team. Lets not forget on how IPT became, they got their licence by taking over Katusha-Alpecin. I expect for similar outcome to happen in this story, considering the circumstances involved, or potentially the licence could even get reworked. That is if IPT wouldn't take necessary measures and would as such fail to meet the criteria of a licence holder.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

So what i do expect is for that new team to not be the same legal entity

But why do you expect this?
The legal entity behind IPT is Cycling Academy LTD, which is owned by Sylvain Adams. If they bring in a new sponsor or just Sylvan Adams himself pay the bills doesnt make any difference to the legal entity...

 

[CyclistAbi]

But why do you expect this?
The legal entity behind IPT is Cycling Academy LTD, which is owned by Sylvain Adams. If they bring in a new sponsor or just Sylvan Adams himself pay the bills doesnt make any difference to the legal entity...

When was the last time a billionaire bought you a free lunch? Currently it just doesn't work like that and foremost Sylvan Adams is a business man. On top of that Adams wants to promote Israel through cycling or he isn't interested in it at all.

https://www.jns.org/sylvan-adams-steps-away-from-cycling-team-amid-anti-israel-protests/

I cannot, at this moment, continue to take an active part in a team that no longer bears the name Israel,” Adams said

Any new potential western company jumping in as sponsor, that is just not on how corporate sponsorship world works. You in general just don't want to associate your (huge) company with such agendas considering the circumstances.

Anyway, the license still holds some value and hence the only rational outcome is to sell it, or you basically risk for it to be reworked and then you end up with nothing.

 

[AmRacer]

When was the last time a billionaire bought you a free lunch? Currently it just doesn't work like that and foremost Sylvan Adams is a business man. On top of that Adams wants to promote Israel through cycling or he isn't interested in it at all.

https://www.jns.org/sylvan-adams-steps-away-from-cycling-team-amid-anti-israel-protests/

Any new potential western company jumping in as sponsor, that is just not on how corporate sponsorship world works. You in general just don't want to associate your (huge) company with such agendas considering the circumstances.

Anyway, the license still holds some value and hence the only rational outcome is to sell it, or you basically risk for it to be reworked and then you end up with nothing.

It doesn't matter where he is, as long as the license holder is Cycling Academy LTD, which is owned by Sylvain Adams.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Anyway, the license still holds some value and hence the only rational outcome is to sell it, or you basically risk for it to be reworked and then you end up with nothing.

You can’t sell the WT-license anymore, that was being pretty clear during the Lotto-Intermarche merger.

However, Sylvain Adams can sell the Cycling Academy LTD, the company and legal entity that owns the team and the license. However that would still not lead to your scenario where the legal entity are being changed and all riders and staff would need new contracts.

 

[ingsve]

You can’t sell the WT-license anymore, that was being pretty clear during the Lotto-Intermarche merger.

However, Sylvain Adams can sell the Cycling Academy LTD, the company and legal entity that owns the team and the license. However that would still not lead to your scenario where the legal entity are being changed and all riders and staff would need new contracts.

That also can't happy right now. Any large structural changes even to the legal entity needs to be approved by the UCI and that just won't happen in the middle of the application period. This would have needed to happen way earlier so that it's the new owner that is the one making the applications to the UCI.

It's too late now. Either the cycling team continues under the ownership of Cycling Academy with a new sponsor or billionaire money or they simply won't get awarded the license and it ends up going to someone else.