Intermarché-Wanty Performance Manager Aike Visbeek said that the Belgian team's budget of €14 million is the most on the world tour, with less than a third of the richest team UAE teams in the sector.

The Belgians will be the first half of the 2024 season, the team of the World Tour, the U23 development team, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the World Tour, the team of the He called it "probably the hardest" in terms of running teams smoothly, including cyclocross operations. He also told Het Laatste Nieuws that Intermarché strengthened its sponsorship so that the team would lose the main sponsor Circus due to the upcoming Belgian ban on gambling advertising.

He also said that a larger team could surpass Intermarché-Wanty in riders. The team has to focus on internal development instead – Mike Teunissen is a notable example of this year.

"Meticulous management is required," said Visbeek, who is fighting to compete at the top level with a relatively low budget. "The first six months of the season up to the Tour de France were probably the most difficult in terms of the energy spent to keep everything running smoothly.

"We thought a few times 'It's off now', but because of some heavy crashes and some wrong decisions on the sprint trains of Biniam Girmay and Gerben Thijssen, the engine had been sputtered many times. It was only at the end of the 5th month that everything fell into place."

Of course, Girmay, the team's superstar, came in to win the team's biggest win of the year on the tour. He won 3 stages, left France in the Green Jersey and played at the top level again after making a breakthrough in the spring of 2022.

Eritrea, who also won the Surf Coast Classic and Circuit Franco Berge, in 2024 achieved 13 of the team's 5 wins. He finished the season in 15th in the UCI rankings, signed a contract extension shortly after the tour and raised an additional €1 million in annual salary.

But despite its success– both the victory on the road and the "blessing" of keeping their star riders long - there are even more difficulties to fight with this offseason as some major riders move away.

Young talent Madis Miquels departs for EF education-EasyPost and ZLM Tour winner Rune Herregodts moves to UAE team Emirates. Key lead outman Mike Tunissen is also leaving.

"In 2025 we will lose Mike Tunissen of "The Last Man", which is very disappointing. When Visma-Lease A Bike and Astana Qazaqstan started bidding, we knew we couldn't compete with them right away," Visbeek said.

"Mike is one of the best lead outs in the world, so we were talking about €1 soon, about €500,000, but this is too much money for us. We need to focus on the internal choices - we have Petit, Page and Rex who want to move the sprint train location up."

Internal development is the key to the success of the team, despite their budget constraints, Visbeek cited 22-year-old Francesco Busatto and junior European champion Felix Ørn-Kristoff as examples of the focus of development

Visbeek said that the transfer churn and constant efforts to find and develop stars on a limited budget. He acknowledged that the need for a better life cannot last forever.

"You can't keep doing it forever. There is no fear about what the future will bring, but we can't afford to "sleep" and think in the long run," he said. "It should not be a time bomb. At some point, we must take those necessary measures to grow.

"Otherwise, unless the connection from the bottom up is perfect, we will risk bankruptcy, and you always reach the maximum result with the minimum number of people It is virtually impossible work, so it's time for fresh money to come in. "

In addition to maintaining a roster of riders and staff to maintain competition, the cash flow of sponsors must ensure that they do not repeat what happened in 2023/9.

"[It was] a hard blow to be such news. Especially because it had nothing to do with incorrect or substandard budgeting and there was a temporary cash flow problem," Visbeek said.

"But OK, still it was not justified. It stuck with everyone and caused anxiety. And above all, that financial limit also has a very prohibitive effect on contract negotiation and transfer files.

Well, after the circus leaves as a sponsor, there is space for another major sponsor. While the team is focused on getting another person on board to strengthen their finances, Visbeek said, "It's very difficult to bridge the gap

" [General Manager] Jean-François Bourlart and COO Maxime Segers are working hard on it, especially given Girmay's success and marketability." "Girmay and we have a person with his own identity who makes the front page in America and stands out very much in the international market. We sincerely hope that will happen."