Pro racing's latest reform project is billionaire-led – and gaining momentum

Kristof Ramon, Cor Vos

A majority of men’s WorldTeams are predicted to become shareholders in a new company that hopes to finally force through transformative reform in professional road cycling.

Led by six verbally committed seed investors, including billionaire Ivan Glasenberg (owner of the Pinarello-Q36.5 ProTeam) and superteams Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek, TeamCo – a project that Escape Collective exclusively revealed in January – has been in the works since last autumn, formed out of the ashes of the One Cycling project that was rejected by the International Cycling Union (UCI) last summer.

Exclusive: WorldTour team owners are driving a new reform projectFrom the ashes of One Cycling comes another attempt to change pro road racing’s business model, led by two of the sport’s billionaires.Escape CollectiveChris Marshall-Bell

According to several sources within TeamCo – all of whom spoke anonymously as they were not authorised to speak on its behalf – it is expected that between 12 and 15 World and ProTeams will sign shareholder agreement contracts with TeamCo before the end of May, with the seed investors expected to invest €3,571,429 each to give the company a cash sum of €25 million from the outset. Equity was something that One Cycling never had.

Though both TeamCo and One Cycling share the same principle ideas – namely: to improve commercial rights, improve financial sustainability for teams and pit the world’s best riders against each other more frequently – the key difference between the two ventures beyond the initial financing is that this time round it is team owners rather than managers who are leading the talks.

Escape Collective obtained two TeamCo draft documents, dated as recently as March 2026, that listed seven individuals and/or businesses as seed investors – people providing the required capital to a startup business in exchange for a percentage of the company’s share capital; in this instance, that amounts to a collective total of 5%. No money has yet been invested in TeamCo, and no documents have yet been signed. All of those investors – bar one – are said to still be involved. But the seventh investor whose name appeared in that March draft document – Sylvan Adams – told Escape that he is not a part of the project, although how his name came to be included is an open question.

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