Lotto Intermarche 2026 Team Guide: The Merger Survival & Orbea Tech

This is my definitive Lotto Intermarche 2026 Team Guide. I am breaking down the high-profile casualties of this merger, the absolute raw power of Arnaud De Lie, the young French talent stepping up, and the highly optimized Orbea tech setup keeping them fast.

Let’s tell it like it is: merging two professional cycling teams is always a brutal, contractual bloodbath.

The creation of the Lotto Intermarche squad is a direct result of the relentless physics of the UCI WorldTour points system. To guarantee survival at the absolute top tier of the sport, the two Belgian entities combined forces for their first year of racing as a unified structure in 2026. But combining two rosters means there simply are not enough seats on the team bus for everyone.

The Roster Bloodbath & The Departure of Girmay

When a merger happens, some riders inevitably get squeezed out. The most unexpected and frankly massive transfer out of this new structure was Biniam Girmay. Seeing him leave the Intermarche environment to try a new adventure with the NSN team was a shock to the system. Losing a rider with his commercial and athletic profile hurts, but it clears the hierarchy completely.

There is zero confusion about who the absolute star of this team is now: Arnaud De Lie.

The “Bull of Lescheret” is the undisputed leader for the sprints and the Classics. I have watched him improve his explosive power significantly, to the point where he is now legitimately able to stay glued to Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel on short, punchy climbs. If the planets align for him in 2026, we are going to see him dominate.

The Optimizer’s Watchlist: The Young Guns

Beyond De Lie, this merged roster has some serious engines I am looking forward to tracking.

I am keeping a very close eye on the two Frenchmen: Baptiste Veistroffer and Matys Grisel. Grisel is still only 20 years old, but he has the raw numbers to be a massive asset. Furthermore, the true wildcard for their GC and hilly stage ambitions is Lennert Van Eetvelt. If he can get back to the blistering performance level he showed in 2024, this team instantly becomes a multi-threat squad across all terrain.

2026 Tech: Sticking with Orbea

For a merged team, tech integration can be a nightmare, but they made the right call here. No Lotto Intermarche 2026 Team Guide would be complete without highlighting that the fusion structure adopted the Orbea bike setup that Lotto has been running since 2024.

They are pairing the Orbea frames with in-house Oquo wheels and wrapping them in Vittoria tubeless rubber. For the marginal aero gains, the riders are equipped with Ekoi helmets and DeFeet aero socks, proving they aren’t leaving any free speed on the table.

The Current 2026 Setup:

• Bike: Orbea
• Groupset: Shimano (Transmission and Pedals)
• Wheels: Oquo
• Tires: Vittoria (Tubeless)
• Cockpit: Prologo saddle and bar tape
• Computer: Garmin Edge
• Apparel: Vermarc kit, Ekoi helmets & sunglasses, DeFeet aero socks
• Nutrition: Kjure, Precision Fuel & Hydration (PF&H), Virtuoos

Transfers Breakdown

Joining IN (The Intermarche Integration & Youth)

Rider	From Team	Role
ARTZ Huub	Intermarché – Wanty	Merger Retention
BRAET Vito	Intermarché – Wanty	Merger Retention
ROTA Lorenzo	Intermarché – Wanty	Puncher / Stage Hunter
RUTSCH Jonas	Intermarché – Wanty	Classics Engine
VAN BOVEN Luca	Intermarché – Wanty	Support
VAN DER HOORN Taco	Intermarché – Wanty	Breakaway Specialist
VAN SINTMAARTENSDIJK Roel	Intermarché – Wanty	Merger Retention
ZIMMERMANN Georg	Intermarché – Wanty	Stage Hunter
GRISEL Matys	Lotto Development Team	Rising Star (20yo)
KOCKELMANN Mathieu	Lotto Development Team	Young Talent
WIDAR Jarno	Lotto Development Team	Climbing Prodigy
GUALDI Simone	Wanty – Nippo – ReUz	Neo-Pro
ØRN-KRISTOFF Felix	Wanty – Nippo – ReUz	Neo-Pro
FOX Matthew	Veloce Club Rouen 76	Neo-Pro

Transfers OUT (The Merger Casualties)

Rider	Goes To
GIRMAY Biniam	NSN Cycling Team
DRIZNERS Jarrad	Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
LIVYNS Arjen	XDS Astana Team
SEGAERT Alec	Bahrain – Victorious
SEPÚLVEDA Eduardo	Li Ning Star
VAN MOER Brent	Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
VANDENABEELE Henri	Team Flanders – Baloise
VAN DE WYNKELE Lorenz	Lotto – Groupe Wanty
VIVIANI Elia	Retirement
GREGAARD Jonas	Retirement
CURRIE Logan	Unknown
VAN DE PAAR Jarne	Unknown

Complete Lotto Intermarche 2026 Roster

Rider Name	Nationality
DE LIE Arnaud	🇧🇪 Belgium
VAN EETVELT Lennert	🇧🇪 Belgium
AERTS Toon	🇧🇪 Belgium
ARTZ Huub	🇳🇱 Netherlands
BERCKMOES Jenno	🇧🇪 Belgium
BEULLENS Cedric	🇧🇪 Belgium
BRAET Vito	🇧🇪 Belgium
CRAPS Lars	🇧🇪 Belgium
DE BUYST Jasper	🇧🇪 Belgium
DE SCHUYTENEER Steffen	🇧🇪 Belgium
FOX Matthew	🇬🇧 UK
GIDDINGS Joshua	🇬🇧 UK
GRIGNARD Sébastien	🇧🇪 Belgium
GRISEL Matys	🇫🇷 France
GUALDI Simone	🇮🇹 Italy
KOCKELMANN Mathieu	🇱🇺 Luxembourg
MENTEN Milan	🇧🇪 Belgium
ORINS Robin	🇧🇪 Belgium
ROTA Lorenzo	🇮🇹 Italy
RUTSCH Jonas	🇩🇪 Germany
SLOCK Liam	🇧🇪 Belgium
TAMINIAUX Lionel	🇧🇪 Belgium
THOMPSON Reuben	🇳🇿 New Zealand
VAN BOVEN Luca	🇧🇪 Belgium
VAN DER HOORN Taco	🇳🇱 Netherlands
VAN SINTMAARTENSDIJK Roel	🇳🇱 Netherlands
VEISTROFFER Baptiste	🇫🇷 France
WIDAR Jarno	🇧🇪 Belgium
ZIMMERMANN Georg	🇩🇪 Germany
ØRN-KRISTOFF Felix	🇳🇴 Norway

The Optimizer’s Verdict

To wrap up this Lotto Intermarche 2026 Team Guide, I see a squad that did exactly what it had to do to survive the harsh reality of WorldTour economics.

Losing Biniam Girmay to NSN stings, there is no sugar-coating that. But in the long run, streamlining the team’s entire strategy around Arnaud De Lie’s raw power might actually be the most highly optimized path to consistent victories. By surrounding him with experienced veterans like Taco van der Hoorn and injecting high-potential youth like Matys Grisel and Jarno Widar, they have built a perfectly balanced Classics and stage-hunting machine.

Is the Orbea setup fast enough to conquer the cobbles? See exactly how Lotto Intermarche’s tech stacks up against the Cannondale Gen 5 and the Wilier Filante ID2 in my complete 2026 WorldTour Teams & Bikes Master Guide.