Last Wednesday (30), in a statement on its official networks, Ridley spoke out for the first time against Lotto-Dstny’s decision to terminate the 12-year contract with the company. In the statements, the company claims that the team would be tarnishing its reputation.
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“Ridley feels compelled to respond to the continuing press leaks on the new management of Lotto Dstny. A current agreement is terminated unilaterally and 12 years of intensive and positive cooperation are consigned to the wastebasket,” the company said in the statement, saying it learned of the breach through leaks carried out by Lotto-Dstny.
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The company continued to express discontent against the team: “In 2021, the then management asked us to break the current agreement, something that we, as a company, agreed to please the team and the riders. Two years later, when we fully invested in optimizing the material, we took a cold shower. In late May, several shots were fired at the company in which the team’s CEO claimed that Ridley’s bikes would not be ProTour worthy. There would be questions, particularly about the new time trial bike, the new Dean.”
One of the main causes for the breakup of the partnership was the financial situation. In the statement, the CEO of Ridley, Jochim Aerts, states that Lotto-Dstny requested an extra and larger budget to carry out the hiring of the cyclist Arnaud De Lie, however, caring for the company, the businessman denied the offer and, with that, the collaboration suffered a break.
Finalizing the response information, the businessman states that he will file appeals in court: “This disloyalty and the damage to reputation and lost investments will have to be compensated. It’s a shame that I also have to do away with the financial aspect, but as I said, the future of my company and its employees is sacred to me. I therefore look forward to the proposals that Lotto-Dstny’s Management and/or Board of Directors will present to repair the damage suffered”.
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