How the deal between Ineos and Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank was formed 🇩🇪 🇬🇧

Zoom calls at the Tour, a trip to Denmark and avoiding a 'team within a team'

Ineos Grenadiers will place several riders (probably two) on Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank in 2025. Photo courtesy of Ineos Grenadiers.

During late January and early February, Florian Monreal and his Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank team were at a crossroads. 

Ralph Denk had just been in touch and politely informed Monreal that the partnership between Lotto Kern-Haus and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe needed to be dissolved due to the WorldTour squad’s new desire to set up their own development squad. A deal that had been billed as a three-year partnership was cut short a few months into its second season.

This certainly wasn’t the end of the world for Monreal but at that point it looked as though Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank would remain bobbing around the German domestic scene, surviving off invites to U23 races and scrapping by through a combination of hard work and dedication.

Then, a little later in the year, a new lifeline appeared. Monreal, who had run the German team since 2014 and used to ride for the squad, had a call with Ineos Grenadiers sports director Christian Knees. The pair have known each other for years, and kept in contact, with regular catch-ups and calls during the season.