Jasper Philipsen, the 26-year-old Belgian road cyclist, is holding out for a better contract with his current team Alpecin-Deceuninck.
What happened?
His contract was set to expire, and he was poised to have his pick of teams to move to after a second-place finish behind Mathieu van der Poel at Paris-Roubaix and a massive win at Milano-San Remo.
Alpecin-Deceuninck, Bora-hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates, EF Education-EasyPost, and Tudor Pro Cycling were all reportedly interested in signing him.
Why it matters for Jasper Philipsen
The negotiations are stalled on one particular point: his image rights, which have increased significantly in the last few months.
His agent, Alex Carera, stated that they need to find a solution for this, as image rights are a hot topic in sports marketing.
What comes next?
A meeting is scheduled in one or two weeks with Jasper Philipsen to discuss the contract, and a decision will be made before the start of the 2024 Tour de France.
As of now, the contract discussions are not about money, but rather about image rights, which will allow him to command big dollars from sponsors outside of cycling.
Jasper Philipsen's current situation is similar to that of Demi Vollering, who recently inked a massive deal with Nike, and Mark Cavendish, who collaborated with Richard Mille on a watch.
The 2025 season and beyond are expected to see significant changes in the WorldTour peloton, with big money and sweeping changes on the table.