While the legal dispute between Wout van Aert and his former team Vérandas Willems drew to a close on Monday, the case may still have implications for Visma-Lease A Bike with former Vérandas manager Nick Nuyens hoping for disciplinary action from the UCI and additional compensation from the WorldTour squad.
The dispute dates back to Van Aert terminating his contract with the now-defunct Belgian team in 2018 to then join the Dutch WorldTour squad. In 2021 a Belgian labour court ruled that Van Aert had to pay €662,000 in compensation due to his actions, a figure confirmed by the country's highest court earlier this week.
Nuyens had originally hoped for a €1.1 million payout from his former rider, who broke his contract amid reports that he was unhappy at rumours that the team would merge with Dutch squad Roompot.
Nuyens was awarded €662,041.31 and the amount was confirmed this week. Now Nuyens is taking aim at Visma-Lease a Bike for what he sees as their part in the affair.
Back in 2021, following the original ruling against Van Aert, Nuyens called on the UCI to take action against Van Aert's agent and his new team, citing the UCI's own regulations which state that all involved parties must pay compensation.
Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Nuyens' lawyer Rudi Desmet claimed that there is a clear case for Visma to pay.
"It's actually pretty clear," Desmet said. "A team that gives a rider a contract while he is still bound by a contract with another employer must pay that initial employer compensation.
"According to the UCI regulations, that amount is the same as the severance pay for which the labour court convicted Van Aert."
Van Aert's lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge said that the move was "typical Nuyens."
"It's purely to destabilise Wout and his team. I've been working with Wout for six years. He won't let this throw him off-balance," he said.
Cyclingnews contacted the Visma-Lease a Bike team but they did not want to comment.
