News last week that Bjarne Riis would be returning to a leadership role in the UCI men’s WorldTour was met with a healthy dose of skepticism and head-shaking from most corners of the sport. Widely reported in the cycling media as a “merger,” Riis and his Virtu Cycling financial partners actually just took an initial 30 percent minority stake in the NTT Pro Cycling Team, formerly known as Team Dimension Data. The Danish 1996 Tour de France winner will reportedly have a top-tier management and Director’s seat, and is bringing former associates and riders – the addition of Michael Rogers was announced yesterday – onto the team. From the broader sporting perspective, there should be some optimism for stability, refocused competitive goals, and sponsorship activation as a result of this merger. However, there is also a sort of revolving door fatigue when characters like Riis come back in,...