IAM Cycling’s future will be decided very soon, with owner Michel Thetaz deciding what to do with the Swiss team by the Giro’s conclusion a week tomorrow.

Thetaz must decide if he wants to keep funding the team solo, or if he wants a co-sponsor to come aboard to help him. He may also decide to shut the team down permanently.

On Thursday, Italian television pundit Beppe Conte suggested that the IAM team could merge with BMC for the 2017 season. That rumour is not exactly new, with the owners of both team's being Swiss and are reportedly keen on creating one Swiss team that could battle the likes of Astana, Sky and Movistar.

“I've never hard anything about a merger with BMC. It's a rumour that has been going around for a couple of years but I can't really say anything. Personally I don't believe it," directeur sportif Kjell Carlström told Cyclingnews at the Giro d'Italia.

"At the moment we have no idea about the future of the team. Michel will decide things. He said that he will announce something in the next few days but we don't know if that's the team will continue, if it will stop or if another sponsor will come in. It'd be a pity if the team stopped because we've gradually built a good structure and a good team. But uncertainty is part of professional cycling; it's always been like that. We'll see what happens in the next few days."