Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa jas confirmed on social network Instagram that he plans to create a professional team. He will begin a team from scratch and apply for a WorldTour license for 2017. Two teams could be disappear next season, with Oleg Tinkov likely to close down his Tinkoff team and IAM Cycling’s future uncertain.

This new Middle Eastern team is currently focusing on building the squad. According to Velonews, Vincenzo Nibali in the focus of discussion. The Sicilian will be free at the end of this season and his agent is searching for a new contract. "Due to the elections in Kazakhstan, [Astana general manager] Alexandre Vinokourov has been busy. We are going to discus a contract renewal option with him when he returns," Nibali’s agent Alex Carera told VeloNews.

According to the same site, Carera could become the general manager of the new team. If that is the case, he would need to hand over the agency business to his brother Johnny. If so, Peter Sagan is likely not to join the Bahraini team as he is working with Careras’ rival agent Giovanni Lombardi.