Despite its obligations at the ongoing Giro d’Italia, Lampre-Merida are busy planning their future and while a substantial overhaul in terms of personnel might well materialize, there may even be structural changes as well as talks have been held with the budding Bahrain project.

The Italian team’s management have confirmed to Cyclingnews and Tuttobicci that they recently sat down with Milan Erzen, one of the men behind the Bahrain project, about a possible merger for 2017.

Erzen, a former Slovenian rider, has been tasked by the Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa to confer on his behalf. Erzen already has close ties with Lampre having worked on contracts for Slovenian riders on the team.

“Milan did come to speak to to myself and [Giuseppe] Saronni [general manager] and he explained his project to us. We sat down and listened to him. That’s as far as it’s gone so far,” Brent Copeland told Cyclingnews.

Meanwhile, Erzen is also talking to other teams, including Tinkoff, which will fold at the end of the current season, and bike manufacturer Bianchi.

Regardless of how those talks may end, Lampre are thinking about how their roster may shape up next year. Only 14 riders have contracts for 2017, and they do not, significantly, include team leaders Diego Ulissi and Rui Costa.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) has repeatedly been linked with a move after it was reported that the former Tour de France winner met with general manager Giuseppe Saronni, but the reality is that they are looking to strengthen their squad in a number of areas.

The only Italian WorldTour team are looking for a stage race leader, a rider for the Classics and potentially another sprinter. Although there is interest in Contador, almost every single team in professional cycling will be standing in lline to acquire his signature while his future and whether he rides next year will come down to how he fares in the Tour de France.

“There has been contact in the past with him but without going into the details what team wouldn’t want Contador? Copeland tells Cyclingnews. “A team like us looking for a GC rider and him being one of the few without a contract, it would be something of interest for us.”

Money, inevitably, plays a huge role in determining the outcome.

“A lot depends on who we keep on the team. We have two of our top riders out of contract at the end of the year in Rui Costa and Ulissi. We have two really good companies in Lampre and Merida, who understand the importance of a GC rider.”

Ulissi is currently performing well in the Giro d’Italia, having won a stage and fought with tenacity in the mountains. He is not a GC prospect but the same could well be said of Rui Costa. The former world champion was signed with a tilt at a three-week Tour in mind but has not fulfilled that promise.

“He is a rider of huge quality but with the experience he’s had in the last two years at the Tour de France, riding for GC is perhaps not going to be his future. He’s a rider who could point towards the Classics. If we could keep a top GC rider and Rui Costa then it would be a perfect world but we would have to look at the budget."