Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Giant has agreed a multi-year deal with the UCI WorldTour cycling team formerly known as Argos-Shimano under which it will assume title sponsorship of the squad for the 2014 season.
Under the terms of the deal, which was first reported last week and was confirmed today, Giant will provide bikes and apparel for the WorldTour pro men’s team as well as a men’s development team competing as a UCI Continental squad. Liv/giant, the cycling brand dedicated to women riders, will supply bikes and apparel for a pro women’s road team.
Today’s announcement serves to end three months of sponsorship and financial uncertainty around the team. In October, team general manager Iwan Spekenbrink announced that a company with “European and international recognition” had sealed a three-year agreement to replace the outgoing Argos. Shortly after that news became public, star rider Marcel Kittel and his sprint train signed new multi-year contracts with the team – its future apparently secure – only for the unnamed sponsor to withdraw after the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) registration deadline passed. Argos had initially committed to sponsorship for another year, with an option to extend until 2015, before it was bought out by Russian investment fund Sistema and terminated the agreement in October.
Giant will now fill the title sponsorship void for 2014, with the Dutch team set to be known as Giant-Shimano. The agreement provides additional time for team officials to secure a new backer. Spekenbrink said: “By stepping up after our planned title sponsor departed, Giant is demonstrating their belief in the superior results, global reach and integrity we have established over the last several years. The idea of building a new concept in pro cycling, together with Giant, has been welcomed with great enthusiasm by the riders and the entire organisation.”
Home to star sprinters Kittel and John Degenkolb of Germany, the pro men’s team is focused on WorldTour events including the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, plus major classics and one-day races around the world. Kittel had a breakout 2013 season, collecting 15 race wins including four stages at the Tour de France.