UCI Pro Continental cycling outfit Team Europcar has agreed a two-year co-sponsorship deal with French health insurance company Harmonie Mutuelle.
Car hire firm Europcar has backed the team since replacing Bouygues Telecom in 2010 and, after failing to secure a fellow title sponsor over the past three seasons, it will be joined by Harmonie Mutuelle for 2014 and 2015.
The deal will provide an important financial boost for the French-based team after it applied for UCI World Tour status last week.
Entry to the World Tour would necessitate an expansion of Europcar’s current 22-rider roster.
A space has opened up on the tour after the Euskaltel-Euskadi and Vacansoleil-DCM teams disbanded.
Europcar signed a two-year extension to its title sponsorship of the squad in July, with the new deal running until the end of the 2015 season.