Professional Continental cycling team MTN-Qhubeka has continued on its sponsorship recruitment drive by agreeing a deal with professional services firm Deloitte.
Under the agreement, terms of which were undisclosed, Deloitte Consulting will become a “key sponsor” of Ryder Cycling, which owns and manages Africa’s only member of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) second-tier system.
MTN-Qhubeka is set to be renamed Team Dimension Data from January 1. Global IT solutions and services provider Dimension Data last week agreed a deal to become the sole title sponsor of the squad, which became the first African-registered team to compete in the Tour de France earlier this year.
Commenting on the Deloitte deal, team principal Douglas Ryder said: “Deloitte’s mission is to help their clients excel and has a purpose to make an impact that matters. This is a perfect match for our team as we continue to ride to promote and develop cycling on the African continent and to support our #BicyclesChangeLives campaign through the Qhubeka charity.
“The technology collaboration between Deloitte and Dimension Data will help our team excel by becoming more connected and operationally efficient as we strive to be the best that we can be in the next phase of this team’s incredible journey.”
MTN-Qhubeka is keen to build its team ahead of the 2016 season and today (Tuesday) announced the signing of star sprinter Mark Cavendish. The Manxman was a free agent and the team was reported to require significant sponsorship income to afford his wages.