Cycling news - Mitchelton-Scott to rebrand as Manuela Fundacion after team secures new sponsor

ByEurosport

Updated 12/06/2020 at 11:49 GMT

Australian World Tour cycling organisation GreenEdge Cycling have confirmed that their team will be rebranded from Mitchelton-Scott to Team Manuel Fundacion for the remainder of the 2020 season and beyond.

Chaves and Yates, Mount Etna Giro d'Italia

Image credit: Eurosport

In a statement on Mitchelton-Scott's website it was confirmed that the move comes after financial insecurity:

"The long-term agreement comes as welcome news in a difficult period for the global sport industry with impacts from COVID-19, such as competition cancellations and postponements and job losses and pay cuts, reaching from cycling to the NFL, to the Olympic Games and beyond."

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Both men's and women's teams had taken pay cuts during the coronavirus lockdown, with Annemiek van Vleuten revealing that those losses were "substantial" but "important to save the team".

The new sponsor is a Spanish not-for-profit charity that focuses on social projects, funded by Spanish couple Francisco Huertas and Maria Angustias Gonzalez, and will be fully launched in October.

“After an unsettling and uncertain period, particularly in recent months, we are thrilled to have the support of Mr Francisco Huertas and the Manuela Fundación to ensure our future in 2021 and beyond," team owner Gerry Ryan said in a statement.

We have always believed in our product and values as a team for perspective partners, but the significance of this long-term deal is not lost on us, especially considering the recent hardships of not only the cycling world and sports industry, but the wider world’s health and economic climate.

"As an organisation, we are moved by the story of the Manuela Fundación and are looking forward to working with such a generous project and doing our part to contribute to their vision of helping to create a more supportive world.”

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The rebrand will also mean a change in kit, which will come into effect when cycling resumes in August.

The team are expected to challenge for the men's Grand Tours, spearheaded by British brothers Simon and Adam Yates. The women's team contains World Champion Van Vleuten and won the opening major race of the season, the Omloop het Nieuwsblad, before racing was cancelled in early March.

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