DSM is the new main sponsor of the cycling team that has been active as Team Sunweb in recent years. The Dutch specialty chemicals concern announced this Friday after Sunweb CEO Tim Vandenbergh had first announced the retirement of the team.
Sunweb has been with manager Iwan Spekenbrink’s team since 2017. Vandenbergh stated that, due to the corona crisis, the travel company will put its priorities elsewhere.
The team, which will continue as Team DSM, consists of a men’s and a women’s team as well as a training team. Last year, the team was particularly successful with 16 men’s victories, including stage wins in the Tour and the Giro. The Swiss Marc Hirschi (22) broke through. After his stage victory in the Tour, he also won the Flèche Wallonne. The Dane Søren Kragh Andersen (26) even won two stages in the Tour and the only 24-year-old Australian Jai Hindley came second in the Giro. The Australian Michael Matthews, Sam Oomen and Wilco Kelderman, among others, disappeared from last season’s team.
DSM, which did not report the duration of the agreement, was already a partner of the team and played a role in improving things like materials, technology and nutrition. Among other things, the team will produce the racing clothing itself in collaboration with DSM and Bioracer. The new shirt has the two distinctive vertical stripes, which are now blue on a black background. The company will also guide the individual diet of riders and invest “from an ethical point of view” in additional doping controls.
Sports director Rudi Kemna explained the goals for next year. “We want to remain among the top among women. For the men, we are continuing to work on a strong block for the classics, the development of the “sprint train” and our young classification riders. In the grand tours, we are again mainly aiming for daytime successes ”, says Kemna.
The presentation was a virtual event with the riders present via numerous screens. For example, Hirschi spoke from the Canary Islands about his unforgettable weeks in the Tour and sprinter Cees Bol said that missing a stage victory in the same big round still causes him disappointment. “I was close to it. I was proud of how we have performed as a team, but I would like to win a stage in a grand tour myself next year. ”
