Rabobank, the Dutch bank, is making a comeback in professional cycling sponsorship by partnering with Team Visma-Lease a Bike, following nearly a decade-long absence. This three-and-a-half-year agreement includes sponsorship for both men's and women's teams, as well as a development team. Rabobank's previous involvement spanned 17 years until 2012, when they withdrew amid doping concerns. The bank aims to foster new cycling talent while reviving their long-standing commitment to the sport.
"With the addition of Team Visma-Lease a Bike to our sports partnerships, we are returning to our old love: cycling," Stefaan Decraene, Chairman of the Managing Board of Rabobank, said in a media statement. "As the jersey sponsor of both the men's and women's teams, as well as the Development Team, we look forward to supporting the next generation of cycling talent together."
Rabobank was previously a title sponsor of a top-level men's professional cycling team for 17 years, through from 1996 to 2012. It pulled the pin on its sponsorship of the men's squad following a report from the United States Anti-Doping Agency. At the time Bert Bruggink, a member of the organisation's Managing Board said 'We are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport.'
The squad was one of the strongest forces in women's cycling throughout that period, topping the UCI rankings for three of its five seasons under the Rabobank name.
Despite the initial announcement in 2012 also foreshadowing a withdrawal from the women’s team, which it had just started sponsoring that year, Rabobank ended up remaining with the team through to the end of 2016.
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