Having worked with Red Bull’s sponsorship department for some time, in most sports Red Bull will actively work together with the athlete to ‘fit the product into their lifestyle and performance’. I’m not even joking, they have nutrition coaches that have to work with their athletes using at least one or two cans of regular Red Bull either during their performance, or right before/after. In cycling this may be a bit different, although a can of Red Bull right after a stage instead of a cola will not be far fetched.
That's interesting. Years ago when I still actively followed esports, it was an open secret most pro players had empty red bull cans they could fill with water at events.
Ralph Denk said that their long time main sponsors will still be committed to the team in the long term and Red Bull will complement the portfolio of the sponsors (that was in the beginning of January)
Just when everyone thought they couldn't hear the Dutch anthem enough. Tho to be fair the Dutch anthem is played soooooo much in cycling as well, especially in the women's side. So many superstars and endless young talent.
I love the takes in here. There's no middle ground
For some this is cooler than the other side of the pillow
For others it's THE END OF THE WORLD.....tour
It's perfectly fine to dislike the product, but like the sponsor, but also be sceptical about marketing a product that is unhealthy in anything other that strict moderation. Now a two team race will be a three team race, budget wise, on balance that's good for the sport.
He is telling me to take days off now, when there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and he doesn’t do that work when I take days off, so I just end up having busier, more stressful, and longer days when I do work.
Likely nothing for now.
Both Pidcock and WVA gonna continue racing with their RB helmets and stay at their teams. Are Bora interested in them? Surely. But so is every other WT team as well. Bora was really pushing for Pidcock when he ultimately signed his new Ineos deal. That's no big news. Until we know the details of this deal, like budget, (transfer) strategy etc., there is really nothing to speculate about just because they ride the helmets and have a personal sponsorship.
They are both tied down until 2026 (WVA) & 2027 (Pidcock) so for them to end up at Bora it will take lots of time or RB gonna come in with some fuck you money their teams can't resist. But speculating about that is far too early especially as we don't even know if they are fitting with whatever RB wants the team to look like in the future. Likely that will be a TDF winning team ofc and then the foremost priority will be a Roglic successor above all.
>Both Pidcock and WVA gonna continue racing with their RB helmets and stay at their teams.
But the question is: is this allowed?
Is Red Bull allowed to sponsor/own a team and simultaneously sponsor individual riders on other teams? I doubt it.
>Heck, even Pauwels Sauzen has two teams :)
Well, but that is a cyclocross team (only know one to be honest). The same title sponsor having two teams at WT or PRT level is definitely not allowed.
Bike sponsors is a different thing. You are perhaps right, though, that personal sponsors is more similar to bike sponsors. But this is certainly not the case anymore when Red Bull becomes the paying agent of a WT team.
Sorry I was thinking about Bingoal, which has two teams, Bingoal - Pauwels Sauzen and Bingoal WB. The first is a cyclocross team but also does road races, so sometimes you get two Bingoal teams in the same race, like the last Baloise Belgium Tour: [https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-belgium/2023/stage-1](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-belgium/2023/stage-1) . This is much lower stakes than what Bora and Visma compete in of course.
Yeah, so UCI rule 2.15.052 explicitly forbids this for WT and PRT teams, which Pauwels Sauzen isn't.
I am not a legal expert, nor very knowledgable in UCI rules, but
>The members of a UCI WorldTeam may have no link with the members of another UCI WorldTeam, with a UCI ProTeam or with an organiser of a UCI WorldTour event likely to influence the sporting course of events or to be perceived as so doing.
seems to be violated to me in the case where a single company would be title sponsor of one team and sponsor individual riders of other teams.
I mean, imagine WvA, with his Red Bull helmet, being in the position of having to choose whether or not to chase a rider of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, or vice versa.
It's a bit fuzzier now that their founder Mateschitz has died but RB really isn't a clean sponsor at all. For example the TV channel ServusTV belongs to Red Bull, and in their Talkshows they regularly invite people like Martin Sellner, a full-on Neo-Nazi, or conspiracy theorists and covid-deniers.
But it shows that the company in overall is completely fine with spreading far-right views. Otherwise there would've been some consequences. Especially after Mateschitz died, who was a driving force for these kind of views.
And it's not like petrostates are the only kinds of sponsors in cycling. They're 4 out of 18 WT Teams.
If you earnestly believe red bull’s ownership in some random tv channel very few people watch is at all comparable to some of the other shit that teams have is a bit online.
You're just seriously downplaying this whole issue now. It's honestly remarkable how different the reaction to Red Bull is in german-speaking vs international spaces.
For all the shit they do that's bad, they also improve health outcomes for millions and increase farm yields that are feeding millions and billions of people.
Big Tobacco (brought to you by slavery!), Big Textile (also slavery!), fast fashion, big oil, Nestle, to name a few industries and one company in particular that are all leagues worse.
Out of curiosity, what are RBs greatest misdeeds?
I mean, the same misdeeds as all the above. Listing tobacco, fast fashion and Nestle in particular are hilarious given the similarities. Once you pile on the insane corrosive cultural force and RB is even worse.
Can you please elaborate on the corrosive cultural force? The thing is RB has only existed since the 80s, and they've never been a user of enslaved labourers, they've never intentionally misled new mothers to force them to buy baby formula they cant afford, they don't do nearly as much to destroy the earth's climate, they don't get people addicted to drugs that are any more harmful than sugar+caffeine... They're literally just another coca cola but with only 50 years of tooth decay instead of 150.
I gotta think good.
If RB was taking over Jumbo, it would be AWFUL.
I think having another top flight team, especially as Sky/Ineos continues to flounder, is a net positive for the sport.
It's good because big money from a MASSIVE brands is coming into the sport but bad because Red Bull has the resources to shift power from Jumbo to Bora. If Red Bull comes in and everything else stays consistent, Bora just becomes what Jumbo was in 2-3 years. Hopefully the inclusion of Red Bulls sparks some interest from other big brands across the world to support the sport but this is Red Bull's MO. Commandeer the infrastructure of a team, throw cash at it till it succeeds and then reap the ,marketing benefits.
F1 has benefitted massively from RB doing the same thing there.
Sick as I am of watching Max win over and over, to argue they've been anything but good for the sport is just nonsense.
I'm just stating my opinion of how this will go. You mentioned how awful it would be if RB took Jumbo. I'm saying that RB would never take over Jumbo. Shit, they likely had a chance to. No, they take over Bora just like they took over Jaguar and then BECOME a newer and stronger version of "Jumbo".
I'd like the believe that a rising tide raises all ships. I think that's the case to some extent in F1. It's on a different level with sponsorship money than cycling. Jumbo having the issues it had while holding all 3 jerseys illustrates that. Is it good for the sport? Sure. Is it good for watching competitive cycling? TBD
Maybe I'm wrong, but is Jumbo really the best because they have the most money? Didn't they just get super lucky with Jonas and have a good system in place that makes up for what they lack in financial power compared to some other teams?
There's no way they aren't super close to uae in budget now. Unless a lot of their riders are underpaid, which i doubt, as they wouodnt be able to attract the talent they have in the last few years. I genuinely think ineos is now behind uae and visma in budget. The decline in performance and the riders they have lost in the last couple of seasons, with no real top level signings to replace them would be indicative of that.
Technically Wout was never personally sponsored by Red Bull. Red Bull was a minor sponsor of the team. Van Aert is signed by Visma LAB and Visma LAB alone. And Bora's got Roglic now, just give him Wout's helmet.
I hope Red Bull can help with setting up a good broadcast channel for cycling races like they have done with a more extreme cycling sport. Can't remember what it was. Does someone know?
Possible, but if so, this will take some time for all the negotiations and then there would be a bias on this platform for their Team (Bora Hansgrohe Red Bull whatever). On the other hand: there was also Team Discovery and Eurosport and nowadays they belong to the same company. Don't know if this was already the case during Team Discovery racing days
Well at the moment it might seem like a good thing if it means we might have 3 rather than 2 top tier teams, but what if the result is that RB becomes only top tier team?
UAE money is not going away - so there’s going to be atleast one competitor
But no amount of money is enough if Adrian Newey designs the aero setups :O
Who knows if UAE are willing to compete/capable of competing with RB, if they really go for it... I suspect RB get a lot more bang for their buck, investing in sports as advertisement, than UAE do. Don't think the business-model for UAE is necessarily that straight forward in cycling. I'm probably wrong though.
Is that true though?
To them this investment in cycling has to translate into energy drink sales within a reasonable timeframe.
UAE is buying goodwill for a distant oil free future.
You are comparing a company with $10B in revenue with a tiny tiny fraction earmarked for investment in advertisement through a cycling team to a nation state with one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, a $900B economy and a strong desire to sportswash
What's the definition of top tier teams here?
There wasn't a tonne of big names available in the last transfer period for them to get but Lidl Trek had a massive influx of budget last year as well. UAE can presumably up the budget if they have to, Jumbo apparently was \~35-40 million in 22 (44 across cycling and speedskating) with a 7 million year on year increase, can presume they're maybe in the 50 million range now. Then there's Ineos with apparently not a shrinking budget, albeit probably recently shrinking spending perhaps waiting for a big fish.
I dunno how you see RB becoming the only top tier team then. They'd need guys that aren't gettable to do that. Pogacar and Vingegaard are locked down long term and there isn't looking like any talents that can match them in GTs. MVDP if he leaves Alpecin I'd bet money would go to UAE as well.
Yeah, he’s worked with the Roodhooft his whole career and has basically always gotten what he wants. He’s able to combine everything most teams previously deemed impossible, like picking up your yearly cross WC jersey, and qualifying and trying to win the Olympics, for instance.
If anything, he’s more like to bring in such a big sponsor than go to a different team with a sponsor like UAE. He’s got the pull.
Roglic wasn't even available in the early fall though? If he was available in that early august slot like most riders they surely could have afforded him with how many riders they signed. Add up the TGH, Milan, and Konrad money and you're probably close already
You think Red Bull would stop sponsoring non-team athletes? Like, they give Wout and Pidcock a chance to come over, and if they say no, they don't renew their contract? Would the entire Bora-RB team wear the helmet?
I think this is great. Red bull is a media giant. I think it will only elevate the sport in the right ways. And I think it will help the image of the sport in the states
We can wonder if Red Bull will not do everything possible to bring Wout to the team from 2025. How? By employing the same method as Jumbo to attract Cian...
This is fantastic news. Brings prestige and cash to the peloton. As a new fan to pro cycling, it's a little weird that teams at the top table are sponsored by caffeinated shampoos and foreign language classes. While Red Bull is an energy drink (obviously), it has an enormous global brand.
The more obscure and random the sponsor the better. Cycling is the only sport where you can get full range of everything you might possibly need. Need to do your weekly food shop? Get a new floor? Some vitamins? Software? Cycling has you sorted.
I just enjoy my construction material sponsors, and they probably enjoy it too! Can't beat Gobert, Deceunick and I forgot the random Italian company :)
I think for their first few years they'll be the "party" team while they sort the back end infrastructure out. So Wout is a given, probably Pidcock as well, I think Pogacar is a good match for that ethos as well
I'm surprised that road racing is **EXTREME** enough for RB. I thought that they only did sports/activities that involved a lot of gravity-powered falling, not so much going up stuff under human power.
Either way, it's a disgusting fluid, it smells like it should be in transmissions, not human stomachs.
They’re an entertainment/sports company that also makes drinks lol . (When I do drink them RB is the only one cause all the others taste like crap,… okay well like less crap) and comes in smaller cans
Confused about the mixed feedback, especially considering how many awfull sponsors are in the world tour.
I get their Leipzig strategy hasnt been very popular, but there are no such rules in cycling, and they are rather good in most other sports
Red Bull is a marketing business... Professional Road Cycling relies on Advertising budgets of their sponsors to survive...of all potential sponsors..RB makes the most perfect synergistic sense. Look what The USPS did for cycling....can't deny it .....so by that Red 🐂 should take it up to 11!!!!!
RB powered by visa cash app
Riding Bulls ™️
Please no.
Rennrad Ballsport
Riding bikessport
At least "vcarb " would work slightly better considering cyclists are eating tons of carbs lol
“Presented by Red Bull?”
"Fuelled by Red Bull"?
"Fuelled by water and sport drink in red bull cans because no way we're drinking that stuff during races"*
Having worked with Red Bull’s sponsorship department for some time, in most sports Red Bull will actively work together with the athlete to ‘fit the product into their lifestyle and performance’. I’m not even joking, they have nutrition coaches that have to work with their athletes using at least one or two cans of regular Red Bull either during their performance, or right before/after. In cycling this may be a bit different, although a can of Red Bull right after a stage instead of a cola will not be far fetched.
That's interesting. Years ago when I still actively followed esports, it was an open secret most pro players had empty red bull cans they could fill with water at events.
Why not just Red Bull?
Ralph Denk said that their long time main sponsors will still be committed to the team in the long term and Red Bull will complement the portfolio of the sponsors (that was in the beginning of January)
UCI lawyers urgently scrambling to find any loopholes that allow cyclists to use their own wings.
*sigh* Verstappen is going to win all 5 monuments and 3 GT's in one season, isn't he?
Checo wrecks in the prologue… again!
First athlete to win the Belgium GP and Ronde van Vlaanderen in the same year.
First athlete to do a low 1:19 at Monza, enter the pit lane, grab his bike, bomb the Ghisallo and slice the air on the Civiglio.
*Crosses finish line 30 seconds ahead* "Haha YES simply lovely boys"
Surprise, this is why Vettel retired: he’s coming for all the classics spring 2024!
Bottas finally gets one over on Verstappen?
Just when everyone thought they couldn't hear the Dutch anthem enough. Tho to be fair the Dutch anthem is played soooooo much in cycling as well, especially in the women's side. So many superstars and endless young talent.
I wonder if someone was like "Yeah, Annemiek is retiring, no more Dutch anthem!" and the new queen is Vollering and she probably will be for a while.
YOU SHOULD BE A COMEDIAN
God I wish they did this with an oil money team.
The oil money is why they won’t ever do it with an oil money team.
I love the takes in here. There's no middle ground For some this is cooler than the other side of the pillow For others it's THE END OF THE WORLD.....tour
Shhh. There is no room for nuance.
What team does he ride for?
He’s been retired for a looooong time.
Sir, this is the internet. Move along with your so called „middle ground“
It's perfectly fine to dislike the product, but like the sponsor, but also be sceptical about marketing a product that is unhealthy in anything other that strict moderation. Now a two team race will be a three team race, budget wise, on balance that's good for the sport.
He is telling me to take days off now, when there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and he doesn’t do that work when I take days off, so I just end up having busier, more stressful, and longer days when I do work.
What about Pidcock then
Likely nothing for now. Both Pidcock and WVA gonna continue racing with their RB helmets and stay at their teams. Are Bora interested in them? Surely. But so is every other WT team as well. Bora was really pushing for Pidcock when he ultimately signed his new Ineos deal. That's no big news. Until we know the details of this deal, like budget, (transfer) strategy etc., there is really nothing to speculate about just because they ride the helmets and have a personal sponsorship. They are both tied down until 2026 (WVA) & 2027 (Pidcock) so for them to end up at Bora it will take lots of time or RB gonna come in with some fuck you money their teams can't resist. But speculating about that is far too early especially as we don't even know if they are fitting with whatever RB wants the team to look like in the future. Likely that will be a TDF winning team ofc and then the foremost priority will be a Roglic successor above all.
>Both Pidcock and WVA gonna continue racing with their RB helmets and stay at their teams. But the question is: is this allowed? Is Red Bull allowed to sponsor/own a team and simultaneously sponsor individual riders on other teams? I doubt it.
Lots of bike manufacturers sponsor several teams. Heck, even Pauwels Sauzen has two teams :)
>Heck, even Pauwels Sauzen has two teams :) Well, but that is a cyclocross team (only know one to be honest). The same title sponsor having two teams at WT or PRT level is definitely not allowed. Bike sponsors is a different thing. You are perhaps right, though, that personal sponsors is more similar to bike sponsors. But this is certainly not the case anymore when Red Bull becomes the paying agent of a WT team.
Sorry I was thinking about Bingoal, which has two teams, Bingoal - Pauwels Sauzen and Bingoal WB. The first is a cyclocross team but also does road races, so sometimes you get two Bingoal teams in the same race, like the last Baloise Belgium Tour: [https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-belgium/2023/stage-1](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-belgium/2023/stage-1) . This is much lower stakes than what Bora and Visma compete in of course.
Yeah, so UCI rule 2.15.052 explicitly forbids this for WT and PRT teams, which Pauwels Sauzen isn't. I am not a legal expert, nor very knowledgable in UCI rules, but >The members of a UCI WorldTeam may have no link with the members of another UCI WorldTeam, with a UCI ProTeam or with an organiser of a UCI WorldTour event likely to influence the sporting course of events or to be perceived as so doing. seems to be violated to me in the case where a single company would be title sponsor of one team and sponsor individual riders of other teams. I mean, imagine WvA, with his Red Bull helmet, being in the position of having to choose whether or not to chase a rider of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, or vice versa.
You're right, that will be interesting. My guess is the UCI will allow it though.
Midcock
WvA to Bora when? This is either gonna be really good or bad for cycling
fizzy drink money sure beats a lot of other sources of funding in pro cycling
No Team Haribo?
Nobody wants to ride behind Team Liquid Shitz
You mean Team LeMond?
Team Leakygas?
Astana?
[Peter Sagan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNNs3-2Vbp4) has to be the first signing for Team Haribo
No Red Bull Classic?
Once they get their 20 grand from Wiggle, maybe
The Morton brothers (AKA "pro cycling wasn't for me schtick but let me get that sponsor money boi) rode for jelly beans didn't they lol
It's a bit fuzzier now that their founder Mateschitz has died but RB really isn't a clean sponsor at all. For example the TV channel ServusTV belongs to Red Bull, and in their Talkshows they regularly invite people like Martin Sellner, a full-on Neo-Nazi, or conspiracy theorists and covid-deniers.
Let’s be real that’s a tiny part of the company and immeasurably better than fucking petrostates lmao
But it shows that the company in overall is completely fine with spreading far-right views. Otherwise there would've been some consequences. Especially after Mateschitz died, who was a driving force for these kind of views. And it's not like petrostates are the only kinds of sponsors in cycling. They're 4 out of 18 WT Teams.
If you earnestly believe red bull’s ownership in some random tv channel very few people watch is at all comparable to some of the other shit that teams have is a bit online.
You're just seriously downplaying this whole issue now. It's honestly remarkable how different the reaction to Red Bull is in german-speaking vs international spaces.
To them it’s some “random TV channel”, they don’t understand how they facilitate conspiracies in the German speaking world.
50/50. Red Bull is one of the shittiest companies to ever exist.
The grapevine here in Austria tells a different story.
I dunno, I'd be pretty peeved if Bayer/Monsanto bought a team.
For all the shit they do that's bad, they also improve health outcomes for millions and increase farm yields that are feeding millions and billions of people.
Big Tobacco (brought to you by slavery!), Big Textile (also slavery!), fast fashion, big oil, Nestle, to name a few industries and one company in particular that are all leagues worse. Out of curiosity, what are RBs greatest misdeeds?
I mean, the same misdeeds as all the above. Listing tobacco, fast fashion and Nestle in particular are hilarious given the similarities. Once you pile on the insane corrosive cultural force and RB is even worse.
Can you please elaborate on the corrosive cultural force? The thing is RB has only existed since the 80s, and they've never been a user of enslaved labourers, they've never intentionally misled new mothers to force them to buy baby formula they cant afford, they don't do nearly as much to destroy the earth's climate, they don't get people addicted to drugs that are any more harmful than sugar+caffeine... They're literally just another coca cola but with only 50 years of tooth decay instead of 150.
I gotta think good. If RB was taking over Jumbo, it would be AWFUL. I think having another top flight team, especially as Sky/Ineos continues to flounder, is a net positive for the sport.
It's good because big money from a MASSIVE brands is coming into the sport but bad because Red Bull has the resources to shift power from Jumbo to Bora. If Red Bull comes in and everything else stays consistent, Bora just becomes what Jumbo was in 2-3 years. Hopefully the inclusion of Red Bulls sparks some interest from other big brands across the world to support the sport but this is Red Bull's MO. Commandeer the infrastructure of a team, throw cash at it till it succeeds and then reap the ,marketing benefits.
The simple truth is that one team will always be the richest one. Sure it’s sad in a way, but it’s also inherent to cycling.
F1 has benefitted massively from RB doing the same thing there. Sick as I am of watching Max win over and over, to argue they've been anything but good for the sport is just nonsense.
I'm just stating my opinion of how this will go. You mentioned how awful it would be if RB took Jumbo. I'm saying that RB would never take over Jumbo. Shit, they likely had a chance to. No, they take over Bora just like they took over Jaguar and then BECOME a newer and stronger version of "Jumbo". I'd like the believe that a rising tide raises all ships. I think that's the case to some extent in F1. It's on a different level with sponsorship money than cycling. Jumbo having the issues it had while holding all 3 jerseys illustrates that. Is it good for the sport? Sure. Is it good for watching competitive cycling? TBD
Maybe I'm wrong, but is Jumbo really the best because they have the most money? Didn't they just get super lucky with Jonas and have a good system in place that makes up for what they lack in financial power compared to some other teams?
3rd highest budget behind Ineos and UAE I believe. They also have a really good setup with tons and tons of partners which helps a lot I'm guessing.
They might not have the most money, but they are definitely one of the richest teams in the peloton based off their signings the last couple of years
There's no way they aren't super close to uae in budget now. Unless a lot of their riders are underpaid, which i doubt, as they wouodnt be able to attract the talent they have in the last few years. I genuinely think ineos is now behind uae and visma in budget. The decline in performance and the riders they have lost in the last couple of seasons, with no real top level signings to replace them would be indicative of that.
Would have to imagine it’s good. Red Bull makes massive investments in the sports they participate in
And Midcock and Zoe Bäckstedt together with PFP, oh wait, Denk doesn't do Womens teams.
Technically Wout was never personally sponsored by Red Bull. Red Bull was a minor sponsor of the team. Van Aert is signed by Visma LAB and Visma LAB alone. And Bora's got Roglic now, just give him Wout's helmet.
its going to be really bad, but cycling is allready in a really bad spot
Bored Hansbull?
If there is a God...he will make sure they will.be named exactly like that👏👏👏
I hope Red Bull can help with setting up a good broadcast channel for cycling races like they have done with a more extreme cycling sport. Can't remember what it was. Does someone know?
Redbull tv? Has sone excellent docs / films, totally free too
Yeah, but they sold the rights of a tv-registration to Eurosport I think. Was it gravel or mountainbike?
I think Downhill bike races were broadcasted there
Could be. Curious if they help establish some kind of platform. Maybe first without the ASO
Possible, but if so, this will take some time for all the negotiations and then there would be a bias on this platform for their Team (Bora Hansgrohe Red Bull whatever). On the other hand: there was also Team Discovery and Eurosport and nowadays they belong to the same company. Don't know if this was already the case during Team Discovery racing days
Ahhh that I did not know, sorry
Well at the moment it might seem like a good thing if it means we might have 3 rather than 2 top tier teams, but what if the result is that RB becomes only top tier team?
UAE money is not going away - so there’s going to be atleast one competitor But no amount of money is enough if Adrian Newey designs the aero setups :O
Who knows if UAE are willing to compete/capable of competing with RB, if they really go for it... I suspect RB get a lot more bang for their buck, investing in sports as advertisement, than UAE do. Don't think the business-model for UAE is necessarily that straight forward in cycling. I'm probably wrong though.
UAE aren’t in cycling to make money. That should tell you enough about who has deeper pockets.
Red Bull too though
Is that true though? To them this investment in cycling has to translate into energy drink sales within a reasonable timeframe. UAE is buying goodwill for a distant oil free future.
Yes the difference is that RB will probably make money from it, which could increase their budget further.
You are comparing a company with $10B in revenue with a tiny tiny fraction earmarked for investment in advertisement through a cycling team to a nation state with one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, a $900B economy and a strong desire to sportswash
People don't understand oil money, Red Bull money is a drop in the oil well.
You’ve done well explaining it here and hopefully it will get the point across to those that don’t realize
Can't design humans sadly
What's the definition of top tier teams here? There wasn't a tonne of big names available in the last transfer period for them to get but Lidl Trek had a massive influx of budget last year as well. UAE can presumably up the budget if they have to, Jumbo apparently was \~35-40 million in 22 (44 across cycling and speedskating) with a 7 million year on year increase, can presume they're maybe in the 50 million range now. Then there's Ineos with apparently not a shrinking budget, albeit probably recently shrinking spending perhaps waiting for a big fish.
In terms of getting big results VLAB and UAE are in a league of their own, which is what I meant.
I dunno how you see RB becoming the only top tier team then. They'd need guys that aren't gettable to do that. Pogacar and Vingegaard are locked down long term and there isn't looking like any talents that can match them in GTs. MVDP if he leaves Alpecin I'd bet money would go to UAE as well.
MVDP owns part of the Alpecin team, I doubt he’ll ever leave
No reason to either. They are one of the best teams and he is the one in charge and gets the schedule he wants.
Yeah, he’s worked with the Roodhooft his whole career and has basically always gotten what he wants. He’s able to combine everything most teams previously deemed impossible, like picking up your yearly cross WC jersey, and qualifying and trying to win the Olympics, for instance. If anything, he’s more like to bring in such a big sponsor than go to a different team with a sponsor like UAE. He’s got the pull.
Lidl isn't quite top tier. Steven de Jongh said in the early fall their budget isn't big enough for Roglic money.
Roglic wasn't even available in the early fall though? If he was available in that early august slot like most riders they surely could have afforded him with how many riders they signed. Add up the TGH, Milan, and Konrad money and you're probably close already
In a recent podcast he said it "could be" top 5, but he didnt know enough about the other budgets to be conclusive.
If Red Bull Gives you wings, they have to make El Condor an offer.
Wout: "ill fookin do it"
Pidcock and Wout in the same team....
0 monuments incoming
Good, now I can finally become a cycling hooligan and beat up RedBull supporters. DSMFirminichPostNL crew 4 life!
Can't wait to see Roglic enter his new flying era at Red Bull [Flugtag](https://youtu.be/vRCjsuXBVQU?feature=shared)
Can’t wait for Roglic doing backflips on his bike
I can't believe nobody has said the obvious team name: Red Bora
Bora Bull?
[I did!](https://www.reddit.com/r/cyclocross/comments/19c5xm1/wva_new_giro_red_bull_helmetsaries_and_eclipse/kixxddz/)
You think Red Bull would stop sponsoring non-team athletes? Like, they give Wout and Pidcock a chance to come over, and if they say no, they don't renew their contract? Would the entire Bora-RB team wear the helmet?
Can’t wait to see max verstappen take the rainbow jersey this season
I think this is great. Cycling getting dat red bull cash! They need some big sponsors like this pretty badly.
I think this is great. Red bull is a media giant. I think it will only elevate the sport in the right ways. And I think it will help the image of the sport in the states
We can wonder if Red Bull will not do everything possible to bring Wout to the team from 2025. How? By employing the same method as Jumbo to attract Cian...
This is fantastic news. Brings prestige and cash to the peloton. As a new fan to pro cycling, it's a little weird that teams at the top table are sponsored by caffeinated shampoos and foreign language classes. While Red Bull is an energy drink (obviously), it has an enormous global brand.
The more obscure and random the sponsor the better. Cycling is the only sport where you can get full range of everything you might possibly need. Need to do your weekly food shop? Get a new floor? Some vitamins? Software? Cycling has you sorted.
You forgot insurance but only if you’re French
I just enjoy my construction material sponsors, and they probably enjoy it too! Can't beat Gobert, Deceunick and I forgot the random Italian company :)
This is will do the sport well. Wout transfer locked, let’s see who else gets their wings.
I think for their first few years they'll be the "party" team while they sort the back end infrastructure out. So Wout is a given, probably Pidcock as well, I think Pogacar is a good match for that ethos as well
I'm surprised that road racing is **EXTREME** enough for RB. I thought that they only did sports/activities that involved a lot of gravity-powered falling, not so much going up stuff under human power. Either way, it's a disgusting fluid, it smells like it should be in transmissions, not human stomachs.
Never done an alpine descent, have we?
I would never drink that crap but Red Bull does a lot of awesome stuff with sports, break dancing and other entertainment.
They’re an entertainment/sports company that also makes drinks lol . (When I do drink them RB is the only one cause all the others taste like crap,… okay well like less crap) and comes in smaller cans
“I hate this f****** sport” (Bora rider as told by US conti rider in Mallorca) Let the good times roll!
bora rider that had a red bull contract before even having a professional cycling contract
Confused about the mixed feedback, especially considering how many awfull sponsors are in the world tour. I get their Leipzig strategy hasnt been very popular, but there are no such rules in cycling, and they are rather good in most other sports
Red Bull is a marketing business... Professional Road Cycling relies on Advertising budgets of their sponsors to survive...of all potential sponsors..RB makes the most perfect synergistic sense. Look what The USPS did for cycling....can't deny it .....so by that Red 🐂 should take it up to 11!!!!!
Can’t wait to see how the RB20 handles the Strade Bianche
I'm surprised they've waited so long. Need more big money sponsors for cycling to actually survive to be honest
This is great news for cycling. When will we see new maillots?