Sunweb is bringing its headline cycling sponsorship to an end after four seasons in the sport, as the Team Sunweb will undergo a full rebrand.
The German-registered squad, which supports men’s and women’s WorldTour teams as well as a development outfit, has found a new sponsor for the 2021 season and will race with an entirely new look.
Team Sunweb will be replaced in the peloton by Team DSM under a new sponsorship from Royal DSM, a Dutch chemical company.
Travel and holiday organisation Sunweb joined the pro peloton in 2017, taking over the sponsorship of the Giant-Alpecin men’s squad and the Liv-Plantur women’s team.
The team has had plenty of major success since then, winning the 2017 Giro d’Italia with Tom Dumoulin, then taking the mountains classifications and the points classification in that year’s Tour thanks to Warren Barguil and Michael Matthews.
After the departure of Dumoulin for Jumbo-Visma at the start of 2020, the team has been rebuilding itself, signing Romain Bardet as their Grand Tour leader for 2021.
This year Sunweb proved to be an exciting feature in the biggest races, winning three stages of the Tour de France, taking La Flèche Wallone with rising talent Marc Hirschi, and very nearly winning the Giro d’Italia with Jai Hindley, finishing second overall to Tao Geoghegan Hart.
Team Sunweb CEO Iwan Spekenbrink said: “The bike is a beautiful symbol of sustainable health and we are very keen to support DSM in ensuring more people recognise there are solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For a sports team like ours, having the chance to elevate our relevance from sporting excitement to contributing to big global themes is something we are very, very proud of and is definitely an ambition for all of us.”
From January 1, the team will switch to their new name Team DSM, as Royal DSM says it wants to promote public health through its cycling sponsorship.
The company, commonly known as Dutch State Mines, has a revenue of sound €8 billion (£7.2 billion) and is active in health, nutrition and materials, producing a number of vitamin supplements and plastics used in food packaging and the automotive industry.
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DSM Co-CEO Dimitri de Vreeze said: “We see our purpose-led, performance-driven approach matched in this team. Our culture is all about being courageous, caring and collaborative and this complements Team DSM’s advocacy on issues like doping, safety, the environmental impact of large racing events, and modernising women’s and men’s pro cycling.
"These are areas where we can work together to be a positive force for change. This strategic partnership sets a new standard in sport and will help all the team’s programs, as well as society as a whole.”
