With many teams still negotiating sponsorship contracts for 2011, Rabobank may be about to agree a deal to sponsor its eponymous team to the end of 2016, according to wielerupdate.nl. The Dutch bank has sponsored the team since 1996 and the current deal expires at the end of 2012, but may well agree to a further four years if negotiations in the coming months go to plan.
“Rabobank is looking at the years 2013-2014 and 2015-2016,” said the Rabobank team’s general director Harold Kneber. “The decision has not yet been made; we have not yet renewed; the contract with the Rabobank runs until 2012. I expect the Council Board between now and December will declare its decision on how to proceed after that."
Rabobank has sponsored the iconic orange, blue and white team since 1996, but its roots originate with the Kwantum team of 1984. The team underwent a number of name changes over the years as sponsors came and went, becoming Superconfex, Buckler, Wordperfect and then Novell. Should Rabobank stick around until 2016 it would mean that it had sponsored the team for 20 years, making it one of the longest standing team sponsors in the history of the sport.
With a number of talented young Dutch riders on the books, including Robert Gesink, Lars Boom, Laurens Ten Dam, and the returning Theo Bos, prospects for the return of investment look good for a Dutch sponsor.
As well as the elite ProTeam on the road, the bank also sponsors an under-23 development team at Continental level, and an off road team of cyclocross riders. The bank is also heavily involved with the Netherlands national federation (KNWU), with its name on the orange national kit at major championships; this relationship also allows Dutch women riders, including Marianne Vos, to travel to races under the national team setup where their trade teams do not have the necessary budget.