By Claire Reilly
Belkin has joined the likes of Garmin, Sharp and US retailer RadioShack in sponsoring its own cycling team for the Tour de France, taking over the naming rights of the newly-minted Belkin Pro Cycling Team. Known briefly as the Blanco Pro Cycling Team this year (a reference to its formerly unsponsored status, not the cooking brand of the same name), the team raced for 17 years as Rabobank from 1996 to 2012.
The new deal is set to shore up brand exposure for both Belkin and the Linksys brand, which Belkin acquired earlier this year. Both the Belkin and Linksys logos will now appear across the Belkin Pro Cycling Team’s cycling jerseys, team clothing, bikes and vehicles, as well as the team’s website and social media feeds, in time for the commencement of the Tour de France this Saturday.
The two-and-a-half-year sponsorship deal will run until the end of 2015, and will see the brand not only gain exposure on the global stage with the Tour de France, but also in the local market — the Belkin Pro Cycling Team is set to race in the Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January 2014. Australians can expect to see great things, with the team pronounced overall winners of the race in 2013.
Click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter
Follow Current.com.au on Twitter
Speaking about the new sponsorship deal was Belkin’s founder and CEO, Chet Pipkin.
“Cycling relies on innovation to drive success and has a passionate, tech savvy fan base that follows the sport closely, which aligns really well with the Belkin brand,” said Pipkin. “Associating our Belkin and Linksys brands with this successful, well-established pro cycling team enables us to introduce ourselves to millions of people around the world and interact with them.”
“With 19 victories this year and a new title sponsor, 2013 is shaping up to be a dream season for our team,” added Richard Plugge, general manager of Belkin Pro Cycling. “As a company, Belkin shares our values and global ambitions, so we are very excited to have them on board as our sponsor. We look forward to two and a half years of shared successes.”
Technology brands are an established sight in the Tour de France with the arrival of Garmin to the race’s sponsorship books in 2008, followed by RadioShack in 2009. Last year, Sharp joined Garmin as co-sponsor of the former Team Garmin-Barracuda. Though neither Garmin-Sharp nor RadioShack Leopard has seen a winner in the overall classification in recent years, both teams have had riders win the privilege of wearing the coveted Maillot Jaune.
Die-hard Tour fans will once again be able to follow the race with SBS’s dedicated Tour Tracker app this year, available both on iOS and Android. And with last year’s General Classification winner Bradley Wiggins not contesting the race again this year due to a knee injury, Current.com.au hopes that Tour Tracker app will be showing a lot of Cadel Evans’ name.
Claire's Picks:
Maillot Jaune: Chris Froome (Team Sky)
Maillot Vert: André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol)
King of the Mountains: Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar)
Patrick's Picks:
Maillot Jaune: Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Leopard)
Maillot Vert: Peter Sagan (Cannondale)
King of the Mountains: Sammy Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Belkin Pro Cycling Team cyclists Bauke Mollema, Robert Gesink and Lars Boom show off the new team jerseys.