EDUCATING SPONSORS

How Cannondale- Drapac were saved from likely extinction by new backer Education First

In September, Cannondale-Drapac confirmed it would be known as EF Education First-Drapac p/ b Cannondale from 2018, with the Swedish educational firm coming on board as the team’s new title sponsor.

The news ended a 14-day spiral of uncertainty that had looked likely to lead to the American squad’s closure. A potential new backer pulled out, leaving CEO Jonathan Vaughters searching for a $7 million shortfall, without which the squad would close. Riders and staff were initially released from contractual obligations for 2018, such was the uncertainty the team could continue.

Cannondale’s fairly modest budget is among the smallest in the peloton; at $15 million it’s said to be around a third of Team Sky’s. Yet the team had just enjoyed the most successful Tour de France of its 13-year history – with Rigoberto Urán winning a stage and finishing second overall. Star riders such as Urán, Sep Vanmarcke, Pierre Rolland, who won a stage at the Giro d’Italia and Michael Woods, who went on to end the Vuelta in seventh place overall, all had existing contracts that were due to keep them with the team next year.

The news seemed to come as much of a surprise to team personnel as it did to everyone else.

“It’s been a stressful couple of weeks,” rider Nate Brown said. “When you get the email that the team isn’t going to be around, most likely, you start looking for another team and a lot are full because it’s late in the year. You try to focus on racing [but] it’s super stressful.” Cycling’s sponsorship-reliant model makes the sport a precarious business. As sponsors come and go, many teams endure a constant state of flux; team names tweak and change from season to season as the revolving door of who is funding whom spins. At the start of 2017 alone Team Katusha became Katusha-Alpecin, GiantAlpecin turned into Team Sunweb, Orica-GreenEdge turned into Orica-Scott and Lampre-Merida switched licence and backers and morphed into UAE Team Emirates. Inevitably, when the model is built on such shaky ground the search for a new sponsor can turn into a desperate search for survival if someone pulls the plug. IAM Cycling and Tinkoff both found that