Vacansoleil assessing team sponsorship
Current contract nearing conclusion
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that European camping holiday operator, Vacansoleil is currently assessing whether to continue its sponsorship of the UCI ProTour team.
A decision will reportedly be made in April.
John Gerards, senior marketing manager with Vacansoleil, made clear that the assessment was not due to recent doping controversies within the sport, but rather the current five-year sponsorship contract with the team was coming to an end.
Team management had reason for concern late last year with new recruit for the 2013 season, Grega Bole named in USADA’s Reasoned Decision documents in a conversation between Leonardo Bertagnolli and Dr Michele Ferrari, which is part of Bertagnolli's sworn statement to Italian police. Bole was cleared of any wrong-doing by an internal investigation by the team in late December.
The team was founded in 2009, first in the Professional Continental ranks before joining the UCI WorldTour in 2011.
The team reached arguably its greatest success in 2012, with Thomas De Gendt placing third overall at the Giro d’Italia.
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