In a bid to compete with the largest budgets in cycling and "become the world’s best cycling team," Education First (EF) has opened up the opportunity for first naming rights to go to an additional title partner at EF Pro Cycling, to pursue the ambitious goals of winning both Tours de France in the next decade.
The news was announced on Friday, alongside three clear ambitions, with confirmation that the international education company EF will remain the team's owner and main partner with an "unchanged level of investment."
The statement detailed how "The opening of a title partner position is designed to add resources on top of EF’s existing commitment, enabling the team to compete with the largest budgets in the sport and accelerate its ambitions."
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It comes after several of the top teams have increased their budgets in the past few seasons, with big-name brands such as Lidl, Red Bull and Decathlon entering the world of cycling title sponsorship.
"It’s rare in professional sport, and nearly unheard of in cycling, for an owner and anchor partner to commit long-term at EF’s current level and still invite an additional title partner to invest purely to make the team stronger," said team CEO Jonathan Vaughters in the announcement.
"We owe a great deal to EF. EF acquired the team in 2017, recognising the parallels between cycling’s global spirit and the company’s mission of opening the world through education and cultural exchange.
"Our sport has changed dramatically over the past two decades. WorldTour budgets have risen at an unprecedented pace, and we see this as an opportunity to partner with a brand that shares our vision of winning at the highest level while staying true to who we are."
With current and former Olympic and World Champions among their ranks, EF are confident in the blueprint rosters they currently operate with, and it's riders such as Richard Carapaz, Kristen Faulkner, Ben Healy and Magdeleine Valllieres that they will drive towards their ambitious plans.
The three long-term visions outline were as follows: win the Tour de France Femmes within the next three years, continue building the world-leading development pathway in professional cycling, and win both men’s and women’s Tours de France within the next decade with riders developed through the EF Pro Cycling system.
EF's announcement represents an unorthodox approach to the current system of team co-title sponsorship and ownership that we see in a lot of cases. But with Vaughters being among the team principals to call for change to cycling's financial models in recent years, it's no surprise to see a new strategy emerge.
"This is a unique opportunity for an organization to partner with a global team and organization such as EF," said EF Education First Global Chief of Staff and EF Pro Cycling President Maria Norrman.
"Together, we can build a team that extends far beyond traditional sponsorship, creating lasting value and impact for years to come."
