Belkin Signs Blanco Pro Cycling Sponsorship
With less than a week to go until the Grand Depart of 2013’s Tour de France, Belkin has signed a new agreement to become the title sponsor of the Blanco Pro Cycling Team until 2015.
The team will now be renamed the Belkin Pro Cycling Team and start competing under its new name and logo with this year’s Tour de France.
The sponsorship will promote both California-based Belkin and its Linksys home network brand, with the team’s apparel and equipment, including jersey, bikes and vehicles, altered to a new Belkin-branded colour scheme of black, white and green.
The Dutch team has been without a sponsor since its long-term backer Rabobank pulled out of the sport in October in the wake of the doping scandal that surrounded the sport last year.
Belkin’s founder and chief executive Chet Pipkin said: ‘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. 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.’
Richard Plugge, general manager of Belkin Pro Cycling, added: ‘With 19 victories this year and a new title sponsor, 2013 is shaping up to be a dream season for our team. 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.’
