Bjarne Riis has secured American company SunGard, a leading software and IT services company, as a new sponsor for his Saxo Bank team. The bank announced last week that they would not continue to sponsor the Danish team beyond 2010. The news followed an announcement by the German Milram Team that the dairy company would also exit the sport as a title sponsor at the end of the year.
The SunGard sponsorship is a one year agreement with the team. Brian Robins, Chief Marketing Officer of SunGard, commented, “We see great potential to improve SunGard's brand awareness and visibility as a global IT company by sponsoring Team Saxo Bank. We are pleased to align the SunGard brand with one of professional cycling's undisputed leaders.”
CSC, another American technology firm, sponsored Riis' team for many years. SunGard will now look to benefit from the attractive demographic offered by the sport.
At a time when Riis was looking to cut back the racing schedule for the team, the news from SunGard couldn't have come at a better time.
“This is a great opportunity for the team and we are really proud of this agreement. I look forward to sharing many successes with SunGard and forging a partnership that is very beneficial for both of us. The whole team are also excited about this new agreement and they can't wait to get the season underway,” said Riis.
With the extra budget there is a chance that the young Danes Riis is preparing to evaluate at the team's next training camp will be recruited onto the team allowing them to again race a full schedule in 2010. Riis Cycling's Managing Director said, “The agreement also give us the possibility to implement some of the exciting ideas we have in the pipeline.”
Initially Saxo Bank came into the sport as a co-sponsor for the team in 2008, taking over the title sponsorship the following year. With CSC's long-time sponsorship in cycling, SunGard could be testing the waters to see if a title sponsorship for the company would be beneficial at some point in the future.