At the Bora-Argon 18 pre-Tour de France press conference this afternoon it was confirmed that German bathroom products company Hansgrohe would come in as a secondary sponsor for 2017, replacing Argon 18 and fuelling speculation the team will be granted a World Tour licence for next year.
By Brian Canty
It has been confirmed that Sam Bennett’s Bora-Argon 18 team will be renamed Bora-Hansgrohe in 2017.
At the team’s press conference ahead of the start of the Tour de France on Saturday, the team confirmed the German bathroom products manufacturing company would come on board as a secondary sponsor for an initial three-year period.
The financial backing that Hansgrohe are set to stump up is doing nothing to quell speculation the team will also be granted a WorldTour licence for the first time when the UCI make that decision in August.
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“The final decision about the WorldTour is up to the UCI but in August we will present a strong roster to them, along with our budget.
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“Then I hope that the UCI gives us the green light. It’s a big goal for me as the manager of the team,” said team manager Ralph Denk.
One rider who will not be part of that roster next year, however, is world champion Peter Sagan.
He currently rides for Tinkoff but is set to move from his current team next year.
Some reports suggested the Slovak star would be joining Bennett and co. at what is soon to be Bora-Hansgrohe but Denk ruled such a notion out.
“At this point Sagan is too big a name for our team. From what I’ve heard it’s huge money. For sure it would be a dream to have rider like him in the team but we’ll see.
“From the beginning of August we can talk about riders but at the moment he’s too big of a name. We’ve a serious budget but we’re not sponsored by a Russian company like Tinkoff.”
What bike Bennett will ride next year was also up for discussion, with the likelihood being that they’ll ride Specialized, with Argon 18 steeping aside.
- Don't miss our feature interview with Bennett on the eve of his second Tour de France tomorrow where he talks about his relaxed approach this year, his constant pursuit of improvement and how he will approach this year's race.
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