The future of the world’s most successful women’s cycling team Boels-Dolmans is in the balance as both primary sponsors announced they will leave the sport at the end of 2020.
At a press conference during the World Championships in Harrogate, Yorkshire, the team announced it has begun the search for a new primary sponsor as Boels rental service and Dolmans Landscaping would be pulling out from women’s cycling.
Dolmans had been part of the team’s inception in 2010 while Boels Rentals came onboard as co-sponsor two years later in 2012.
The team’s management stated that the plan is for the team to continue on through 2020 but, as of yet, no replacement has been found.
Rumours surrounding the future of the Dutch team began last month when the team of current road race World Champion Anna van der Breggen were not among the eight team’s to apply for an inaugural Women’s WorldTour licence.
Van der Breggen attended the press conference, confident that the team would remain beyond next season in a period of rapid growth for women’s cycling.
‘Women’s cycling is developing a lot and it’s getting bigger, making it a good chance for somebody to invest,’ said Van der Breggen. ‘Teams are getting better and more professional making it tougher to stay as the world’s number one team which is good.’
The decision of Boels and Dolmans to withdraw from women’s cycling may come as a surprise.
The team have been by far the most successful set-up in the women’s peloton for half a decade, winning four-consecutive road race World titles, 26 national titles, all three editions of the women’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro Rosa twice.
However, both Dolmans and Boels have stuck to their plans of withdrawing from the sport by the end of 2020 stating the decision has been made with enough time for replacements to be found.
The ambitions of the team’s management remain high despite the lack of a team sponsor.
Within the next five years, the team hope to have increased their roster from 12 to 18 riders in order to race a double schedule, remain the world’s number one cyling team and also continue the growth of women’s cycling beyond professional cycling.
Admirable tasks but something you can only deem wishful considering the lack of a sponsors for the team beyond the end of next season.