Bye Bye Rabobank

$20 million per year.  That is how much money Rabobank spends on it professional cycling team.  That’s how much they will now save after dropping its sponsorship of the team after 17 years.  Each July cycling fans hear the calls of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin as they enunciate each team and each rider in their perfect English burr during the Tour de France.  No longer is this the case with Rabobank, the Dutch powerhouse with holdings in banking, real estate, insurance and leasing.  This is not a cost cutting move, Rabobank is still growing and expanding; the company has made a significant investment in America with a sizable footprint in California.   Last year Rabobank earned a net profit of EUR 2.6 billion ($3.3 billion USD), they can certainly afford to sponsor the team, many teams actually.  

Rabobank left cycling because they are fed up.  To be succinct, Rabobank’s CFO Bert Bruggink said, “International cycling is rotten.”  With that the money spigot was shut off.  The Lance Armstrong findings by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the subsequent stripping of Armstrong’s seven Tour de France wins by the Union of International Cycling (UIC) was enough for Rabobank to walk away.  

Rabobank began to get serious about doping in 2007 when it fired rider Michael Rasmussen who was in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.  The company had formed a strict no-doping policy.  Rasmussen would disappear for long periods when not racing which led people to wonder.  Rabobank officials confronted the Danish rider and when he could not account for his whereabouts he was let go.  

Rabobank was good for the sport and to lose their sponsorship is a financial and public relations blow.  Hopefully, the anti-doping policies that are in place along with the strict testing will rid the sport of the bad elements.  The familiar orange of Rabobank will be missed at the 2013 Tour de France but we will still have the green of Skoda, the polka dots of Carrefour and the red of Vittel, for now at least.   Come next season fans will be able to recognize the former Rabobank team members, they will be in all white with no sponsorship.  

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