Red Bull is about to enter cycling and wants to take over the majority of the German racing team Bora-hansgrohe.
The major Salzburg corporation therefore wants 51 percent of the World Tour-Take over the team from team boss Ralph Denk. The Austrian Federal Competition Authority (BWB) received a merger notification at the end of December, as it announced on its homepage on Tuesday (January 2, 2024). The Bora team confirmed the desired partnership in a statement on Wednesday.
As a partner of Denk’s operating company, Red Bull will ““Complement the portfolio of existing long-term main sponsors who continue to be committed to the team in the long term”it was said.
The team did not want to comment further on the deal, as the application deadline for acquiring the majority shares in the Bora racing team to the Federal Competition Authority does not end until January 26th.
Gap to top teams
It would be the next coup for the German team after the team had just been able to sign the Giro d’Italia winner Primoz Roglic from Slovenia for the new season.
With the entry of the financially strong sponsor, Denk may also be able to close the gap to the top teams such as Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE or Ineos, which have dominated cycling in recent years.
Expansion of commitment
Red Bull, which is particularly successful in Formula 1, football and extreme sports, has not previously appeared as a team sponsor in cycling.
However, the Austrian company supports individual cyclists such as Bora professional Anton Palzer, who was once a successful ski mountaineer, the Belgian star Wout Van Aert and mountain bike Olympic champion Tom Pidcock.