Many people outside of the Netherlands or those who don’t usually follow winter sports may not know that Jumbo-Visma actually has two teams within the same structure: the cycling team (Blanco Pro Cycling) and the speed skating team (The Speed Skating).
Starting on January 1st of next year, the Jumbo-Visma cycling and speed skating teams will go their separate ways.
Jumbo-Visma Cycling Team will continue to be led by Richard Plugge, while the Jumbo Speed Skating Team will remain under the leadership of Jac Orie and Sven Kramer. Jumbo, which previously announced its intention to step down as the main sponsor, will remain involved with both teams for another three years as a Founding Partner.
The cycling team has gained much more international focus and appeal, now that we are among the top cycling teams in the world,” says Plugge on the Jumbo-Visma website. “This means that the search for the main sponsorship is different for both parts.”
“We had many discussions about the upcoming change and came to the conclusion that it is more attractive for the future of both teams to continue independently, each with its own sponsorship proposal,” concludes Richard Plugge.
Ton van Veen, CEO of the Jumbo supermarket chain, also responded to the separation of the cycling and skating teams. “We are proud of the development of the teams to the absolute world top and the wonderful successes achieved in recent years,” he said.
