The Dutch cycling team Jumbo-Visma will have a new second main sponsor in 2024. Pon’s bike rental program for businesses, called “Visma – Lease a Bike,” will take over co-sponsorship of the team. This partnership will replace the name Jumbo-Visma, becoming simply “Visma-Lease a Bike.” Pon’s bike rental program is already successful in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Pon is the owner of Cervélo
The Dutch company Pon plays a significant role in the future of the cycling team led by Richard Plugge and Merijn Zeeman. Pon is a globally recognized company, not only as a bicycle manufacturer but also as the owner of renowned brands such as Cannondale, Gazelle, Cervélo, Focus, Kalkhoff, Schwinn, and Union. Although it is better known as an importer of various car brands, including Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, Porsche, and Seat.
Lease a Bike
Within the Pon conglomerate is the “Lease a Bike” program, which focuses on the benefits of bike rentals for commercial use, especially electric bikes. The “Lease a Bike” name will already appear on the Jumbo-Visma team jersey starting next year. There are high expectations that the commercial bike rental market will significantly grow in the coming years. For this reason, “Lease a Bike” will take on the role of the team’s second main sponsor, which includes talents like Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert, both winners of the Tour de France in different categories.
This seems to secure the future of the Jumbo-Visma team, although there are still uncertainties regarding the budget compared to the previous season. Internal information suggests that the budget for 2024 may be in the range of 25 to 30 million euros. In 2025, the cycling team will face the challenge of offsetting the loss of Betcity sponsorship, as sports sponsorship for online gambling companies will only be allowed until July 1, 2025. After that date, online gambling companies will no longer be able to advertise through sponsorship.
The team’s director, Richard Plugge, stated in March, when it became evident that Supermercados Jumbo would withdraw, that the cycling team would necessarily take the “next step.” In terms of the budget, they have been seeking a new internationally-reaching sponsor, but finding a multinational capable of investing between 15 and 25 million euros annually is not a simple task.
