Dodgy sponsors

[Dogtrousers]

I have one word left unaccounted for, and that's "Victorious". As in Bahrain Victorious. I think it's just a cruel joke.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

I have one word left unaccounted for, and that's "Victorious". As in Bahrain Victorious. I think it's just a cruel joke.

"Random adjective" should do.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I also had a problem with the Euskadi bit of Euskaltel - Euskadi and Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi

I couldn't figure out if it signified a separate sponsor or whether it just meant "hey, we're Basque". So should I have added an Euskadi entry to the "places" list? I gave up on this one.

 

[Alex321]

OK here's a final cut. All the title sponsors of mens and womens world tour and pro teams broken down by some fairly wonky categories with notes in brackets:

The "places" category is tricky because sometimes they are actual governments, like Bahrain or UAE, and sometimes they are other entities promoting a place, such as Astana which is a coalition of state owned companies in Khasakstan named after the capital, or VisitMalta which is a tourism promotion organisation. Or the other one that I'm not going to mention.

Separating Engineering/construction from Building Supplies was probably a mistake. But I can live with it.

Food and wine should probably be part of consumer goods.

• Cycling/sports: DecathІon; Trek(Bikes); Lease a Bike; XDS(Bikes); CANYON(Bikes); SRAM(Components); Human Powered Health(Training); Liv(Clothing/gear); BH(Bikes); Q36.5(Clothing/gear); Orange Seal(Components); Winspace(Bikes)
• Finance/insurance: Arkéa; Cofidis; AG2R La Mondiale; Groupama; AG Insurance; zondacrypto; Roland; Caja Rural - Seguros RGA; Baloise; Laboral Kutxa
• Building supplies: Deceuninck(Windows); BORA(Extractor hoods); Hansgrohe(Taps); Quick Step(Floors); Soudal(Adhesives); Fenix(Sinks, Washbaisins …); VF Group(Modular furniture)
• Places: Bahrain(Government); AlUla; UAE(Government); Astana(Coalition of state owned companies); Le Dévoluy(Ski Resort); Israel(A rich bloke, not the government); VisitMalta(Tourism promotion)
• Engineering/construction: Wanty(Construction); CERATIZIT(Cutting tools); SUEZ(Waste water); Premier Tech(Waste treatment); Bardiani(Valves); CSF(Sewage - and other - pumps); Volker Wessels(Civil engineering)
• Food/drink: Red Bull(Soft drink); Vini Fantini(Wine); Wagner-Bazin(Charcuterie); Oatly(Oat milk); St Michel(Biscuits)
• Software/systems: Visma(Accounting); Protime(Time registration); SD Worx(HR/payroll)
• Supermarket: Intermarché; Lidl; Picnic
• Energy (petro & renewable): XRG; Burpellet(Wood pellets); Solution Tech(Solar/renewable); TotalEnergies; Uno-X Mobility
• Gambling: FDJ; Lotto; Unibet
• Automotive: Grenadiers(4x4); Jayco(RVs)
• Consumer goods: Alpecin(Shampoo); Polti(Appliances); Tudor(Watches)
• Hospitality/holidays/travel: B&B Hotels; Emirates(Airline)
• Shipping: EasyPost; PostNL
• Telco: Movistar; Euskaltel
• Education: EF Education
• Petrochemicals: INEOS; Faizanè(Plastic fabrication)
• Pharmaceuticals: Kern Pharma; Novo Nordisk
• Property: Preference Home

Men WT only
Women WT Only
Men and women WT
Men WT Women Pro
Men Pro only
Women pro only

I would take slight issue with your listing INEOS and Grenadiers separately. The Grenadier is a car produced by INEOS ( a subsidiary called Ineos Automotive), so it is a single (automotive) sponsor, even though the parent INEOS are primarily a petrochemicals company.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I would take slight issue with your listing INEOS and Grenadiers separately. The Grenadier is a car produced by INEOS ( a subsidiary called Ineos Automotive), so it is a single (automotive) sponsor, even though the parent INEOS are primarily a petrochemicals company.

Feel free to take issue. I'm not changing it

When the new teams are announced next year I might consider it.

 

[mididoctors]

Feel free to take issue. I'm not changing it

When the new teams are announced next year I might consider it.

I for one appreciate you covering this every year .

 

[Dogtrousers]

So who are NSN?. What do they do?

This seems like a good place to look
https://www.wearensn.com/

"We elevate the meaning of sport.". That sounds good.
"A global cross-cutting axis between Barcelona, Tokyo, Mexico City and Emirates!" Splendid!

Nope, I still have no idea what they do. Hang on...

"We enable brands to reach their goals by leveraging partnership activation, increasing visibility, and expanding audience reach through business opportunities, strategic initiatives, creative content production, and 360º Marketing services."

Ah. Some kind of advertising agency then?

Seems to have been founded by an ex footballer called Andres Iniesta. Who is he? What's he been up to? I hope he is nice and wholesome and hasn't been accused of fraud in Peru or anything unsavoury like that.

Tap tap, Google Google ...

Oh dear https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/barcelona-legend-andres-iniesta-accused-fraud/bltc6aa139a7916bb74

Still, the only way is up.

 

[mjr]

So who are NSN?. What do they do?

This seems like a good place to look
https://www.wearensn.com/

"We elevate the meaning of sport.". That sounds good.
"A global cross-cutting axis between Barcelona, Tokyo, Mexico City and Emirates!" Splendid!

Nope, I still have no idea what they do. Hang on...

"We enable brands to reach their goals by leveraging partnership activation, increasing visibility, and expanding audience reach through business opportunities, strategic initiatives, creative content production, and 360º Marketing services."

Ah. Some kind of advertising agency then?

Seems to have been founded by an ex footballer called Andres Iniesta. Who is he? What's he been up to? I hope he is nice and wholesome and hasn't been accused of fraud in Peru or anything unsavoury like that.

Tap tap, Google Google ...

Oh dear https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/barcelona-legend-andres-iniesta-accused-fraud/bltc6aa139a7916bb74

Still, the only way is up.

There's a bit more analysis and speculation in Never Say Never Cycling Team
https://inrng.com/2025/11/never-say...rss&utm_campaign=never-say-never-cycling-team