Since the Tour, Douglas Ryder has continued to reiterate that he was hopeful about the survival of his squad NTT, although the two main sponsors left. He can finally breathe a sigh of relief in mid-November. Several sources report that Ryder has a sponsor and a budget of eight million euros. Good news for Victor Campenaerts. “I can’t say anything about it, but I do know that in 2021 I will still be a professional.”
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It is not yet 100 percent certain, but it seems that the World Tour will also have nineteen teams next year. After the Japanese main sponsor NTT and co-sponsor Alcatel dropped out, team manager Douglas Ryder has found a new sponsor. Who or what will only be announced soon, but it would be a budget of eight million euros.
It is no coincidence that the news comes a few days after the departure of sports manager Bjarne Riis. The 56-year-old Dane had been working at NTT since January and had the intention to buy in after one year, but abandoned his plan. Last Wednesday, the collaboration between Riis and Ryder was terminated by mutual consent. It seems Ryder waited to come up with a solution until Riis and his substantial salary were off the job.
Ryder’s solution is a boon to Victor Campenaerts. The world hour record holder had a contract with Team NTT until the end of 2022, but saw that fall into the water. Until now. If Ryder officially announces his new restart, it also means that Campenaerts can stay on. Campenaerts himself does not want to respond, but he makes it clear that he has a team and will still be a professional cyclist in 2021.
Because Ryder has retained his World Tour license until the end of 2022 despite the lack of bank guarantees, his team can remain in the World Tour subject to the necessary urgent procedures. That will also be necessary, because in order to start as a pro-continental team now and to decorate the necessary wildcards for the top races, there are still too few leaders on the market, or they have already left NTT. Michael Valgren (EF) and Ben O’Connor (AG2R) have already chosen eggs for their money. Edvald Boasson Hagen is also not an option. The Norwegian will soon sign with Total – Direct Energie.
Besides Campenaerts, Domenico Pozzovivo and Max Walscheid will also stay on, but a number of places remain vacant. It could be the lifeline for Julien Vermote, Dimitri Claeys, Sander Armée, Laurens De Vreese and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, who will still be without an employer in 2021.
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