Rabobank – Liv is closing up shop at the end of this season, but it appears the core of the program will live on. A new venture, dubbed Fortitude Pro Cycling, will be anchored by world and Olympic champion Marianne Vos and is to be built on an new, egalitarian sponsorship model.
Vos will be joined by five of her Rabo – Liv teammates and five newcomers. The team loses two major stars in Anna van der Breggen and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but retains Vos’s star power, Polish champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma, and Dutch champion Anouska Koster.
Vos announced the new team on Thursday but made no mention of title or equipment sponsors. Instead, it appears that the team will seek to combine sponsors of all sizes to generate a workable budget.
“Small businesses, mom-and-pop shops, larger companies with a sizable workforce, multinationals; really, all businesses that believe in our message and are interested in professional cycling are welcome to become part of the Fortitude Pro Cycling enterprise,” said team manager Eric van den Boom, who currently manages the Rabo – Liv program.
“We’re keen on collaborating with businesses and offering unique opportunities that, at least in the women’s peloton, are rather exceptional. The goal is create value for everyone involved.”
Fortitude Pro Cycling Roster: Rotem Gafinovitz, Yara Kastelijn, Lauren Kitchen, Jeanne Korevaar, Anouska Koster, Riejanne Markus, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Anna Plichta, Valentina Scandolara, Moniek Tenniglo, and Marianne Vos.
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