Rumours CCC Team may have found new sponsor with €20 million budget

Rumours are circulating that CCC Team may have found a new sponsor with a €20 million budget.

The WorldTour team is losing its main backer as Polish handbag company has been hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forcing the boss to announce there wasn’t enough money for a top-tier cycling squad.

But according to reports, team boss Jim Ochowicz may have found a new sponsor in Rally, a US-based online health insurer with a history of cycling sponsorship.

Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports that Rally could step in to take over the team with a budget of €20m (£17m).

Rally is already sponsor of US men’s Continental and women’s UCI teams Rally Cycling, which regularly feature in races like the Saudi Tour, Tour Colombia and the Women’s Tour Down Under.

The company joined cycling in 2016 when they took over the Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies outfit.

CCC Team is one of the WorldTour squads hit by the coronavirus crisis, with the team forced to suspend a majority of their staff and cut rider salaries in April.

Earlier this month news emerged that CCC would be pulling out of the sponsorship at the end of 2020.

CCC joined cycling’s top tier as a sponsor in 2019, stepping in to take over the former BMC Racing team run by Jim Ochowicz.

But the planned three-year sponsorship deal has been cut short due to the global crisis, leaving Ochowicz searching for a new backer.

The team’s star rider Greg Van Avermaet, Olympic champion and Monument winner, is considering leaving the team during the uncertainty.

When asked if he might consider a transfer to a Belgian WorldTour team, particularly one with a mighty reputation in the Classics, he added: “I will certainly ride for a good team. Many teams are interested.”

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Van Avermaet and Ochowicz have worked together since 2011, when the Belgian star transferred to BMC Racing from Omega Pharma-Lotto.