Besides BORA, a second well-known German company will be represented on Bora-Argon 18's jersey. This also underlines the German identity of the team from Raubling.
 
There have been a lot of rumours in the last weeks, but now manager Ralph Denk surprises everyone again. At today’s press conference before the Grand Départ at Mont-Saint-Michel, a second title sponsor for the 2017 season was presented. It was certainly an unexpected name.

With hansgrohe, the team has found another German well-known company that will be the second title sponsor from 2017. The official team name will be “BORA – hansgrohe”. With the “hansgrohe Superprestige” the company already gained some experience as a cycling sponsor in Belgium. This successful engagement leads to a bigger one now with the German professional cycling team from Raubling.

“hansgrohe is a traditional brand – a hallmark that epitomises highest quality and best design. I am extremely proud to continue underscoring the path and values of the team, which has its roots and identity in Germany," Denk said.
 
“The hansgrohe brand stands for water – Innovating Life with Water – and is therefore inseparably linked to athletics. Competitive cycling is highly dynamic and enthuses the masses. This is exactly what we’re doing with our bathroom and kitchen products. The aim of this commitment is to boost our brand awareness. International large-scale events like the Tour de France are what actually make the sport of cycling highly attractive. Within this we see a further opportunity to engage with our customer target groups across the globe," said Thorsten Klapproth, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hansgrohe SE.
 

As already announced last week, BORA will enhance its sponsorship with the team from 2017 and will remain the first title sponsor. Everything is set to enter the WorldTour. Not just to be part of it, but also to fight for some wins within this elite league of cycling.

“It’s been proven that the route we have embarked on with Ralph Denk’s team is highly successful. The combination of sponsorship and activation has enabled us to generate immense sales growth, especially in the countries of real cycling aficionados. This is why we have now decided to continue reinforcing our level of commitment even further. Our extended activities will enable us to further popularise BORA across the world and bring our vision of the end of the extractor hood for kitchens closer, step by step. Uniting with hansgrohe, who I can only congratulate on their decision to invest in German cycling, is absolutely ideal for us. Heat and water play a key role in kitchens. In addition, the similarity of our customer target groups, both in the specialist segment, as well as in the end consumer segment, supports this decision," said Willi Bruckbauer, Managing Director of BORA
 
“Both hansgrohe and BORA are German companies that stand for innovative products, new approaches and uncompromising quality. We look forward to a successful cooperative venture with BORA and the team and hope to also be able to further reinforce hansgrohe’s presence vis-à-vis end consumers in the kitchen segment," added Thorsten Klapproth, Chairman of the Executive of Hansgrohe SE.
 
BORA – hansgrohe have high ambitions
Even though Ralph Denk does still not comment on any speculations on new riders for the next season, the goals of the new named team are already clear.
 
“Thanks to the two strong partners, BORA and hansgrohe, and the budgets that will be available to us as of 2017, we will be part of the action in competing for winning positions in the WorldTour. The team will be focusing on Grand Tours on the one hand, as well as on the Classics. To achieve our objectives, we will build up our team in a targeted fashion and further reinforce it in a number of positions," he said.

It has been rumoured that the Sagan brothers, Rafal Majka and Erik Baska will sign for the team as part of a deal with Specialized which could become the new bike sponsor after ending their agreement with Astana.
  
Special Tour de France jersey with hansgrohe and the city of city of Düsseldorf
At the Dusseldorf Town Hall last week, the members of the Tour de France team were presented along with a special jersey for the Tour. And to enable the German team to draw attention to the Grand Départ in Dusseldorf 2017, a proprietary visual was created and prominently placed on the sleeves and backs of the specially developed Tour de France jerseys. The team and its cyclists will thus become something like “ambassadors” for the 2017 Grand Départ in Dusseldorf. The logo of the new sponsor, hansgrohe, will additionally adorn this jersey. On the cyclists’ chest region, a logo placed on the jerseys at this year’s Tour de France will draw everyone's attention to the 2017 partnership.