Dorel purchases Cannondale team, stops Tinkoff talks

Dorel Industries announced on Tuesday that it had acquired a majority stake in the Cannondale Pro Cycling Team and Brixia Sports. The team has stopped sponsor negotiations with Oleg Tinkov and Tinkoff Credit Systems.

“This further investment underlines our respect and the value for the accomplishments of the Cannondale team and recognizes the many benefits this association has brought to the Cannondale brand,” Martin Schwartz, president and CEO of Dorel, which owns Cannondale, said in a press release. “Additionally, it comes on the heels of our acquisition of the Caloi brand in Brazil and our intention to market Cannondale throughout Latin America.”

The team said that it would continue to invest in a young core of riders headlined by Tour de France green jersey Peter Sagan and including Moreno Moser, Elia Viviani, and under-23 world champion Matej Mohoric.

“2013 has been an amazing year for Cannondale Pro Cycling athletes and for the awareness of the Cannondale brand,” said Cannondale Sports Unlimited CEO Bob Baird. “We’re looking forward to this next step with the team. We’re passionate about pro cycling and furthering the sport with integrity and have a vision of building the most admired pro cycling team in the peloton. We’re confident the team will be extremely competitive in races all over the world and will continue to create unparalleled awareness for the Cannondale brand. We have seen an increase in our market share of Cannondale since beginning this association and expect this to continue.”

The purchase is the latest in a series of moves by which Cannondale has invested more deeply in the former Liquigas team. After supplying bikes to the Italian team beginning in 2007, Cannondale became a co-title sponsor in 2010 and sole title sponsor in 2013.

Tinkov recently announced that he would discontinue his relationship with Riis Cycling and the Saxo-Tinkoff team, and entered negotiations with Brixia Sport.