Team Bahrain McLaren (Bahrain) - Press Release: Reflecting its new joint venture partnership, the Bahrain MERIDA Pro Cycling Team will compete in 2020 as Team Bahrain McLaren. Behind the new team name are a number of changes in the team’s structure – with the team’s vision and winning spirit stronger than ever.

As Bahrain MERIDA Pro Cycling Team we achieved many incredible results in the past three years, learned some valuable lessons and have immensely grown as a team. Together with our primary partner, MERIDA BIKES, we built a solid foundation and are now looking forward to continuing this incredible journey via a joint venture with McLaren, the renowned racing, technology and super car brand, where competition and racing is a part of the DNA. MERIDA BIKES is stepping back as the primary partner and title sponsor but continues to be our official bicycle supplier and valued technical partner, providing our team with the best equipment possible. MERIDA played an important part in the creation of the team, coming on board as our foundation partner for the debut 2017 season.

Milan Erzen, Joint Managing Director commented:

‘This moment marks an exciting new phase in the history of our team. We’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved as Bahrain-Merida, and delighted that we can now combine that experience with our joint venture partner McLaren, to innovate together in this great sport. Cycling is developing into an increasingly technical sport, and as Team Bahrain McLaren we will be well placed to compete with the best – and to work with our many partners to challenge the status quo.’

Our new name, Bahrain McLaren, reflects the new partnership and the whole team, from riders to staff, is looking forward to representing our new team brand. We are certain that the new partnership will bring fresh motivation and accelerate the team’s ambitions to compete at the top. McLaren will contribute greatly to optimizing technology, managing human high performance and developing strategic marketing and communication activities with the goal of building a lasting and successful brand in pro cycling.

To achieve this, we have optimized not only our 28-rider line-up, but also our management structure. Joining us on our exciting journey is John Allert as Joint Managing Director, Rod Ellingworth as Team Principal, Roger Hammond as Performance Director and Charlie Pym as Marketing Director, as well as numerous talented additions to our teams in Medicine, Therapy, Sports Direction, Coaching, Nutrition, and Mechanical Services.

Our new Joint Managing Director, John Allert, is excited about the upcoming challenges:

‘We are delighted to have formalised our joint venture partnership with Bahrain World Tour Cycling Team. As Bahrain-Merida, the team quickly established its credentials in the most elite form of road racing – the UCI WorldTour – becoming the only team ever to score a Grand Tour podium in its debut year, and most recently winning two stages of this year’s Tour de France. As Bahrain McLaren we are excited to build on that legacy, and to work with a variety of technical partners, including Merida, to write a new chapter of success.

McLaren’s racing pedigree is founded on decades of performance in the most technologically advanced sport in the world. We now look forward to applying this knowledge to elite cycling, for the benefit of our riders, our partners and fans of this exciting and rapidly growing sport. We are confident that professional cycling is entering a great new era, an era in which passion and technology will combine to unleash exciting new possibilities. This is what Team Bahrain McLaren is all about.”