Bahrain World Tour Cycling Team and McLaren, the British super car maker and F1 team, has announced that McLaren will conclude its title partnership of Team Bahrain McLaren at the end of the 2020 season.
Team Bahrain McLaren has worked together with the team’s partners to maintain the team at the top level of pro cycling – both on and off the bike.
The distinctive Team Bahrain McLaren colours have been ridden to a number of memorable victories so far in a Covid-19 interrupted season, including at the Saudi Tour, Paris-Nice, Circuito de Getxo and Route d’Occitanie.
The team ‘thanks McLaren for its contribution to the partnership, and wishes it well as it returns its focus to four wheeled racing’, a statement said.
Team Bahrain McLaren is this week in France warming up for the Le Tour de France. The 2020 event is scheduled to be the 107th edition, one of cycling’s three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on June 27, it was postponed until August 29, due to the pandemic.
Although the annual men’s multiple stage bicycle race is primarily held in France, it also occasionally passes through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours, it consists of 21 day-long stages over the course of 23 days.
According to Cycling News, Team Bahrain McLaren’s Mikel Landa is an ‘underdog and outsider’ for a podium spot.
He will lead the team of eight riders at the race, commencing in Nice. Landa, who finished fourth at the 2017 Tour, is a multiple stage winner at Grand Tours, having previously won stages at both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana.
“I’ll be starting this Tour in very good shape, and am greatly motivated by how I’m feeling, as well as the strength and quality of my teammates who’ll be supporting me on the road,” he said. “Together, as a team, we can achieve a lot.”
Team Bahrain McLaren, originally conceived by His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sport chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa in 2016, underscored its ambition to win the Tour by appointing Rod Ellingworth as Team Principal in 2019, and welcoming a raft of proven Grand Tour riders to its already strong line-up.
“The Tour de France is the biggest moment of the year in cycling and I’m proud to say the entire team has done a great job getting us Tour ready,” Ellingworth added. “We are where we need to be, and I’m optimistic about what we can achieve.
“This year’s parcours is very well suited to Mikel, and his form is strong. The group we have chosen to support him represents our riders who are most suited to the parcours and Tour-ready.
“The past few months have been challenging for all riders to be race fit, and it’s a credit to all of our guys that we had such a strong line-up to choose from.”
Gorazd Štangelj, Sports Director, said: “Our team motto is ‘Ride as One’ and that’s what we’re going to do for Mikel at this year’s Tour. Mikel and his teammates have been incredibly focussed on this moment. We’ve done all we can to prepare, and now the whole team is ready.”
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