McLaren joins forces with Bahrain Merida in bid to become next Team Sky and dominate cycling

On the day that Sky announced they are ending their involvement in cycling, McLaren entered a 50 per cent joint-venture with Bahrain Merida, who currently boast past Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali

McLaren have entered a partnership with cycling team Bahrain Merida (Getty)

McLaren has entered into a 50 percent joint venture with Bahrain Merida aimed at making the professional cycling team an internationally recognised brand at the top of the sport.

McLaren, in which Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat has a majority stake, said on Wednesday that the deal would involve technical and commercial collaboration delivered through its applied technologies division.

“Racing, technology and human performance are at the heart of everything we do at McLaren,” the company’s chief marketing officer John Allert said in a statement.

“Cycling is something we’ve been involved with in the past and have been looking at entering for some time. It is a completely natural fit for our skills and our ambitions.”

The McLaren Group, which owns the McLaren F1 Team, has previously worked with Team Sky and British Cycling in the build-up to the London Olympics in 2012 through its applied technologies division.

The same unit was also involved in a technical partnership with American cycle manufacturer Specialized.

“The combination of our passion and vision for Team Bahrain Merida to be a winning team, with McLaren’s expertise and dedication, is the perfect partnership,” Bahrain Merida general manager Brent Copeland said.

Founded in 2017, Bahrain Merida is owned by Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahrain royal family, and led by 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali.

No financial details of the deal were disclosed but McLaren said the long-term vision behind the partnership would be to elevate Bahrain Merida to professional cycling’s top table.

Earlier on Wednesday, Team Sky, who have dominated the cycling landscape in recent years, confirmed that its main sponsor, broadcaster Sky, would end its involvement in the sport after next season, casting the team’s future in doubt.

Reuters