Gerry Ryan has long been a benefactor of Australian sport and likes to joke he’s busy spending his children’s inheritance. Sponsoring the Jayco team since its inception in 2012 has cost him tens of millions of dollars. It might be fun but owning a pro cycling team is not lucrative.
So the arrival of Never Say Never and Stoneweg as partners to take over the Israel-Premiertech team looks unusual. They’re financial investors but how do they plan on getting a return? Maybe they don’t and it’s all for fun but that still makes it an interesting project as a World Tour team because if they don’t have pressing commercial imperative there’s space for rebranding and new ways to promote a team.
