News: Brother UK Honours Team Contracts

Brother UK will honour the contracts of its four sponsored cycling teams throughout 2020, despite the decimation of the racing calendar by the coronavirus pandemic.

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News: Brother UK Honours Team Contracts

Brother UK will honour the contracts of its four sponsored cycling teams throughout 2020, despite the decimation of the racing calendar by the coronavirus pandemic.

Managing Director Phil Jones MBE has made a clear and early statement of the technology giant’s support for its British-registered teams – two men’s and two women’s squads – as news of race cancellations continues to emerge daily.

Jones said he hopes that his bold statement of support will inspire teams, riders and race organisers to come together to present a fresh vision of the sport for 2021. The domestic road scene had suffered a series of setbacks before the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 and the impacts of emergency government measures intended to contain its spread.

Writing in a thought leadership article published today on LinkedIn, Jones said: “I wanted to reassure our sponsored teams – Brother UK-Team LDN, Vitus Pro Cycling Team p/b Brother UK, Crimson Performance and Brother UK-Team OnForm – that Brother UK is financially sound and will continue to back them, even in the midst of a pandemic. I wanted the riders and managers, their support staff and the family members who sacrifice so much to know that, however uncertain the future seems, they can depend on Brother UK.”

During an unprecedented and continuing term of sponsorship, Brother UK has become British cycle sport’s most trusted partner. The company began its investment in domestic road racing nine years ago by revolutionising the standards of neutral service support with new, well-equipped vehicles bearing the company’s motto, At Your Side. For the last four years, it has been a team sponsor, too. Additionally, Brother UK is the official print and results partner to three of Britain’s biggest races: The Tour of Britain, The Women’s Tour and The Tour Series.

The Tour Series and the Women’s Tour, due to have been held in May and June respectively, have already been postponed. Race organisers SweetSpot Group have yet to make a statement on the status of The Tour of Britain, traditionally held in September.

Brother UK, which has implemented its Level 3 business contingency plan and empowered the vast majority of its people to work remotely with laptops and shared software applications, is a business that seeks innovation from adversity. Jones has urged British road racing, faced with the loss of teams, races and television coverage before the coronavirus outbreak, to seize the opportunity to present a “fresh message” during an enforced break from racing.

“Businesses will inevitably emerge from the coronavirus pandemic seeking new, investable opportunities. Racing is only one aspect of our compelling sport. We have engaging and articulate riders for whom social media is second nature. We have performance-focussed teams with standards and operations that businesses can learn from. And we still have access to those deep reserves of goodwill and dedication from volunteers that the domestic sport has thrived upon for decades.”

Brother UK-sponsored teams and athletes have performed well in the few races held this year. Welsh hill climb champion Rebecca Richardson won the Mag 7 hill climb event last Sunday with victories on six of seven climbs. Earlier this month, Adam Kenway of Vitus Pro Cycling Team p/b Brother UK drove a breakaway at the UCI 1.1 Le Samyn semi-Classic, holding off a peloton comprised of WorldTour teams for much of the race.

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Brother UK MD Phil Jones: Why I’ve decided that Brother UK will honour it’s contracts
Brother UK has always played the long game with its cycling sponsorship, rather than seeking a smash-and-grab return on investment and disappearing a year later. We began our investment in cycling nine years ago by revolutionising the standard of neutral service support for domestic races. We’ve been team sponsors for four years. I think we have a certain responsibility to remain at the sport’s side in circumstances few of us could have imagined at the start of the year.

In our commercial operations, we’ve taken the same approach, standing by our partners and weathering the coronavirus storm together. Even in normal conditions, domestic cycling teams are often in a more perilous position than our suppliers and vendors. Naturally, they would become very, very nervous and think: “Our sponsors are unhappy. This could be the end.” That’s why I felt it was essential to make a definite statement, very quickly.

I wanted to reassure our sponsored teams – Team LDN – Brother UK, Vitus Pro Cycling Team p/b Brother UK, Crimson Performance and Brother UK-Team OnForm – that Brother UK is financially sound and will continue to back them, even in the midst of a pandemic. I wanted the riders and managers, their support staff and the family members who sacrifice so much to know that, however uncertain the future seems, they can depend on us.

We have not, however, sacrificed expectations of return on investment from our cycling sponsorships in 2020. We will be discussing with our teams the best ways to use budget that they might have spent on petrol, hotel accommodation, race entry fees and more. Now might be the best time to improve a website, review photography, host an online Q&A or a group ride on Zwift. Brother UK is innovative and entrepreneurial. I’d like to see our teams embrace the same values in this challenging period, and beyond.

Coronavirus has spread rapidly, but we have not been slow to respond. One of the first things we discussed with our sales teams were opportunities generated by these extraordinary circumstances. Faced with a huge shift in the way we do business, how do we innovate? Our response has been to bring energy and creativity to the situation and to identify ways to generate a different outcome. Innovation is our default. A cycling team can embrace the same spirit.

Our commercial operations offer a keen example. Recognising that our first responsibility is to the welfare of our colleagues, we’ve rapidly escalated our business continuity plan to Level 3. From today, we will operate with a skeleton staff at our Manchester HQ, while the majority of our people work remotely. This will be the first experience of working from home for many of our people. Adaptation to the current reality Is key.

Seeking new ways to succeed is Brother UK’s go-to position in times of adversity. I would encourage everyone in British cycle sport to adopt the same approach. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the domestic road scene was in a difficult place, faced with the loss of teams, races and television coverage. Now is not the time for a sport fighting for survival to bury its head in the sand and wait for next year. An enforced break from racing is a chance to show new sponsors the many ways elite cycling can generate value beyond turning rubber on tarmac.

The cost for those who fail to grasp the opportunity could be high. Recently, I’ve spent time ‘in the chair’ at Brother UK immersed in data and reports whilst thinking of our own contingency plans. It suggests that our current environment may continue for some time.

News that the CiCLE Classic is cancelled feels like a heavy blow for the sport, but I think other race organisers will be forced to make the same decision, because of the need for isolation and distancing as preventative measures. The UK is still weeks behind the infection rates per million seen in other countries. Even at the beginning of April, it will be some months before this situation begins to settle, in my view. Some of the government’s recommendations, such as social distancing, will be around for a while.

My key message is for everyone in domestic cycling to use the enforced break from racing to generate a fresh image and a fresh message. Businesses will inevitably emerge from the coronavirus pandemic seeking new, investable opportunities. Racing is only one aspect of this compelling sport. The vast community of cyclists and fans are still there and eager for content in the absence of a race programme.

We have engaging and articulate riders for whom social media is second nature. In Zwift, we have a digital platform that might have been designed with social distancing in mind. We have performance-focussed teams with standards and operations that businesses can learn from. And we still have access to those deep reserves of goodwill and dedication from volunteers that the domestic sport has thrived upon for decades.

The coronavirus is a significant setback for domestic road racing, but it should not mean the end. I hope that by making a clear and early statement of our commitment to our four sponsored teams, Brother UK will help to set the tone for a challenging period in which opportunities will come, as well as setbacks. We’re in this together. We can emerge stronger.

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