McLaren Enters Cycling Joint Venture

McLaren Group announced today a new agreement to provide its technology to cycling in a 50-50 joint venture with the UCI WorldTour’s Team Bahrain Merida.

The venture will see the combination of the cycling team’s upward trajectory and McLaren expertise in technology.

The partnership will focus on three areas: technical collaboration, human high-performance, and marketing and commercial services; delivered through McLaren Applied Technologies and the group’s marketing specialism.

John Allert, McLaren’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Racing, technology and human performance are at the heart of everything we do at McLaren. Cycling is something we have 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 and a perfect partnership with Team Bahrain Merida who have the right vision and approach for the future. We will be working tirelessly in the months ahead as we know the world of professional cycling is home to some of the best athletes and competitive teams in the world of sport. ”

Brent Copeland, General Manager, Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team, said: “McLaren has been raising the bar for technological innovation and sport performance for decades. 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.”

These are not the group’s first steps in professional cycling. Ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games, McLaren collaborated with Team GB’s cycling team who reaped the rewards from performance management systems designed by McLaren Applied Technologies.