Team Belkin Use Crowdfunding in Bid to Find New Title Sponsor

Team Belkin of the UCI ProTour have launched a crowdfunding campaign to drive its new title sponsor search.

The decision comes after consumer electronics company Belkin had announced on Tuesday that it would not extend its current sponsorship with the cycling team beyond the 2014 season.

The partnership began with last year’s Tour de France, with the American firm replacing Rabobank following its withdrawal at the end of 2012.

Belkin announced the crowdfunding initiative on their official website on Friday, that will be promoted by the Twitter hashtag #ridethefuture. Fans are encouraged to contribute €10 ($14) towards financing the team in order to attract potential backers.

A team statement read: “We are confident that we will find a new sponsor in time, but we want to take things into our own hands via crowdfunding.

“With your support we can finance a part of the team and show potential sponsors that we have loyal supporters we can count on.

“This offers stability, which will make it more likely for sponsors to join our team.”

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