A lifetime deal with the American bike brand is a first, and it signals a new era for star riders as forces shaping the sport.
Kristof Ramon, Cor Vos
Specialized and Remco Evenepoel have announced a “lifetime partnership” that will see the double Olympic champion riding bikes made by the American brand for the rest of his career “and beyond.”
The deal extends (indefinitely) a relationship that goes back to Evenepoel’s early years as a budding star, riding a Specialized bike to junior world road and time trial titles in 2018 and then turning pro with the Specialized-sponsored Deceuninck-Quick-Step team the next year.
“I’ve worked with Specialized since the beginning of my career,” Evenepoel said in a statement. “They’ve been there through the wins, the setbacks, and everything in between. We have complete trust in each other, which is why this lifetime agreement feels like a natural step, for my racing career and beyond.”
The deal is notable on its own merits. Wout van Aert, Marianne Vos and Mads Pedersen have all signed lifetime contracts with their teams, but not equipment partners (Pedersen’s deal effectively keeps him on Trek for his whole career, but the agreement is with the team, which Trek no longer owns).
And while individual rider deals with brands are commonplace, they are usually finite, or tied to the teams they ride on, and sit mostly in the background. Mathieu van der Poel has a 10-year individual agreement with Alpecin-Premier Tech bike sponsor Canyon, but Evenepoel’s deal with Specialized appears to be a first in the sport. Never before has a rider signed such a permanent personal contract with a major equipment sponsor. And in an era where pro road racing is increasingly dominated by superstars, that’s significant because of what it means for how personal contracts could shape the makeup of the sport going forward.
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