After their new kits were revealed in December, and with a team presentation to follow next Monday, January 22, the world’s number one women’s road team have officially unveiled their new name - Team SD Worx-Protime. A subsidiary of SD Worx, Protime was added as a second title sponsor for the next three years.
Protime is a workforce management company based in Europe that brings financial stability through 2026 to the squad, which finished at the top of the women’s UCI and WorldTour rankings for a third consecutive year in 2023. SD Worx dominated the road calendar last year with 64 victories.
The team presentation will be held at Protime headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. Protime first appeared on the jerseys of the Dutch squad for the Tour de France Femmes last summer.
SD Worx first supported the Dutch squad in 2020 and took over as the title sponsor from Boels Dolmans in 2021. Their support for a team, with an all-star cast including road and track World Champion Lotte Kopecky and Tour de France Femmes winner Demi Vollering, is also confirmed through 2026.
"Women's cycling has developed enormously in recent years and the sport is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. As a result, the budgets will also continue to grow. With SD Worx and Protime, but certainly also Specialized, we have partners who want to grow with us in the coming years so that we can maintain our position at the top of women's cycling," said Team Manager Erwin Janssen in a press release.
Team SD Worx-Protime will begin their 2024 Women’s WorldTour campaign at the UAE Tour Women, February 8-11. At the inaugural UAE four-day stage race last year, Lorena Wiebes came away with a stage 2 victory and third in points classification while Anna Shackley was second in the youth classification and fourth in GC.
"We start our fifth season as sponsor of the world's best women's team in cycling in 2024. In 2021, we became the main sponsor, which of course has a much bigger impact than just your logo on the shorts. As a name sponsor, your brand gets much more visibility wherever the team is at the start,” said Kobe Verdonck, CEO of SD Worx.
“The international environment of cycling helps us perfectly in our ambition to be the leading European supplier in HR solutions. Customers and prospects regularly talk to us about our commitment to further professionalise women's cycling and about giving young talent opportunities to develop as top athletes. It is fantastic that our subsidiary Protime is now also stepping in as a name sponsor."
Specialized has collaborated with the team since 2014 and renewed long-term support last autumn with an extension through 2028. In addition to bikes, Specialized produced the new kits for this season, featuring a six-pointed cross reversed in white on purple, pink and orange colour-fade blocks. SD Worx and Protime branding are prominent on the front and back of jerseys.
Protime has been voted ‘Great Place to Work’ for 10 years in a row, with roots in Belgium and the Netherlands and an expansion across Europe, most recently in Spain.
"We already entered as a shirt sponsor last year just before the Tour de France Femmes and saw directly its positive impact. As a result, we wanted to continue full steam ahead,” said Gille Sebrechts, CEO of Protime. “We encounter the same drive and vision in the team. A clear focus to be European and even world leader, but also a clear focus on women's cycling.”
