Rabobank (cycling Team)

Rabobank (cycling Team)

Blanco Pro Cycling Team is a professional bicycle racing team, successor of the former Rabobank. The team consists of three sections: ProTeam (the UCI ProTour team), Continental (a talent team racing in the UCI Europe Tour), and Cyclo-cross. The team formerly rode Colnago frames but as of 1 January 2009 began a two year contract riding Giant frames equipped with Shimano components.

The cycling team was founded for the 1984 season under the name Kwantum, with mostly cyclists coming from the TI-Raleigh cycling team. Since 1984, the team has entered every Tour de France and since the introduction of divisions in 1998, the team has always been in the first division. A 2012 investigation by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant concluded that doping was at least tolerated, from the team's 1996 beginnings until at least 2007. Rabobank announced in October 2012 that it would end its sponsorship of professional cycling at the end of the year, with the team announcing its intention to continue as a ‘white label’ under a new foundation yet to be established. On 13 December 2012 it was announced the team would participate in 2013 under the name Blanco Pro Cycling Team, with the intention to find a sponsor for 2014 or to stop the team otherwise.