Andy Rihs speaks at the team's presentation(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Team manager Doug Ryder with one of the children(Image credit: Scott Mitchell)
Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) at the start of stage 11 at the Tour de France(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Dimension Data team will race on BMC bikes from 2019, switching from Cervelo and keeping the company of the late Andy Rihs in the WorldTour peloton.
Rihs, who owned BMC Switzerland as well as the BMC Racing Team to which it has supplied bikes for the past 10 years, died in April. The US-registered team will live on under a new identity thanks to a deal with Polish company CCC, but they will race on different bikes, with a sponsor yet to be announced.
BMC will keep their bikes at the highest level of road cycling thanks to a new three-year deal with Dimension Data, running from the start of next season until the end of the 2021 season.
"After the passing of BMC founder Andy Rihs this April, many stories around BMC Switzerland and its future in racing have been circulating. BMC is grateful to Continuum Sport, Jim Ochowicz and his team, operating the BMC Racing Team successfully over the past decade," read a statement from BMC. "We have enjoyed many major victories together, including the Tour de France, TTT World Championships and Olympic gold, which laid the important base, shaping the best and fastest road bikes in world.
"After this successful partnership it is now good timing for both sides to embrace change. BMC Switzerland wishes Jim Ochowicz and everyone at Continuum Sport all the best on their plans moving forward."
Dimension Data raced on Trek bikes when the team was founded in 2007, but switched to Cervelo from the 2015 season before they signed Mark Cavendish and moved up to WorldTour level in 2016. It has been reported that Cervelo could move to supply Tom Dumoulin's Sunweb team, who currently use Giant, with Giant subsequently linked to Ochowicz's team.
“We are delighted to be joining forces with BMC Switzerland as we take a significant step forward into the future for our team," said Dimension Data manager Doug Ryder.
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"BMC’s outstanding track record speaks for itself; and to be able to call on their world-leading technology starting 2019, will see us compete consistently among the very best teams on the World Tour. We are a team that, through title sponsor Dimension Data, are focused on innovation thanks to their ground-breaking technology and BMC joining us is a natural fit. The rise of Team Dimension for Qhubeka has been meteoric and this new partnership will ensure that trajectory is continued into the future. Our shared goals are completely aligned in the continued belief that ‘bicycles change lives’, through the Qhubeka charity, and we are delighted that BMC will continue this journey with us. Andy Rihs left an indelible mark on our sport; and it’s a privilege to be able to be the team that will continue to honour his legacy and the passion that he had for cycling."
