Belgian team Lotto-Dstny has confirmed that it will be losing its second name sponsor, Dstny, in 2025 with the cloud based business communication solutions walking away from the UCI ProTeam after two-and-a-half years.
Dstny's name appeared on the jersey of the team from the Tour de France of 2022, after it started a planned two season sponsorship for 2023 and 2024 early, but it seems that the enthusiasm to be on board at the start of the agreement has run its course.
The team – which prematurely split with bike brand Ridley in 2023 and brought Orbea on board – has said Dstny will stop being a main sponsor at the end of the season. There has not yet been any announcement of a replacement name sponsor.
“The departure of Dstny is not a cause for concern," Karel Van Eetvelt, President of Lotto-Dstny said in a statement. "Various discussions are taking place to secure the future of our team, and hard work is being done.
"The National Lottery remains our main partner, having supported us previously during challenging times. We are determined to continue building on the solid foundations that we have today."
Lotto has been a team sponsor right from the initial days of the team, which started in 1985, sharing billing with more than a dozen other sponsors along the way, from Soudal to Silence, to Mobistar and Merckx.
"As the oldest team in the peloton, with 40 years of rich history, we've seen partners come and go. That's part of cycling," said Van Eetvelt. "With Orbea, we have secured a long-term international agreement and our other partners... Believe in the strength of the team and ensure that our foundations remain strong."
The confirmation of the departure came after earlier reports that while Dstny had a positive view of the relationship with the cycling team, the interaction with its fellow name sponsor had been more challenging.
"The relationship with the Lottery was already not going well right from the start," Dstny CEO Daan De Wever told De Tijd. 'We quickly realised that we were in a construct where the Lottery did not want to share power. In every decision – both sporting and policy – they wanted to have the last word. The culture, the style and the collaboration were not what we had in mind."
The media release announcing the split, however, pointed to the beautiful story that Lotto and Dstny have written together, with the team which was relegated from the WorldTour in 2023 delivering Belgian champions, with Arnaud De Lie winning the road title in June, and also having recently won a stage in the Tour de France, with Victor Campenaerts, while the Lotto Dstny Development Team took the Giro Next Gen with Jarno Widar.
"We have secured all our talents for the future, which was our top priority. Youthful enthusiasm, attractive racing, and being the challenger to the big teams will thus remain part of the team's DNA in the coming seasons," said Stéphane Heulot, CEO of Lotto Dstny.
"Additionally, I want to emphasize that behind the scenes, there has been excellent cooperation over the past two and a half years to bring all this success to realization. Crucial decisions were always made by the Board of Directors in mutual consultation and with mutual trust. The team could always count on them."
