Orica to end sponsorship of GreenEdge after 2017 season

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Orica-GreenEdge has confirmed the backing of their sponsor Orica until the end of the 2017 season, and the company will also continue the sponsorship of the women's Orica-AIS squad. It will be the final year that the mining company will sponsor the Australian outfit, however, and the team stated that they are already in talks to secure a new primary sponsor for the 2018 season.

"We are really happy to continue another year with Orica and we are looking forward to keep on delivering results above expectations,” team owner Gerry Ryan said in a press release issued by the team.

The GreenEdge team was first launched in January 2011 with its first race coming at the 2012 Bay Classic Series. They raced under the name GreenEdge for the those fledgling months with the Australian company Orica becoming primary sponsor just ahead of that year’s Giro d’Italia.

The team hit the ground running with Simon Gerrans earning them their first monument victory in Milan-San Remo and taking a stage win at the Giro d’Italia a few months later. During their formative years, the Orica-GreenEdge team was predominantly sprinters and breakaway riders.

However, the signings of Esteban Chaves and the Yates brothers Simon and Adam has moved them in the direction of a GC-focused team. Chaves secured them their first Grand Tour podium this season with second place at the Giro d’Italia.

“They have been a great partner for us and we will of course continue our efforts to build this team even stronger going onwards,” said Orica Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Samantha Stevens. “Exiting the partnership after 2017 was not a decision made easily. However, given the more challenging environment facing the resources and mining services sectors, it is the appropriate decision for Orica at this time. We wish the teams all the best for the future, and we are confident that they will build on their significant successes on the UCI event calendar, providing many more positive branding benefits for current and future sponsors.”

As well as making the final podium, Chaves also gave the team a stage win at the Giro d’Italia, one of 13 that the team has claimed this year. The team is currently ranked fifth in the WorldTour standings. Orica-GreenEdge is currently racing at the Criterium du Dauphine and will be looking for stage victories with Michael Matthews and Michael Albasini at the Tour de Suisse later this week.