Specialized extend SD Worx partnership until 2028

Team SD Worx and bike sponsor Specialized have announced a new long-term partnership that will see the American brand support the team until the end of 2028.

Specialized has been SD Worx’s bike partner since 2014, and this new deal marks a particularly long partnership in women’s cycling, which has previously suffered against the backdrop of shorter, more precarious sponsorship deals.

"This renewal reaffirms [Specialized and SD Worx's] shared commitment to supporting the growth of women’s cycling and continued success as the best team in women’s cycling," a statement from the team read.

SD Worx have recently been crowned the best Women’s WorldTour team of the year for the seventh time in eight years, and it seems their unrivalled success - plus the general commercial growth of women’s cycling - is helping to secure their long-term future.

“As a team, we have been working with Specialized since 2014 with great satisfaction,” SD Worx general manager Danny Stam said of the partnership. “We are proud to announce that the long-standing partnership between Specialized and Team SD Worx will be extended through 2028. We can be proud of what we have achieved together as partners over the past few years in professionalising women's cycling.”

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For the leader of S-Racing, Scott Jackson, the chance for Specialized to be able to support some of the most successful athletes in cycling, such as Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift winner Demi Vollering and world champion Lotte Kopecky, is clearly a key draw for the brand.

“To have a consistent long-term partnership allows us to really dive into each and every technical detail to support the best athletes in the world at the highest level on the world’s largest stage,” Jackson said. “To be able to support such a successful team and be a part of their success makes us feel proud and honoured, as well as eager for what’s to come.”

As well as supporting top athletes, SD Worx highlighted the importance of advancing women’s racing and “elevating the sport, and attaining unmatched levels of success” as a result of the partnership between the Dutch squad and such a big bicycle brand.

SD Worx are a rare example of a top women’s team that have neither a men’s team counterpart nor a bicycle manufacturer as a title sponsor, and the renewed commitment from Specialized appears to reaffirm their healthy budget and financial support, and suggests that they will continue to be one of the biggest women’s teams for years to come.