"Only the INEOS of this world who have room to put aside a nest egg" - Patrick Lefevere sympathizes with Jumbo-Visma's sponsor issues
Cycling
Main title sponsor Jumbo is set to pull out of Jumbo-Visma, as will key sponsor Gorillas. Into the 2024 season Jumbo-Visma, widely regarded as one of the (if not the) most successful team in current pro cycling, is set for a big task of obtaining new sponsors to keep the team's high budget. Patrick Lefevere assures that is ultimately the same with almost the entire pro cycling field.
“It makes me somewhat gloomy when one of the most successful cycling teams of the moment is in the news twice with sponsorship problems. I sympathize with colleague Richard Plugge (manager of Jumbo-Visma, ed.), because in the current context it is not easy to fill budgetary gaps," Lefevere told Het Nieuwsblad.
The manager of Soudal - Quick-Step has been on that end of the spectrum as well, and with perhaps more similarities than most other teams could face due to the team's extensive and long-standing success. Currently as it stands Jumbo-Visma have been having a wildly successful season, coming off the back of a 2022 Tour de France that would've satisfied any sponsor.
However money is rarely put in the long-term in the sport, and sustaining a large budget can be an even more difficult task. “In cycling, all teams are budget-wise on the tip of their saddle. It is only the INEOS of this world who have room to put aside a nest egg. The rest will be in trouble as soon as one sponsor drops out," Lefevere explains.
“A cycling team does not live apart from the world: as a traveling circus, we feel the rising prices very much. And in an organization in which eighty percent of the budget goes to the wages of riders and staff, wage indexation has also cut into it," the veteran details. "Even if all sponsors continue to pay properly, there will be little budget everywhere.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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