"They have a strategy that they have already applied in Formula 1" - Why Red Bull's BORA - hansgrohe investment could be game-changing

Global drinks conglomerate Red Bull are preparing to heavily invest in BORA - hansgrohe, becoming a majority stakeholder. According to Jérôme Bouchat, cycling specialist from the Nielsen Sport firm, this could be game-changing.

“When the group deploys such means, it is not to make simple appearances,” Bouchat tells Eurosport, explaining how, as Red Bull have shown in the past and in different sports, their goals go further than just being the best. "In this specific case, there is also first of all a certain logic, but also a continuity."

For those unaware, Red Bull are more than just a regular drinks company. Their interests spread far and wide in the sporting world. “They have a strategy that they have already applied in Formula 1, with the world champion team and Alpha Tauri, as well as in football with Leipzig, Salzburg or New York,” Bouchat explains. "They first invest in the structure before deploying their know-how. Red Bull is a sponsor different from all the others. It is at the same time a brand, a content creator, a competition creator, an advertising agency, a media agency too. They deploy big means."

“The objective is clearly to compete with teams with bigger budgets,” Bouchat continues. “From now on, investments are more and more important. A title sponsor of a team can now pay more than a shirt sponsor of an average Premier League football club. Which is already enormous. Cycling is perhaps at a turning point. And even if the final objective of the Austrian company is selling cans, it has also proven that it is able to generate money and profit by investing differently."