Cycling: In the next few minutes, Etixx-QuickStep is holding a press conference in Ghent, Belgium, where the German supermarket chain LIDL will be announced as the new sponsor. Of course, there are also questions about Marcel Kittel's pending change, but the team has not yet commented on it.
For an initial period of two years, LIDL will be the sponsor of the Belgian racing team. The supermarket chain is no newcomer to cycling, as they also support another Belgian team, Lotto-Soudal. Whether there is a connection between Marcel Kittel's possible move to Etixx-QuickStep and the new German sponsor - one can only speculate at the moment. Any inquiries regarding a transfer of the German sprinter were rejected without comment in the run-up to the press conference.
With Tony Martin, Tom Boonen and team boss Patrick Lefevre, all kinds of cycling celebrities were present to talk about the new sponsor. LIDL is now known far beyond the German borders and has many markets, especially in the Benelux region and in Great Britain. There was still a cloak of silence about specific details about the sponsorship - for example, financing Kittel's salary would be conceivable - after all, the top sprinter would have great marketing potential for the wholesale chain.
For the moment there are no new findings on the subject of Kittel and Etixx-QuickStep. Even at Giant-Alpecin one does not want to comment on the matter. However, it seems only a matter of time (and money) until the change is done.