2023 has been the final season for Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling. This decision comes after careful consideration by the team’s management after not being able to find additional funds to make the step up to the UCI ProTeam level.
2023 has been the final season for Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling. This decision comes after careful consideration by the team’s management after not being able to find additional funds to make the step up to the UCI ProTeam level.
Following the merger between the Leopard (founded it 2011) and Riwal (founded in 2009) teams, it has always been the clear ambition for Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling to become one of the best UCI Continental teams and as a result make the step up to the UCI Pro Team level. One part of this ambition has been fulfilled. By winning for example the Olympias Tour, the Circuit des Ardennes and general top performances all year long, Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling finds itself back as 4th best European UCI Continental team, and 20th best European team when you include the existing UCI Pro Teams.
However, the team was aiming for more and targeted for promotion and hoped to find additional funds next to the backing of both Leopard and TOGT. “We had great hopes of finding a third big sponsor. Possibly from Denmark, since the sport of cycling has grown here a lot after the Grand Départ in Copenhagen, and of course the two Danish Tour de France wins of Jonas Vingegaard. We hoped to become a Danish-Luxembourgish stepping stone between the UCI Continental and UCI WorldTeam level, but unfortunately there were insufficient leads to make this happen. This lack of funds is the one and only reason why the team decides to step down and say the world of cycling farewell,” states Mogens Tveskov, CEO of Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling.
Markus Zingen, Team Manager of Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling adds: “It was of course not easy to combine two well-established teams into one, but we made it happen. Since day one, the Danish and the Luxembourgish core were on the same wavelength, which led to the amazing season we had. We can claim that the merger was a very great success, which made the decision to pull the plug not any easier.”
Being not able to find the much needed additional sponsor, 2023 marks the end on an era for Leopard and TOGT, with both having been part of cycling for many years. For now, the team looks back on its rich history, with a legacy that includes numerous victories in prestigious races, multiple Grand Tour stage wins, developing many young talents and a commitment to promoting the sport of cycling worldwide, but especially in Denmark and Luxembourg.
On behalf of the entire Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling family, we would like to thank everyone who has been a part of our remarkable journey. We loved every single bit of it.