Orica-Scott teams become Mitchelton-Scott in 2018
(Cyclingnews.com)

The Orica-Scott men´s and women´s WorldTour teams will be known as Mitchelton-Scott from 2018 as team owner Gerry Ryan´s wine business, Mitchelton, steps in to fill the void left by Orica. The teams´ kits will also change to a black-and-yellow design. There has been a search for fresh investment for the past year after mining company Orica, which has been lead title sponsor since midway through the Australian teams` debut season in 2012, announced it would step aside at the end of 2017. Ryan had previously suggested that he and his companies would cover any budget shortfall for the teams in 2018 and 2019. The Ryan family acquired the Mitchelton winery in 2011, and it became title sponsor of the team´s U23 development set-up that was established this season.ADVERTISEMENT The business has recently looked to diversify beyond the winery, branching out into hospitality, and it sees cycling as a platform to boost growth beyond Australian borders. The length of the sponsorship deal was not disclosed. `The past number of years Mitchelton has focused on domestic business, but we are now ready to target export markets and cycling is a great vehicle to promote our brand to the various global markets,` said Andrew Ryan, son of Gerry and managing director of Mitchelton. `With the new Mitchelton Hotel and Day Spa, we have seen an increase in international tourism to the estate and this association with the team will enable us to broadly promote our estate to the world.` New kit You can read more at Cyclingnews.com