The Saxo Bank IT Factory team's presentation, the team is looking for a new sponsor ...

Added: monday 01 December 2008 at 23:30:00

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The Saxo Bank <del>IT Factory</del> team's presentation, the team is looking for a new sponsor ... Bjarne Riis' team (Riis Cycling) for 2009, in 2008 known under the name CSC and since the Tour de France 2008 as CSC Saxo Bank, has today been presented in Vedbaek in Denmark.

This should have been a nice day where the team would have been presented under the new name Saxo Bank - IT Factory. But in the end that was not really the case ...

CSC had announced it wanted to stop its sponsoring at the end of 2008 after having supported the team since 2001. Just before the Tour de France, a new sponsor was found in the international investment bank Saxo Bank. A few months later (at the end of September during the World Championships Cyling in Varese) a second sponsor had been announced which would complete the team's budget. This second sponsor was the software supplier IT Factory (read the press release in which this had been announced).

Even though in these times of financial crisis one would think banks would have much difficulty to survive and that the problem would thus come from Saxo Bank, this really isn't the case here because it's IT Factory which might not be able to fulfill its three year sponsor contract (2009 till 2011). And why ...

The sponsoring announcement on IT Factory's web site
The IT Factory has filed its bankruptcy and has announced that the company's managing director has embezzled 500 million Danish crowns (about 67 millon euro's).

Stein Bagger, IT Factory's managing director

Stein Bagger, IT Factory's managing director

IT Factory's president, Asger Jensby, has indicated the company filed bankruptcy and reported its managing director Stein Bagger (photo IT Factory) at the police since he's being suspected of fraud.

Jensby added that Bagger disappeared Thursday night during a trip to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates and that he's been reported missing to Interpol.

IT Factory is a Danish company which has been founded in 1997 and has (had) 150 employees.

During the team presentation Bjarne Riis indicated: The team will stay alive. We continue and are already working with Saxo Bank to find a solution and a new sponsor.
We had a meeting with the riders and promissed them the team will continue.

Saxo Bank won't fill the gap IT Factory leaves behind it since the company thinks an exclusive sponsorship is not interesting.
The gap IT Factory leaves behind it is estimated at about 30 to 40 million Danish crowns (4 to 5,3 million euro's) per year up till 2011.

Bjarne Riis has to find a new sponsor soon because on 18 January 2009 this new sponsor's brand will have to be on the clothing on the riders who will participate in the Tour Down Under in Australa already.

The team in 2009

The team, one of the best in the world in 2008, is in 2009 composed of 28 riders of whom 6 new ones (in bold in the table below).

Kurt-Asle Arvesen		09-02-1975
Lars Bak		16-01-1980
Jonathan Bellis		16-08-1988
Lasse Bøchmann		13-06-1983
Matti Breschel		31-08-1984
Fabian Cancellara		18-03-1981
Jakob Fuglsang		22-03-1985
Matthew Goss		05-11-1986
Jurgen Van Goolen		28-11-1980
Juan José Haedo		26-01-1981
Frank Høj		14-01-1973
Dominic Klemme		31-01-1986
Kasper Klostergaard		22-05-1983
Alexandr Kolobnev		04-05-1981
Karsten Kroon		29-01-1976
Gustav Larsson		20-09-1980
Marcus Ljungqvist		26-10-1974
Anders Lund
Jason McCartney		03-09-1973
Michael Mørkøv		30-04-1985
Stuart O'Grady		06-08-1973
Alex Rasmussen		09-06-1984
Andy Schleck		10-06-1985
Fränk Schleck		15-04-1980
Chris Anker Sørensen		05-09-1984
Nicki Sørensen		14-05-1975
André Steensen		12-10-1987
Jens Voigt		17-09-1971