The UAE Team Emirates cycling team generates approximately $400 million in value for its sponsors, who invest just a fraction of that amount, according to team CEO Mauro Gianetti.

The team, which has gone through several name changes since being established in Italy in 1999, and was briefly also known as UAE Abu Dhabi, transformed into UAE Team Emirates in 2017 after the airline signed on as a naming-rights sponsor.

In addition to Emirates, the team’s sponsors include First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Emaar, as well as a number of cycling-specific brands.

In an exclusive interview with Arabian Business, Gianetti – a Swiss former professional cyclist and Olympian – said that sponsorship of world tour teams “brings back a lot of returns on investment”.

“In general, all our sponsors, and the main sponsors world tour teas like ours, [generate] an average of, at a minimum, 5 to 10 euros for each [euro] spent,” he said. “Plus, we’d need to add the visibility [for a brand] from coverage on newspapers and the Internet, plus the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram of each rider. That’s huge.”

Gianetti added that “our team creates a return on investment of around $400 million, with an investment that is 20 times less.”

A unique business model

During the interview, Gianetti explained that cycling teams are unique in the sports world in that they “survive solely thanks to the sponsor”.

“The business model is, in fact, that we let people know about brands or products around the world,” he added. “Cycling is also unique in that teams take the names of the sponsors. With the same time, we participate in races worldwide and promote the brand.”

Additionally, Gianetti said that brands also reap huge rewards from holding ‘activations’ in the cities and countries in which world cycling tours are held, which range from the UAE and Australia to Europe and North America.

“What we do with the cycling team is invite guests of the sponsor. In Australia, for example, we can invite guests of the sponsor to follow the race and feel part of the team,” he said. “[This can] create connections with customers or potential customers.”

In the case of the UAE team’s main sponsor, Emirates, Gianetti also said that the company would likely benefit from global coverage of the UAE Tour in February, which would expose audiences around the world to attractions and sights across the country.

“If people want to come to the UAE, they need to fly,” he said. “That’s a 360-degree promotion.”