The coronavirus crisis has not been alien to . In a sport already complicated by its financial instability, the stoppage due to the covid-19 pandemic had put one of the most leading teams on the World Tour in danger of bankruptcy… until out of nowhere a Grenada businessman. Francisco Huertas González was until a few days ago a person in the background for the world of cycling, however, on June 12 it was renamed Team Manuela Fundación and in 2021 it will be the second elite Spanish team of cycling.
On October 6, 2015, life changed completely for ‘Francis’ Huertas and María Angustias González. The daughter of this couple from Granada died a few days after birth, causing her parents to take a radical turn in their businesses. With Construcciones Hufrago SL as one of the most distinguished, ‘Francis’ and his wife set out to create the NGO Manuela Fundación almost two years after the tragedy.
Non-profit, all projects under own funds and “born as a need expressed in the pain of loss to help create a more supportive world”, this institution will be the new main sponsor for the remainder of the atypical season of 2020 of the Michelton-Scott. In addition, from 2021 the UCI license will be awarded to move the cycling team from Australia to Spain.
Manuela Fundación signs an alliance with GreenEDGE Cycling despite the difficult times in world sports.
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All after an agreement (without official figures, it is estimated that it will invest around 20 million) with the group to succeed GreenEDGE, until now the main partner and owner of its ‘naming’. Manuela Fundación arrives to solve “a disturbing and uncertain period”, in the words of the owner of GreenEDGE Cycling until now, and join the Movistar Team as the second Hispanic licensee on the World Tour.
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So, from now on the next rounds (with special attention to Giro and La Vuelta), the new Mitchelton-Scott will change its colors and focus its efforts on Spanish cyclists. In its ranks, Mikel Nieve from Navarra is one of its leaders, and the new Team Manuela Fundación also includes the Yates brothers (Adam and Simon) or the Colombian Esteban Chaves, who has a contract for the next season. As for the women’s team, which she is also in charge of, Annemiek Van Vleuten currently considers her the best cyclist, she is the leader among the entire squad.
With a budget of around 8 million euros per year, the purchase of Mitchelton-Scott is not the first investment of ‘Francis’ in cycling. During the last months he and his wife have promoted an under-23 team that competes in minor categories and now it will serve as experience for the two-wheeled elite. In addition, this businessman linked to construction and painting also invested 400,000 euros in Granada in 2008 or tried to take control of Real Jaén in 2017.
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