Rabobank's CEO, Stefaan Decraene, has decided to return as a sponsor in cycling after 12 years of absence and from the next season will be the co-sponsor of Visma-Lease a Bike.

Born in Waregem and raised in Bruges, Decraene studied in Leuven and Brussels and after taking command of the Dutch bank, he decided it was time to return to the world of two wheels.

Stefaan Decraene is not disappointed with the Tour de France result and admitted that winning this year was not his objective, but he was happy to witness Van Aert's victory in Paris. Decraene is a consistent man and immediately pointed out that Tadej Pogacar was too strong this year, while satisfactions came in the women's field with the yellow jersey worn by Marianne Vos.

Rabobank was the main sponsor in cycling for seventeen years, then took a step back in 2012 due to several doping cases. It is natural to wonder why Stefaan Decraene and his Rabobank have now decided to re-enter this sport.

"Unlike in the past, we are now only co-sponsors and not owners. When I started working at Rabobank, I immediately noticed that the company was very connected to cycling - Decraene explained - I'll tell you this: after only two days of arriving, staff members were already asking me if we would return to cycling."

Rabobank entered the cycling world in 1995 and in the 2000s achieved important successes, such as victories at Milan-Sanremo and the Giro d'Italia. In October 2012, following the USADA report on doping in professional cycling, Rabobank decided to exit the bike world, stating that doping was so widespread that it no longer allowed thinking that the cycling world could support a clean and honest sport. "Our bank has known how to make two brave decisions. The first, to withdraw from cycling then. The second, to return now."

The idea of returning arose from the Paris Olympics, where Rabobank was a sponsor of the Dutch national team. Stefaan Decraene personally went to see how his bank was being highlighted and what he saw did not please him.

"At the Paris Olympics, Rabobank was a sponsor of Team NL, but when I visited the Dutch House after one of the races, I saw few references to Rabobank and wanted to take a closer look at our sports sponsorships. To make a difference as a sponsor, you must do something others don't. BNP Paribas has always done this with tennis. We were attracted to cycling, we knew it would be a return to our roots, but we had to do it with a complete project."

Decraene knew that to return to cycling, he had to do it with the right team, and the best choice was undoubtedly Visma-Lease a Bike. Contacts and then meetings with Richard Plugge began, and now Rabobank and Visma-Lease a Bike are about to become a unique reality.

"Our bank is doing quite well, but when I present my quarterly data, at most ten specialized journalists listen to me. When we announced our return to racing, with Wout van Aert present at the press conference, dozens of people showed up, including all Belgian and Dutch television broadcasters. In other words, a positive success that we did not expect in these terms."

For now, the co-sponsor contract is signed until 2028, but things may change, particularly based on the results obtained not only in the media but as a presence in the territory, with the intention of attracting more people to cycling.

"When I arrived at the Tour, Richard Plugge introduced me to his team, and I was surprised that they had a detailed tactical plan for each stage: What could happen? What are the dangerous points? What is the wind direction? What is a difficult climb? But then we also arrived at another even more inviting moment, with the Tour's script created by the team, equally detailed but with space open to instinct."

Decraene thinks that cycling today is more beautiful compared to the times of Indurain because he has seen how riders attack and use more imagination. At the last Tour de France, there were no Dutch riders at the top of the general classification, and Rabobank's intent is also to promote the growth of Dutch riders capable of being in the best positions in the general classifications.

"Our objective with this sponsorship will not be to count how many times and how our logo appears in the race. We have returned with the idea that we must support this sport 360 degrees, so that in the long term an increasing number of Dutch riders are present at the highest levels."