Eneco Tour will continue under a different name as from 2017

Eneco has been the main sponsor since 2005 and, since 2009, also the holder of the UCI World Tour licence for Eneco Tour. Eneco extended the licence in 2012 for a period up to and including 2016. For the Eneco Tour, Eneco works together closely with the sports company Golazo, which has been in charge of the whole organisation of the event and the race management as from 2009.

Jeroen Overgoor, Communication & Public Affairs Director at Eneco Group explains why Eneco decided not to extend the licence again: 'Taking leave of such a successful event is not an easy choice. We have invested a lot in cycle racing and we have received a lot back in return for the brand Eneco in the Netherlands and Belgium. Each year, we see the attention and appreciation increase for the Eneco Tour. At the same time, our company has changed drastically during the past 12 years. Instead of simply an energy supplier, we are increasingly becoming a sustainable and innovative service provider. Whereby we help our customers with smart services and technology, such as the Toon thermostat, to take control of their own energy supply. The positioning that we have opted for demands that we make new choices in marketing, sponsoring and communications that are more closely aligned with our strategy. Our new pay-off and campaign 'Welcome in the new world' is the most visible example of this. With regard to our sponsor strategy, this means that we will put more emphasis on sustainable technology and education, as we are already doing at present with the Eneco Windlab and the collaboration with the World Nature Fund in the field of One Planet Thinking.'

Confidence
The cycle race will be continued by Golazo under a new name. Golazo will also take over the World Tour licence from Eneco. CEO Bob Verbeeck: 'In the first place, we are very proud about the way in which we have been so successful in putting a new cycle race on the cycle racing map in Belgium and the Netherlands together with Eneco. Our excellent collaboration resulted in increasingly higher-level participants and a very positive image of the event. Eneco Tour developed into the only multiple day stage race in the UCI World Tour that could be won by "traditional racing cyclists". We are therefore very grateful to Eneco that we have been able to promote this sports event together for many years. With the confirmation by the UCI that we can continue as a World Tour cycle race, the continuity is assured and the road is open to continue to provide a stage cycle race to cycle racing fans in Belgium and the Netherlands at the highest level.'

Major sports event
Together, Eneco and Golazo developed this cycle tour into a well-established event on the international cycle racing calender which brings all the big teams and top racing cyclists to Belgium and the Netherlands. Both parties also contributed to the present leading status of the Eneco Tour as a sustainably organised multiple-day cycle race.

In twelve years, the Eneco Tour has become a well-known sports event among the public, the sponsors, the media and the cyclists. The importance in terms of a sports event has increased every year. Well-known names such as Tony Martin, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Tim Wellens on the list of honour are a good indication of just how important the event is. Absolute world-class cyclists are participating again in this year's edition with, among others, Peter Sagan and Greg van Avermaet (the world champion and the olympic champion). Over 90 million viewers over the whole world now watch the cycle race annually via TV and internet. Eneco Tour has thus become the leading event of all cycle races in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Overgoor: "We are proud that we have contributed to the development of a major sports event through our sponsoring of the Eneco Tour. We are very confident that Golazo, with eight years of experience in successfully organising the event, can take the wheel from us and thus continue to build further on the success and the quality of an event for which they have been co-responsible for many years'.

Over Golazo

Golazo's aim is to get everybody to practice sports. Golazo does this by means of over 300 of its own sports events at home and abroad and numerous sports promotion programmes. Moreover, everyone is given the possibility to receive coaching and guidance via the Energy Lab, also in the field of training and nutrition. In addition, Golazo aims to enable sports fans to enjoy (top) sports and to provide support and assistance to numerous top athletes and to offer brands and governments optimal possibilities to profile themselves via sports. Golazo's own media bring information and experience to the various sports communities. Golazo is sports.

About EnecoThe mission of Eneco Group is sustainable energy for everyone. Our vision is the decentralised and sustainable development of the energy supply based on collaboration. Companies and consumers are bringing about a revolutionary change of the energy landscape. Eneco wishes to maintain its leading position together with these companies and consumers. We contribute to the energy transition with the energy of our 7,000 people.