Cycling team Wanty Gobert and the 78 Belgian Intermarchés are proud to announce the signature of a partnership until 2023. As from the 1st of January 2021, Intermarché, the food retailer from Group Les Mousquetaires, becomes title partner of the cycling team which will be named Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux.

A partnership of proximity and an international visibility
Retailer Intermarché is present in Belgium since 1991 and established in the Belgian villages and cities, especially in Wallonia, as close as possible to the people. To share the much appreciated sport by Belgians will reinforce the proximity, which is already strongly established between the Intermarché business leaders, their customers and their partners. Team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux will participate in the World Tour calendar, the first division of international cycling, and ride the principal races on the Belgian calendar (Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Ghent-Wevelgem, Flèche Wallonne, Tour of Flanders, but also the Tour of Wallonia etc…) and abroad (Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a Espana, etc…). As a title partner, Intermarché will be visible on all cycling kits and other clothes of the team, and on the car fleet and other carriers.

Partners with common values
In addition to the visibility at the races, Intermarché especially becomes the title partner of a committed Belgian team. Together, the food retailer and the cycling team will contribute to promotion of the values of living together. This partnership will reinforce the local work of the Intermarché business leaders in clubs and sportive associations of all levels.

Alain Boulle (Chairman of Intermarché Belgium):
« Cycling is one of the most popular sports in Belgium. We experience it in our streets. The races take place at our doorsteps. Team Wanty Gobert embodies our shared value of proximity, but also attaches importance to a true teamspirit and friendliness, just like our selling points. So we’re proud to be their title partner »

Jean-François Bourlart (General Manager Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux):
« To associate the team with Intermarché rapidly seemed an evidence. The philosophy of the Group matches perfectly to the vision we established the last couple of years through the Want You Club, our business club. The Group is managed by its independent members who all are entrepreneurs and owners of their selling points. During our discussions with the independent members and employees, I discovered the same welcoming atmosphere in their structure as the friendly environment we nurture in our group, both on the sportive level and with the entrepreneurs who are supporting us for a long time already. Intermarché and our sportive structure share numerous common values: audacity, team spirit, entrepreneurship, and a competitive spirit » 

« With Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, we’re ready to write the first lines of a new chapter in the history of our cycling team. Thanks to the takeover of Continuum Sports, we were able to reach a new sportive milestone in the history of our team. So I’m very happy to be able to rely on the support of Intermarché for the next three seasons. I want to thank all our historical partners, among whom Circus. They will disappear from the team name, but the next years they stay a solid partner. Our partner’s slogan is « All united for a cheaper life ». So here we are, with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, all united towards the victory! »

About Intermarché Belgium and Group Les Mousquetaires:
Intermarché is a food retailer of Group Les Mousquetaires, present in Belgium since 1991. Intermarché has almost 80 selling points, subdivided in two formats (Super and Contact), and is managed by its independent business leaders, co-deciders of the commercial policy. With a turnover of 582 million euros in 2019 and a strong growth in 2020, retailer Intermarché capitalizes in Belgium from its strengths: an offensive price policy, an increase of the sales of fresh products prepared on the spot, and a shop format in human size enabling a close proximity to its customers.

With almost 4000 selling points in Europe and a turnover of 45,33 billion euros in 2019, Group Les Mousquetaires is one of the major players in the large distribution. The Group, created in 1969, brings together almost 3000 independent business leaders and 150 000 employees. The retailers of the Group are Intermarché, Netto (food), Bricomarché, Brico Cash and Bricorama (do-it-yourself), Roady, Rapid Pare-Brise and Izyscoot (mobility). With almost 60 production sites in France, the Group is also a major actor in the food industry. Les Mousquetaires is present in Belgium, in France, in Poland and in Portugal.

About Cycling Team Wanty Gobert:
The Wanty Gobert project, directed by Jean-François Bourlart since the takeover of the club VC Ath in 2001, moved up the cycling ranks step by step to develop from the UCI Continental division (3rd international division) in 2008 to the Professional Continental Division (2nd international division) in 2011. The team continued its progression thanks to its loyal partners Wanty and Groupe Gobert, with apotheosis the succes of Enrico Gasparotto at the Amstel Gold Race in 2016, the three final victories at the UCI Europe Tour (2016, 2017, 2018), followed by three successive participations at the Tour de France (2017, 2018, 2019). After ten seasons in the waiting room of the elite, the entity Want You Cycling takes over the structure Continuum Sports, which directs the UCI WorldTeam CCC (ex-BMC Racing Team), to step up to the World Tour from 2021. The Belgian team will be entitled Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux as from the 1st of January and will consist of 27 riders from nine different countries. Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux will participate in the biggest professional cycling races like the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, but also in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix or Milano-San Remo.