Supermarket giant Intermarché has joined the Circus-Wanty-Gobert team, which is taking over the World Tour license of the CCC team, as the new title sponsor.

As of January 1, the Belgian team will be known as Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, and Circus will no longer be the title sponsor, but will remain as a patron since UCI regulations (2.15.055) limit world team title sponsorship to a maximum of three companies The circus will remain as a sponsor because UCI regulations (2.15.055) limit the number of world team title sponsors to three.

Intermarche is part of Groupement les Mousquetaires in France, but has also had a store in Belgium since 1991 and currently has 78 stores, mainly in the southern French-speaking Walloon region. [Cycling is one of the most popular sports in Belgium. We experience it all over the city. The race takes place on our doorstep," Alain Bourg, chairman of Intermarché Belgium, said in Thursday's announcement.

"Team Wanty Gobert embodies our shared value of 'proximity,' but also a true team spirit and friendliness, just like our selling point. So we are proud to be their title partner"

. [The team, run by Jean-François Bourlart and Hilaire Van Der Schueren, was formed in 2008 and has competed in the Pro Cycling 2 division for the past 10 years, has been invited to most of the spring classics, and from 2017 to 2019 They also competed in the Tour de France.

Next year, the team will step up to the World Tour and will no longer have to rely on invited riders due to the increased budget of Intermarché. The team's holding company, Won't You Cycling, has taken over Continuum Sports, which ran the CCC team and held the World Tour license. Director Jim Ochowicz continued with the team, and three riders moved on.

"With Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Matériault, we are ready to write the first lines of a new chapter in the history of our cycling team," said Brullard.

"Thanks to the acquisition of Continuum Sports, we have reached a new sporting milestone in the history of our team. So we are very happy to be able to count on Intermarche's support for the next three seasons. We would like to thank Circus and all our historical partners. Circus will disappear from the team name, but will remain a solid partner in the years to come. Our partner slogan is "All united for a cheaper life". So here we are. Together with Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Matériault, we are united for victory."

Jan Hilt, Georg Zimmermann, and Jonas Koch are the riders moving from the CCC, and the team has signed former Tour de France top-10 finisher Louis Maintus. Also joining the team were Rein Taaramäe from Total Direct Energie, Lorenzo Rota from Vini-Zabu-KTM, and Baptiste Planckaert from Bingoal WB.

The team currently has 27 riders under contract for 2021, with five more available if needed.