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| Bahrain–Merida | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bahrain–Merida |
| Code | BHR |
| Registered | Bahrain |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Discipline | Road |
| Status | UCI WorldTeam |
| Generalmanager | Rodolfo_Alcalá |
| Teammanager | Brent_Copeland |
| Bicycles | Merida |
Bahrain–Merida is a UCI WorldTeam professional Bahrain-registered road cycling team formed in 2017. The team competed on the UCI WorldTour circuit at events such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, and the UCI Road World Championships. Backed by Bahraini ownership and Taiwanese equipment sponsorship, the squad attracted elite personnel from teams including Team Sky, Movistar Team, Team Sunweb, Trek–Segafredo, and Astana–Premier Tech.
The squad was launched amid negotiations involving figures from Bahrain Ministry of Youth and Sport, Merida Bikes, and investor stakeholders associated with companies such as Bridgestone and Aruquet Group. Early roster construction drew riders from Astana, Katusha–Alpecin, BMC Racing Team, Dimension Data, and Team LottoNL–Jumbo, including transfers that echoed moves involving Vincenzo Nibali, Fabio Aru, Nibali 2016, and personnel with links to Ryder Hesjedal. Management hires included directors with resumes at Cannondale–Garmin, Team Columbia–High Road, Lampre–Merida, and Liquigas. The team’s WorldTour license was secured through the Union Cycliste Internationale process and later subjected to scrutiny during UCI ethics reviews.
The team identity combined Bahraini national branding with corporate sponsorship from Merida, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, McLaren Applied Technologies (technology partnerships), and partners such as Santini Maglificio Sportivo (apparel), Vision Metron, and DT Swiss in wheel collaborations. Livery designs referenced motifs used by Bahrain Petroleum Company and featured production partnerships with Shimano, SRAM, Garmin, and Polar Electro. Marketing campaigns were coordinated with agencies that previously worked with Sky Sports, Eurosport, Movistar Team sponsors, and regional promoters associated with Tour of Oman and Abu Dhabi Tour events. The sponsorship structure mirrored arrangements seen at Team Sky and BMC Racing Team where sovereign wealth and corporate investment interfaced with equipment manufacturers.
Over multiple seasons the roster included stage racers, climbers, time trial specialists, and domestiques recruited from squads such as Team Katusha, FDJ–Groupama, Lotto Soudal, Bora–Hansgrohe, Ag2r La Mondiale, Cofidis, and Caja Rural–Seguros RGA. Notable signings came from Astana–Pro Team and Team UAE Abu Dhabi pipelines, alongside neo-pros who graduated from development teams like Jumbo–Visma Development Team and SEG Racing Academy. Selection strategies targeted Classics riders who had performed at Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and preparation races such as Paris–Nice and Tirreno–Adriatico.
Bahrain–Merida recorded stage victories at Grand Tours including the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, and won overall classifications at week-long events such as Tirreno–Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country, and the Tour de Suisse. Successes included podiums at UCI Road World Championships team time trial events and national championships across Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Australia. The team contested Monument races like Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, and Giro di Lombardia, and achieved top-ten finishes at the UCI WorldTour rankings and the UCI World Ranking lists in several seasons.
Riders and staff associated with the team had prior links to prominent cycling figures and institutions including Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, Tom Dumoulin, Rigoberto Urán, and Mikel Landa. Sporting directors and coaches included names formerly at Team Sky, Movistar Team, BMC Racing Team, Astana–Premier Tech, and Dimension Data. The support staff collaborated with physiologists and performance analysts connected to Loughborough University programs, ASO event organizers, and technical partners such as SRAM RED development teams. Rider development saw alumni move between WorldTour teams and national programs like Italian Cycling Federation and Royal Spanish Cycling Federation.
Bicycles were supplied by Merida and built around frames used in Grand Tours, equipped with groupsets from Shimano Dura-Ace, SRAM, or Campagnolo depending on season agreements. Wheels and components came from suppliers including DT Swiss, Zipp, Fulcrum, and Mavic. Apparel was produced by Santini and integrated wearable tech from Garmin and Wahoo Fitness for race telemetry. The team used wind-tunnel testing facilities associated with McLaren Applied Technologies and aerodynamic consultants formerly engaged by Team Sky and INEOS Grenadiers.
The team faced scrutiny amid the broader context of anti-doping enforcement involving agencies like UCI, WADA, National Anti-Doping Organizations, and individual cases paralleling investigations that implicated riders across teams including Astana, Katusha–Alpecin, Lampre–Merida, Tinkoff–Saxo, and Team Sky. High-profile incidents prompted internal reviews, engagement with external auditors formerly contracted by WADA and UCI, and cooperation with national federations such as the Italian Cycling Federation and Spanish Cycling Federation. Media coverage by outlets including Cyclingnews, VeloNews, La Gazzetta dello Sport, and L'Equipe documented accusations, provisional suspensions, biological passport anomalies, and legal proceedings involving personnel linked to multiple WorldTour organizations.