Canyon SRAM has terminated its partnership agreement with zondacrypto with immediate effect, citing breaches of contract, as the Women’s WorldTour team moves into what it describes as a “new chapter” ahead of the Giro d’Italia Women.
The team confirmed the decision on 29th May, one day before the Giro d’Italia Women begins in Italy. Effective immediately, the WorldTour squad will race as Canyon SRAM, while its development team will be known as Canyon SRAM Generation.
The announcement follows a period of serious uncertainty around zondacrypto, which had become title sponsor of the team at the start of 2025. The cryptocurrency exchange had become caught up in an escalating legal, financial and political controversy in Poland, with allegations around fraud, money laundering, political links and alleged Russian organised crime connections creating reputational and commercial questions for the team. Those allegations remain subject to legal process, and zondacrypto had denied key claims around Russian mafia links and its financial position.
Canyon SRAM say long-term stability remains secure
Canyon SRAM said the termination followed breaches of contract, but did not provide further public detail on the specific terms involved. The team said it had respected “all contractual obligations and legal procedures” before ending the agreement.
Team manager Ronny Lauke said the organisation was now ready to move on.
“We have respected all contractual obligations and legal procedures, but are now happy to draw a line and move forward,” Lauke said. “Our focus is entirely on what comes next.”
The team also moved to reassure riders, staff, partners and supporters that the end of the zondacrypto deal does not threaten its future. Canyon SRAM said its long-term stability “remains assured”, with its wider foundations and partner base giving it confidence for the next phase.
“Over many years, we have built a strong organisation backed by visionary partners, experienced staff, and talented riders who all believe in what this team stands for,” Lauke said. “For more than 10 years, we have proven on the world’s biggest stages that the team is built to perform at the highest level and built to last. That gives us even greater confidence moving forward.”
Branding transition to be completed by August
The operational change is already underway, although the team has acknowledged that a full transition will take time.
Branding updates across digital platforms, equipment, team clothing and formal UCI processes have begun and are expected to be fully completed by 1st August 2026. That means the team could remain visually in transition during the early part of the summer, depending on how quickly kit, bikes, digital assets and official registrations are updated.
For now, the key naming change is immediate. The WorldTour squad will be Canyon SRAM, while the development team returns to the Canyon SRAM Generation identity.
That matters because zondacrypto had been more than a secondary logo. It was part of the team’s registered identity and was attached to both the WorldTour squad and wider development structure. Removing it mid-season therefore requires more than simply taking a sponsor mark off a jersey.
A team built around more than one sponsor
Canyon SRAM used the announcement to restate the wider achievements and structure of the team, making clear that it sees the end of the zondacrypto partnership as a reset rather than a retreat.
The team pointed to more than a decade at the top of women’s cycling, including an overall victory at the Tour de France Femmes, multiple world championship titles and the creation of both the Zwift Academy pathway and Canyon SRAM Generation.
Those development projects have become part of the team’s identity. The Generation squad was the first development team of its kind to sit alongside a Women’s WorldTour programme, giving Canyon SRAM a more structured route for identifying and progressing talent from outside the most traditional pathways.
That broader structure is why the team is able to present this as a difficult but manageable change. Losing a title partner mid-season would be destabilising for any team, particularly in women’s cycling, but Canyon SRAM’s message is that its sporting and operational base remains intact.
Giro d’Italia Women becomes immediate focus
The timing of the announcement makes the Giro d’Italia Women the first major test of the team’s post-zondacrypto identity. The race begins on 30th May, with Canyon SRAM naming stage wins and general classification ambitions across northern Italy as immediate targets.
The Giro also adds a visible layer to the situation because zondacrypto had wider links within women’s cycling. The race has listed the Maglia Rosa, the leader’s jersey, as sponsored by zondacrypto, while Canyon SRAM zondacrypto had also been listed among the teams for the 2026 edition. That created questions around how sponsor visibility might be handled if the company’s legal and financial issues developed further.
The team’s decision now removes zondacrypto from Canyon SRAM’s own identity before the Giro starts. It does not, by itself, clarify the position of any separate race sponsorship linked to the Giro d’Italia Women.
On the road, Canyon SRAM will want the conversation to shift quickly back to performance. The team has stated that its ambitions to fight for overall victory at WorldTour level remain unchanged, including at this year’s Tour de France Femmes.
Canyon SRAM Generation also affected
The development squad is also part of the transition. Canyon SRAM Generation is currently on a three-week racing break after podium performances across three stage races in the Czech Republic and Austria.
Its next race is scheduled for 12th June at the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, where the Col du Tourmalet is expected to feature. That gives the Generation riders a little more time before returning to competition under the refreshed branding.
For the development team, the continuity message is important. Canyon SRAM Generation has been a major part of the team’s long-term vision, and any sponsorship disruption could have raised concern about whether that pathway would be affected. The team’s announcement suggests the project will continue under the same structure, just without the zondacrypto name.
A clean break before the biggest summer targets
The legal and commercial language in the statement is careful, but the sporting message is clear. Canyon SRAM wants this to be understood as a clean break before the biggest block of the season.
Lauke said the team was entering the next phase with confidence.
“We are moving into this next chapter with huge excitement for what lies ahead,” he said. “We are motivated to deliver on our ambitions this season and beyond, while continuing to shape the future of women’s cycling together.”
The decision brings an end to a title sponsorship that had quickly become one of the most uncomfortable stories around the women’s peloton. For Canyon SRAM, the priority now is to protect the team’s sporting focus, complete the operational transition and move through the Giro d’Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes with as little disruption as possible.
