A cycling team in Italy has announced its new sponsor - and it's one of the world’s biggest adult entertainment websites.
Houston, Texas-based xHamster, ranked by Alexa as one of the world’s 100 most popular websites – and the third biggest pornography site – will this season sponsor Promosport Racing, founded in 2013 by three keen cyclists.
The team, based in Moncalieri just outside Turin, mainly focuses on downhill mountain biking, including competing in the Italian Cup, and also won its regional cyclo-cross championship last year.
"[We] tend to believe that cycling, as xHamster, is all about passion, commitment and a great deal of teamwork. It`s about accepting the challenges and exceeding the limits, while working in a team of professionals whom you can undoubtedly trust. That`s the reason why we stand behind the sponsorship of Promosport Racing team", said xHamster in a press release.
Promosport Racing’s Vice President, Federicio Silvi, said, "It takes a viable brand for a viable team, and we couldn`t expect a better adding for season 2016! We are incredibly excited to have xHamster among our main sponsors".
xHamster says its “goal is to raise awareness in the community about safe sex and the health of men and women around the world.”
It's not the first time we've mentioned Italy and pornography in close proximity this week - legendary sprinter Mario Cipollini, who posted a picture of himself on Wednesday wearing a cycle helmet and little else, once said that if he hadn't become a cyclist he'd have liked to have been a porn star.
> Cipollini baits helmet lobby - by wearing one, and nothing else
Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds with his miniature schnauzer, Elodie. He fell in love with cycling one Saturday morning in 1994 while living in Italy when Milan-San Remo went past his front door. A daily cycle commuter in London back before riding to work started to boom, he's been news editor at road.cc since 2009. Handily for work, he speaks French and Italian. He doesn't get to ride his Colnago as often as he'd like, and freely admits he's much more adept at cooking than fettling with bikes.