NTT Pro Cycling Team announced that it has partnered with Virtue Cycling, led by Bjarne Riis, with Riis and partners Lars Thayer Christensen and Jan Beck Andersen taking a one-third stake.

Riis has been named UCI World Team Director and has sunk to the bottom of the world rankings (just above the now defunct Katusha-Alpecin), with only one WorldTour victory in 2019, a stage win at the Criterium du Dauphiné by Edvald Boasson Hagen to try to rectify the situation.

Team founder and president Douglas Ryder praised the agreement, calling it an "important moment" in the team's history and future.

"The expertise and breadth of experience that Bjarne Riis will provide to support the development of the sport through our unique technology-driven performance approach will be of tremendous significance," Ryder said.

"I believe this partnership will help the entire team to achieve great results," he added, optimistically believing it will help the team "become one of the best in the world" in a few years.

A retired professional cyclist and Tour de France winner, Ries formed Team CSC, Saxo Bank, and Tinkoff-Saxo. He signed riders such as Laurent Jalabert and Tyler Hamilton and took the team to the top level.

Jalabert took the team's first stage win and mountains prize at the 2001 Tour de France, and Hamilton took the team's first Grand Tour podium at the 2002 Giro d'Italia. After Jalabert retired, Ries recruited Carlos Sastre, who went on to win the Tour de France in 2008. After Hamilton left, Riis acquired Ivan Basso and Frank & Andy Schleck.

Ries' team also included charismatic figures such as Jens Voigt, Fabian Cancellara, Dave Zabriskie, Brad Magee, and Stuart O'Grady, but was also plagued by doping cases such as Bo Hamburger's positive EPO and Ivan Basso's involvement in Operacion Puerto were also plagued by doping cases such as.

Reese also had a controversial side. As the cycling world tried to right itself after Operacion Puerto, Reese was pressured by revelations in a book by former Soigner Jeff DeHon that he had used performance-enhancing drugs such as EPO, growth hormone, and cortisone during his career, including 1996 when he won the Tour He admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs such as EPO, growth hormone, and cortisone during his career, including his 1996 Tour victory. This admission cost him his title sponsor, but thanks to Lars Seel Christensen of Saxo Bank, he found a replacement and spearheaded the internal doping controls that were eventually replaced by the UCI Biological Passport.

However, cracks began to appear in 2010, as Saxo Bank entered its last year as a sponsor. The team signed Alberto Contador, and the Schleck brothers, Cancellara, Voigt, O'Grady, and DS Kim Andersen moved to the new Leopard Trek in 2011 In 2012, Oleg Tinkov became the team's new sponsor. The following year, Tinkoff bought the team and continued Riis as manager, but the conflict eventually ousted him.

Riis founded the Virtue Cycling organization with Thayer and set up a men's continental team, a women's team, and ventures in travel, business team building, and sportswear with the express goal of attracting World Tour teams to Denmark. He had ties to Patrick Lefebvre's Deceuninck Quickstep team and Igor Makarov's Katusha Alpecin team, and with NTT, Riis could finally realize at least a third of Virtue's dream.

"This is a proud moment for our organization Virtue Cycling and we are very excited about this partnership and its potential. We believe that together we can build the best cycling team in the world based on our years of experience in the World Tour, performance and technology. [We had in-depth and productive discussions and meetings with Doug Ryder about the team's future and potential. I am really looking forward to our collaboration and taking on the sporting leadership of the team in this new structure."

"I have nothing but admiration for what Doug has built and accomplished with this team from starting at the continental level to becoming a WorldTour team, his contributions to cycling, and his work and support for the Qhubeka charity. I believe that together we can take this team to the next level and make it a team that everyone, riders and staff, will want to be a part of."