Kern Pharma confirmed on Monday that it will end its title sponsorship of Spanish UCI ProTeam Equipo Kern Pharma at the close of the 2026 season, leaving the development-focused squad in need of a new backer for 2027.
The Catalan pharmaceutical company said it would redirect resources towards "other commercial activities, more adapted to the current needs of our business," while describing the project as sufficiently mature for new partners to step in. The withdrawal does not affect the current season. Equipo Kern Pharma's UCI ProTeam licence for 2026 was confirmed by the UCI in December, and the team holds a wildcard invitation to La Vuelta a España later this year.
The statement said both parties had been working on an orderly transition since the last contract renewal.
Kern Pharma's involvement began in 2020, when the team launched as a UCI Continental squad built around young riders developed within the Asociación Deportiva Galibier structure. The sponsor's financial commitment grew steadily across seven seasons as the team stepped up to ProTeam level, establishing a pipeline from grassroots cycling to the professional peloton.
Equipo Kern Pharma won three stages at the 2024 Vuelta a España as a wildcard entry, the most for an invited team at the race since 2012.
"The current moment of the project, consolidated and with a new participation in La Vuelta, is ideal for other companies to get involved," Raúl Díaz-Varela, president and CEO of Kern Pharma, said.
Juanjo Oroz, co-owner of the team's management company Azcoro Sport, said: "We are very grateful to Kern Pharma for their support and contribution in this stage of our project, which has allowed us to make many of our dreams come true and inspire the public."
Kern Pharma will retain a link to the sport through its Finisher brand, which supports athlete development and will continue backing the team's feeder squad, Equipo Finisher. Four riders were promoted from that development team to the 21-rider senior roster ahead of this season.
The loss of several graduates to WorldTour and rival ProTeam squads after 2025, including riders moving to Bahrain Victorious, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Euskaltel-Euskadi, demonstrating the team's role in developing riders and the difficulty of keeping them at the ProTeam level.
Whether the team can secure a replacement title sponsor before the 2027 registration cycle remains an open question.
Cover image credit: Aurélien Vialatte
