Several new pro cycling sponsorship deals have been announced in the last couple weeks. The first was a commitment from Deloitte – the international accounting and consultancy firm – to be a new “gold” sponsor for the newly named Dimension Data-Qhubeka team. Then the German grocery chain Lidl made a commitment to add funding to the Etixx-QuickStep team. These two events share a common thread: the investments were needed to bring specific riders on board. Deloitte believes that Mark Cavendish and his key lead-out men can bring multiple wins and exposure for its brand name, while Lidl seems to think Marcel Kittel can do the same for them. Team sponsorship is the critical financial under-pinning of professional cycling, and it is always something of an economic gamble. Sponsors come and go with alarming regularity; neither of the above-mentioned teams have the same sponsors today that...