What is a trade team in cycling?
A trade team is a professional cycling team funded by commercial sponsors and named after them, as opposed to a national team that represents a country.
Almost all professional races are contested by trade teams. Sponsors, often companies from industries such as bikes, energy, banking, retail or tourism, pay for the team in exchange for visibility, and the team carries their names on its jerseys and in its title. When sponsors change, team names change too, which is why the same team can appear under different names over the years.
Trade teams pay rider salaries, run the race programme and own the riders' contracts. A rider's loyalty during the season is to the trade team.
The main exceptions are the World Championships, the Olympic Games and continental championships, which are ridden in national teams. There, riders who are rivals all year can end up as teammates for one day, and riders from the same trade team can be racing against each other.
Some events below the top level, especially for juniors and under-23 riders, also include national teams. On howtoturnpro.com teams are listed by their current sponsor names, with team pages for every WorldTeam and listings for ProTeams.