IN BRIEF
Cannondale is leaving Connecticut, where the brand has been based since its founding in 1971: it announced the move on 21 October to its employees and dealers. Velo reports that the global headquarters is moving to Woudenberg, in the Netherlands, that R&D and engineering remain in Freiburg, Germany, and that sales and operations are moving to Santa Cruz, California. Its activities there will be combined with those of Santa Cruz and Cervélo, two other brands of the Dutch group Pon.Bike. The closure will take place over six months and will be complete by mid-2027. Bicycle Retailer, cited by Velo, reports that a letter sent to Connecticut’s labour authorities lists 143 employees who may be affected.
After more than fifty years in Connecticut, Cannondale is moving. The brand announced on 21 October to its employees and dealers that it was closing its operations in the US state and moving to California, Velo reports. Velo adds that Cannondale’s global headquarters is moving to Woudenberg, in the Netherlands, and that R&D and engineering remain in Freiburg, Germany.
Cannondale joins Santa Cruz and Cervélo
Velo explains that the move to Santa Cruz is meant to bring Cannondale’s sales and operations closer to the other brands of its parent company, Pon.Bike: Santa Cruz and Cervélo are based in California, and their activities will be combined with Cannondale’s. “The aim is to make it easier for retailers to work with Cannondale and access more of the Pon.Bike portfolio,” the company said in a media statement. Velo says that outside sales representatives will become dealers’ single point of contact for the three brands, Santa Cruz, Cervélo and Cannondale. The company insists that “Each brand will retain its own identity, models and relationship with riders.”
143 employees affected, closure by mid-2027
Bicycle Retailer, Velo’s sister publication, reports that a letter filed on Wednesday with the Connecticut Department of Labor lists 143 employees who may be affected. “The entire office will be closed and almost all employees there will be impacted,” writes Maggie Lansdale, global vice president of People for Cycling Sports Group, Cannondale’s business unit within Pon. The closure will take place over the next six months and will be complete by mid-2027, with some employees staying until 2027.
After Almelo, Pon.Bike keeps consolidating
Velo notes that Cannondale has been based in Connecticut since its founding in 1971, and that it has belonged to Pon.Bike since 2022, when the group bought Dorel Sports and its brands, including Schwinn. In June, Bicycle Retailer reported that Pon.Bike would close Cannondale’s Almelo factory in the Netherlands at the end of 2027, a Cannondale-only production site taken over from Dorel in 2022; production is to move to the group’s three other European factories.
