A handful of times a year, the pro road cyclists of the world compete in their national kits rather than their trade team ones. In the case of Slovenia\u2019s Tadej \u2018Tufts\u2019 Poga\u010dar<\/a>, that means that for the duration of his time in Wollongong he\u2019s swapped the white, black and red of UAE Team Emirates for a lime green Slovenian kit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the riders aren\u2019t repping their usual sponsors, that doesn\u2019t mean their Worlds kits are a sponsor-free zone. National federations often have their own crop of backers, and in the case of Slovenia \u2013\u00a0in pride of place across their riders\u2019 chests and backsides \u2013\u00a0is the name \u2018NiceHash\u2019, a cryptocurrency platform which is officially headquartered in the British Virgin Islands but in practical terms based in Slovenia.\u00a0<\/p>\n If a Slovenian crypto sponsor is ringing some bells for you, it\u2019s probably because of an ill-fated WorldTour sponsorship from the second half of the 2022 season. Do not fear: that was NextHash, and this is NiceHash. <\/p>\n But the two are<\/em> connected.\u00a0<\/p>\n As CyclingTips reported earlier this year<\/a>, NextHash founder Ana Ben\u010di\u010d was at one point a 35% shareholder in the soundalike, NiceHash. The latter company was facing ruin after having US$80 million of bitcoin stolen by a team of North Korean military hackers \u2013\u00a0just the tip of the crazy iceberg that is that story \u2013\u00a0and they accepted Ben\u010di\u010d\u2019s offer of investment to help right the ship.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it became clear that Ben\u010di\u010d did not actually have the investment lined up, NiceHash sued her and her affiliates leading to their removal from the company. Ben\u010di\u010d had caught the crypto bug, however, and went on to establish the similarly-named NextHash soon after. \u201cEven the choice of name for her company is a bit funny to say the least, and her published materials are very similar to NiceHash,\u201d NiceHash CMO Joe Downie told CyclingTips. \u201cWe just hope people do not confuse us [for NextHash], as we are running a profoundly different kind of business.\u201d<\/p>\n Slovenia is a small country with disproportionate clout in the cryptocurrency sector, so despite NextHash\u2019s unfortunate legacy in the sport, NiceHash was not put off. The company signed up as a major sponsor of the Slovenian Cycling Federation earlier this year, placing their brand name prominently across all disciplines of the sport for an initial term of one year. \u201cWe have been a smaller sponsor of Slovenian cycling events for a few years, and this opportunity was the next logical step,\u201d Downie told CyclingTips.\u00a0<\/p>\n The sponsorship involves the jersey placements, banners and flags on race routes, and \u201cvideo time with Rogli\u010d and Poga\u010dar for a few media campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe goals are mutually beneficial, since we are promoting both some of Slovenia\u2019s best athletes (on their side) and one of the biggest Slovenian crypto companies (on our side), and to show that crypto is no longer in the shadows, but receives legitimate, mainstream attention and is beneficial to everyone,\u201d Downie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While NiceHash\u2019s partnership with the Slovenian Cycling Federation appears to be going off without a hitch, NextHash\u2019s legacy in the sport is far more mixed.\u00a0The Team Qhubeka-NextHash team it sponsored folded at the end of 2021, with team boss Doug Ryder currently working on a return to the upper divisions of the sport. Of NextHash\u2019s missing sponsorship payments, Ryder told CyclingTips today that \u201cwe are trying to resolve things and have had contact.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cyclingtips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1427041779-1340x893.jpg\")
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