Team Sky will cease to exist as sponsorship stops

British broadcasting giant Sky will withdraw from cycling at the end of the 2019 season, ending their sponsorship of the very successful Team Sky. The team said it could continue to race under a different name should a new backer be found for 2020.

"The end of 2019 is the right time for us to move on as we open a new chapter in Sky's story and turn our focus to different initiatives including our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign," Sky Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch said.

Team Sky was founded in 2010 and since then, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and most recently Geraint Thomas, all won the Tour de France in a spell that saw the team amass 322 overall victories.

However, Team Sky has also been subject to allegations of doping violations, suffered scrutiny over medical exemptions and been accussed of applying tactics that stifled racing. Froome, Wiggins and Sky have consistently denied wrong-doing.

"We aren't finished yet by any means,"  team manager Dave Brailsford said in a statement. "There is another exciting year of racing ahead of us and we will be doing everything we can to deliver more Team Sky success in 2019."

Froome also responded to the news, posting the following on Twitter: "I can't predict the future but I can say this with absolute certainty, this is a really special team... We plan to be together in 2020 if at all possible."

jh/mp (dpa, AFP, Reuters)