Brailsford defiant as Sky ends sponsorship

CYCLING: Team principal confident despite loss of funding in 2019

The future of Team Sky is in doubt after their principal backer announced it would end its ownership and sponsorship at the end of 2019.

Team Sky have been among the most successful teams in the sport over their nine-year history to date, winning 322 races, including eight Grand Tours.

They delivered the first ever British winner of the Tour de France in Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and have gone on to win six of the last seven editions.

But yesterday Sky announced it would walk away next year, with the decision coming in the wake of a £30billion takeover by US cable TV company Comcast earlier this year.

Team Sky had appeared confident that takeover would have little impact on them, and in recent months handed new long-term contracts to Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and 21-year-old emerging talent Egan Bernal.

It is understood Sky’s decision came as a shock to Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford, with staff and riders told during a training camp in Mallorca.

In a statement, Brailsford indicated the team would look for new partners.

He said: “We aren’t finished yet by any means. 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.”

The likelihood of the team finding backers with the same deep pockets of Sky, who made them the best funded in the sport, seems slim given the struggle other successful teams like Quick-Step Floors and BMC Racing have faced when seeking new sponsors of their own.

The budget afforded to Team Sky, founded in 2010, was estimated to be around £37million last season.

Geraint Thomas, above, and Sir Bradley Wiggins have both won the Tour de France with Team Sky.