FROOME EAGER TO FINISH TEAM SKY ERA ON A HIGH
FOUR-TIME TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER ‘MORE DETERMINED THAN EVER’ TO SIGN OFF IN STYLE
Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has said Team Sky “plan to be together” beyond next year if possible after broadcaster Sky announced it would end its investment in the team at the end of 2019.
The broadcaster, which is the majority owner and title sponsor of the team, will bring its involvement to an end after a decade, with the announcement plunging the future of the team and its riders and staff into doubt.
It is understood Sky’s decision came as a ‘shock’ to team principal Sir Dave Brailsford, who has now set a deadline of next year’s Tour de France to seek new backing to continue the team.
Riders were told the news during their training camp in Mallorca, and were all smiles on social media during a training ride, with Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas showing off his new bike on Instagram.
Froome, who like Thomas joined Team Sky for their first season in 2010, used Twitter to thank Sky for their backing to date and to express confidence in the future.
“We are not finished yet by any means,” he wrote.
“Everyone at Team Sky has big ambitions for 2019 and this news has made us more determined than ever to make them happen.
“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 and we will all be doing everything we can to help make that happen - in different colours with a new partner but the same values, focus and desire to win.”
Sky’s decision comes after a £30billion takeover by US cable giant Comcast, though Team Sky chairman Graham McWilliam said the decision came from Sky and not the new owners.
“Now is the right time,” he wrote on Twitter. “The start of a new chapter for @ SkyCorporate is a natural moment. 12 months gives @ TeamSky time to plan for the next phase.
“The decision was taken by Sky in the last few weeks. Comcast are aware and supportive of what we have decided to do, but this is our decision not theirs. Now looking forward to a great final season with @TeamSky.”
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.
The team had appeared confident the Comcast takeover would have little impact on them, and in recent months handed new longterm contracts to Thomas and 21-year-old emerging talent Egan Bernal among others.
Wholesale changes of sponsorship and backing are common in road cycling, and Sky’s 10-year association is a long one by comparison to most.
But the likelihood of the team finding backers with the same deep pockets of Sky, who have ploughed more than £150million into the team, seems slim given the struggle other successful teams like Quick-Step Floors and BMC Racing have faced when seeking new sponsors of their own.
Sky had also sponsored British Cycling but ended a partnership, which began in 2008, at the end of 2016.