Thought this might be of interest...
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Team Sky are looking for new owners from the end of 2019, and Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are potentially looking for new teams altogether, with the news that Sky Plc is to end its longstanding involvement in professional cycling at the end of next year.
In a massive development for the sport - although one that is not entirely unexpected - Team Sky put out a press release on Wednesday morning announcing the news.
It is understood that Sir Dave Brailsford, Team Sky’s principal, was informed last week. The riders, including the four-time Tour champion Chris Froome and this this year’s yellow jersey winner Geraint Thomas, were told at the team’s winter training camp in Majorca.
Brailsford had always maintained that Sky’s future was secure - and he was certainly acting as if that was the case.
Thomas only signed a new multi-year deal this autumn, with Egan Bernal - Team Sky’s young Colombian starlet - also signing a new five-year deal.
Earlier this summer, Sir Dave Brailsford’s team agreed a lease at the Manchester Institute of Health & Performance, a few hundred metres from the national velodrome where they have been based since the team’s inception in 2009. The lease is understood to be long term - at least five years, which would take it up to the end of what was being spoken about as Team Sky’s “secured funding cycle” of 2024.
It is fascinating news - particularly given McLaren’s announcement that it is to enter the sport next year - but perhaps not entirely surprising.
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