Having been set up with the goal of riding the Tour de France by 2015, that ambition and indeed the PureBlack Racing team’s 2012 international racing goals have crumbled. The team told its riders this weekend that it didn’t have the funding for next season, and has now made things official with an announcement of the situation.
“Tough economic conditions combined with the impact of the Rugby World Cup and the Christchurch disaster have made it a really tough year to raise funding for emerging sports like cycling and international programmes like PureBlack Racing,” said the business director Greg Cross.
“We have proven we have the talent, management and technical expertise. What we don’t have at the moment is the financial support. This weekend we have had to tell our team that we don't have the funding in place to commit to our planned next step in 2012 at this stage and ultimately this could mean our most exciting road cycling talent will continue to be lost offshore.”
Riders such as Tim Gudsell (pictured) have been left high and dry; the former FDJ rider took up a place with the team this year and won the Tour of Somerville plus netted second behind team-mate Scott Lyttle on the first stage of Tour de Beauce in Canada.
Gudsell spoke about his season to VeloNation in October, saying that he intended staying with the team in 2012, believing it was his best route towards his medium-term goal of returning to the UCI WorldTour. Sadly his plans and those of his team-mates are up in the air at the moment.
“Still can't quite believe I no longer have a job for next year,” he said on Twitter earlier today. “Anyone know of anything out there?” His team-mate Joe Lewis also used the medium to post a similar message.
According to Cross, the team showed its worth during 2011. “During the course of the year, PureBlack Racing demonstrated what the team is capable of winning major races, stages, tours and jerseys against experienced and established Pro cycling teams,” he said. “Now a growing number of hard earned invitations to major international events may not be taken up in 2012. This will be a huge disappointment to the team, its sponsors and its many friends and supporters.
“Supporting outstanding young New Zealand talent is critical to the future of this country. In a global sport like cycling where we punch way above our weight we need to be retaining and developing our own riders and utilising them to promote the great qualities of New Zealand and our companies and brands on the international stage.”
Funding in the first season came from its foundation sponsors and individual shareholders. One of the backers have been the Avanti bike company; its founder and managing director John Struthers said that he was sorry to see that the necessary backing hasn’t been secured for 2012.
“While our level of support has been at a far higher level than originally anticipated, as we helped to bridge the funding gaps until more sponsor partners came onboard, it’s still been a fantastic experience for Avanti Bicycles to be part of the PureBlack Racing journey,” he stated. “Greg Cross, Carl Williams and the team have done an amazing job representing us on the world cycling stage.
“The team has earned and deserves all of our support and it’s upsetting to see such talent and results not translate to broader commercial support. We can reflect on all the team has achieved so far with enormous pride.”
It is not immediately clear if the setup will continue on a national level or if the team will completely stop.