Just days before Monday’s start date for signing and naming new riders, the GreenEdge team was shaken by the news that chief executive Mike McKay has resigned over differences with team owner Gerry Ryan.
"We're both successful and proud people with high standards and expectations, but ultimately we think differently in our approach to the business," McKay said in a statement released Thursday. “It's best to part ways early so that everyone can achieve their respective objectives. Securing a professional cycling licence will be a historical moment for Australian sport.”
McKay is a former double Olympic rowing champion who was appointed to the role of helping develop Australia’s first WorldTour level team. He elaborated on the reasons for his move in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday, speaking about what he termed “significant differences of opinion” with team owner Gerry Ryan.
He said that Ryan is a “highly entrepreneurial person but someone who didn't always agree with my views.
''I had my views on standards and expectations, and Gerry had his. It's pretty much as simple as that. I still believe in the project, but as chief executive, I had some responsibilities I wanted to fulfil.”
He added that he wasn’t sure if things would continue in the way that they are, and said that it left him ‘in no doubt that it was important to part ways as quickly as possible.” He said that Ryan and others could now concentrate on ensuring that they got the licence.
Speaking to VeloNation last week, director sportif Neil Stephens said that things were going to plan with regards to the team’s preparations for next season, as well as its recruitment drive. In the video interview he pointed out that the team had several vehicles at the Tour de France, including a large bus which will be used to transport the riders next season, and that these showed that the team was serious about its project.
“We are working pretty hard. There’s a lot of work to be done, trying to meet the deadlines of the UCI, trying to make sure the structures are up and going,” he said then. “That seems to be going well at this stage. We are hopeful that we will be able to get a ProTour licence for next year and be in the big races like the Tour de France.”
He, Ryan and others will hope that McKay’s resignation will not significantly impact the rate of progress.