The Geox-TMC team looks set to stop at the end of the year after its main sponsor pulled out at the eleventh hour. The squad’s management have been filing paperwork with the UCI as part of the registration process to ride in 2012 but when the matter of depositing the bank guarantee for the 2012 season arose the sponsor Geox refused to provide the necessary funding. Without this the team cannot continue.
Ag2r-La Mondiale are in the UCI World Tour. This status guarantees the French team entry to all the big races. But this position is under review given their low rankings.
To summarise, any team sitting in 14-18th place in the UCI’s internal rankings sees the position in the top flight under review. Right now Ag2r, the new Lotto-Ridley team, Katusha and Geox sit in this “relegation zone”. Dropping down to Pro Continental status is not automatic, simply the position reviewed and set against the arrival of new applicants.
A lot has been made about the trend of teams to adopt blue and black colours for this year. It’s almost symbolic of the sport’s bruised and battered status. But there are practical considerations, fans watching on TV can struggle to struggle to identify riders and teams. Indeed Peter Stetina joked about Team Sky and … Read more