The An Post-Chainreaction team was a victim of the financial climate, ceasing last year. A return after one year was talked about. That will not now happen. But Sean Kelly said the team's continued absence from the pro peloton did not mean the end. Indeed, he was optimistic but he wanted a long term and stable sponsorship plan before coming back.
Sean Kelly has said his cycling team, formerly known as An Post-Chainreaction, would not be in the pro peloton next year.
The squad stopped at the end of last season, at which point a return after one season away was envisaged.
That would mean the team, which raced at Continental level, would need to have formed its plans by now for the 2019 season.
But Sean Kelly has told stickybottle the outfit would not be returning next season. There remained considerable uncertainty in the business world over Brexit, he said.
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Added to that, Kelly pointed out cycling was experiencing financial problems this year.
But he believed conditions would improve soon. And he was much more positive about the longer team outlook.
“At the moment it’s a ‘no’ for next year,” Sean Kelly said, but stressing a return was still planned.
“We’re hopeful and we are still have contacts (with potential sponsors). But we won’t be on the road next year.”
Kelly added the financial climate was especially tough in pro cycling at present. That had contributed greatly to the decision being taken not to bring his own team back for next year.
But he believed the current situation would pass, and when it did conditions would be more favourable for a return.
Kelly said there was no point returning unless a firm financial plan was in place. And that meant having arrangements beyond just one season.
“Over the past number of months we’ve had negotiations. But with the times that are in it at the moment; it’s difficult.”
He added QuickStep had been highly successful this year at WorldTour level and was having difficulty securing a sponsor.
BMC Racing was not continuing in its current format, Aqua Blue Sport had folded and there had also been closures on the UK scene.
Kelly pointed to One Pro Cycling and Condor-JLT as Continental teams, like his own, that had announced of late they were stopping.
“The world of cycling sponsorship is in a difficult time right now,” he said. “We looked at a few things and we decided a number of weeks ago not to go ahead next year.
“We feel it’s not the time; it’s not the moment right now,” he said, adding any return needed to be long-term.
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“If you are coming back, you have to come back on the right terms,” he explained.
“You’ve to come back with a sponsor that’s in there for a minimum of three years.
“You’d come back and start at Continental level. And then maybe is there the possibility in the (sponsorship) contract in the second or third year to go up to ProContinental?
“That’s the kind of thing we were looking at. And that sort of budget, at the moment... Brexit is the big thing for a lot of companies.”
One potential sponsor was interested in backing the team but was currently considering pulling out of the UK because Britain was leaving the EU.
Sean Kelly said the company said if they did leave the UK it would cost them a lot of money. And they did not believe they could recoup that lost money in sales.
That meant their budget had to be cut somewhere, and the advertising and sponsorship part of their spending would probably need to absorb the cost of leaving the UK.
Against that backdrop, and while the company was interested in Kelly’s team; the situation for that business this year was not conducive to starting a new sponsorship partnership with a cycling team.
“We see their point of view; that’s the reason they are waiting, and that’s only one company,” he said.
“A number (or potential sponsors) have said they don’t know what’s going to happen with Brexit. And they just prefer to wait. They have to wait, that’s their answer.”
Long history over 10 years
Sean Kelly and Kurt Bogaerts had run the team at Continental level since 2007. It was initially called Murphy & Gunn-Newlyn-M Donnelly.
But An Post came in as title sponsor for the 2008 season and remained for 10 years.
In its first season it had nine Irish riders in a 14-man roster. The Irish were Tim Cassidy, Mark Cassidy John Dempsey, Morgan Fox, Stephen Gallagher, Paul Healion, Simon Kelly, Isaac Speirs and Paidi O’Brien.
In the 11 seasons it raced at Continental level, Bogaerts did most of the managing on the road. When An Post ceased as a title sponsor 12 months ago, the team was without a backer.
Kelly and Bogaerts had been very honest and open all last year about the fact they needed a new sponsor.
And when they were unable to find one they confirmed the team would not continue in 2018.
However, a return after 12 months was spoken about. Since then the European economy has recovered somewhat, though remains challenging.
More recently Aqua Blue Sport, an Irish ProContinental team, ceased operation after just over 1½ years in existence.
And that means for the first since in 12 years Ireland now has no pro team in the peloton.
But when Kelly spoke to stickybottle he sounded optimistic his team would return. Furthermore, he did not believe coming back after a couple of seasons away would be harder than returning after one year’s absence.
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