ONE Pro Cycling move down to UCI Continental tour in 2017
Thursday 24 November 2016 16:45, UK
ONE Pro Cycling, the British team set up by former England cricketer Matt Prior, will return to the third-tier UCI Continental tour in 2017.
The squad spent their debut season, in 2015, at UCI Continental level but moved up to the second-tier UCI Pro Continental tour this year.
However, they have been forced to drop back down after their bike supplier, Factor Bikes, pulled out from the team in October and left them short on funding.
ONE Pro Cycling have since signed a three-year contract with a new bike supplier, who have not yet been named, but Prior revealed the decision to return to UCI Continental level had already been taken.
He told cyclingnews.com: "Unfortunately, our bike partner pulled out in October. That moved the goalposts and left a shortfall in our budget."
Prior said ONE Pro Cycling will aim to return to the Pro Continental tour in 2018 and still have ambitions to ride in the top-tier UCI WorldTour.
He added: "I know a lot of people will look at this as a step back and, of course, it's not the direction we wanted, but it's the direction we have to go for now. But we're not going to be a Conti team for the rest of our lives. The ambition is to go straight back up in 2018.
"We want to get to the top level; we want to get to the WorldTour."
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