Team Sky to end after 2019 as broadcaster withdraws from cycling to leave Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas futures in doubt

Sky has announced that they will withdraw from cycling at the end of 2019, ending their ownership and sponsorship of Team Sky and throwing the team that has taken Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins to Tour de France victory into major doubt.

The team, which is run by team principal Dave Brailsford and has come under growing scrutiny for the way they have conducted themselves during their nine-year existence, will only continue beyond next year if they can find a new backer to compete under a different name, leaving the futures of Froome and Thomas uncertain.

Team Sky first competed in 2010 and achieved its first Tour success with Wiggins in 2012, before Froome claimed his maiden title the following year. With Froome going on to win four Tours before Welsh rider Thomas claimed victory in this year’s event, Team Sky have triumphed in six of the last seven Tour de France events, though it has not gone without controversy.

It emerged in October 2016 that the UK Anti-Doping Agency (Ukad) were investigating Team Sky over the delivery of a jiffy bag to Wiggins during the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine, the contents of which were unknown at the time of the investigation.

When later questioned by the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) select committee, Brailsford claimed that the jiffy bag contained the legal decongestant Fluimucil, a medicine that was readily available in France yet flown from Manchester with Dr Richard Freeman instead – Brailsford was also unable to provide substantive proof of his Fluimucil claim.

A year later, UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead revealed that Dr Freeman had not kept proper records of the prescription drugs that he administered to riders while working with Team Sky, with an investigation eventually leading to Freeman claiming his laptop that held all of the records was stolen in Greece while on holiday in 2014.

The scrutiny came to a head when the DCMS committee accused both Team Sky and Wiggins of crossing “an ethical line” in their use of Therapeutical Use Exeptions (TUEs) to use performance-enhancing drugs ahead of the 2012 Tour.

The team were also embroiled in controversy last year when four-time Tour winner Froome – who also became the first man to hold all three Grand Tour titles at the same time – failed a drugs test when a urine sample indicated that he had exceeded the permitted dosage of Salbutamol, an asthma medication.

But a UCI investigation cleared Froome of any wrongdoing and were satisfied with Team Sky’s explanation.

Sky have insisted that the controversies have not played a part in the decision, and staff were told on Tuesday that the partnership has reached its “natural conclusion” after what will be 10 years on the road together.

Brailsford was understood to have been shocked by the decision when informed last week, while the Team’s riders discovered the withdrawal on Tuesday night at their training camp in Mallorca.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s group chief executive, said: “We came into cycling with the aim of using elite success to inspire greater participation at all levels. After more than a decade of involvement, I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved with Team Sky and our long-standing partners at British Cycling. But the end of 2019 is the right time for us to move on as we open a new chapter in Sky’s story and turn our focus to different initiatives including our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign.

“I’d like to pay a special tribute to Dave Brailsford and the immensely talented team of riders and staff he has assembled at Team Sky. What they have achieved together would have been beyond the dreams of many just a few years ago. We thank you for joining with us on this journey and look forward to enjoying our last season of racing together.”

Brailsford added: “The vision for Team Sky began with the ambition to build a clean, winning team around a core of British riders and staff. The team’s success has been the result of the talent, dedication and hard work of a remarkable group of people who have constantly challenged themselves to scale new heights of performance. None of this would have been possible without Sky. We are proud of the part we have played in Britain’s transformation into a cycling nation over the last decade.

“While Sky will be moving on at the end of next year, the Team is open minded about the future and the potential of working with a new partner, should the right opportunity present itself. For now, I would like to thank all Team Sky riders and staff, past and present - and above all the fans who have supported us on this adventure.

“We aren’t finished yet by any means. There is another exciting year of racing ahead of us and we will be doing everything we can to deliver more Team Sky success in 2019.”