Cycling: Kiwis in trouble after Cannondale Drapac suffers sponorship blow

Patrick Bevin. Photo / Getty

Two of New Zealand's leading male cyclists could be without a professional team next season.

The futures of Patrick Bevin and Tom Scully are both up in the air after their Cannondale Drapac team's sponsorship deal for 2018 fell through, leaving the squad $US7 million short of funding and facing extinction if a major sponsor is not found in the coming weeks.

Neither Bevin nor Scully have a contract for 2018, and Bevin says the news came as a shock.

"My first reaction was 'oh dear' because I didn't have a contract for next year - I had hoped to stay, I thought I was in a position where the team would have wanted to keep me. It creates an environment which makes it very hard to get a job next year," he told Radio Sport.

Bevin has had a solid 2017 season with Cannondale, finishing sixth in the Tour of Norway, claiming four top 10 finishes on the Tour de Suisse, and completing his first Tour de France in support of runner-up Rigoberto Uran.

Bevin believes that Cannondale Drapac will get the sponsorship they need, but their struggles highlight a bigger problem in cycling circles.

"Personally I think the team will be alright, there's too much there. The environment for getting sponsors in cycling is extremely hard at the best of times, so I think when you've got a team which has done what it's done, with the budget it has in the last two seasons, you look at it and go 'how does that team not go on?'

"As far as sports sponsorship goes, it's such a small amount. You'd be approaching companies and saying 'Look - this is a title sponsor spot that's going to go to all the big races in the world and has performed at the Tour de France' - I just don't believe that it's going to stop."

Despite his optimism, Bevin recognises that the late developments could leave him in difficulty if the team folds.

"Cycling's not just about getting a spot - you've got to find a place in the sport that suits you, outside of the wage coming in. It's a very delicate situation.

"[Teams] realise that there's another 30 riders on the market, and teams swoop in with low offers to get guys to sign quick. Guys like myself who are not in the top top echelon, it's a hard situation to be in when your future is so uncertain.

"Cycling is inherently up and down, this season for me says it all really. To go from getting World Tour podiums to a team folding, and a Tour de France and the world champs start, you get a bit of a rollercoaster there but that's life in professional sport."

With the Tour of Britain and world championship road race to come this month, Bevin doesn't want to be left out of the major events come 2018.

"You don't want the music to stop and not get a chair."