Velocio-SRAM women's team to close at end of 2015 season

Women's team Velocio-SRAM will fold at the end of the 2015 season, manager Kristy Scrymgeour confirmed in a statement.

Following the withdrawal of HTC in 2011, Scrymgeour set up Velocio Sports and guided it through four years in the professional peloton in its former guises including Specialized-lululemon.

But when both Specialized and lululemon withdrew their sponsorship ahead of 2015, Scrymgeour stepped in with her Velocio clothing company and SRAM also came in as a title sponsor. But now Scrymgeour is stepping away to focus on other projects.

"It's been a rewarding time," Scrymgeour said in a statement. "I've really enjoyed the challenge and the people I've had the chance to work with and I'm really proud of what we've achieved over the years.

"It's especially been a pleasure to work with industry partners and media who are supportive of the women's side of the sport. The support of SRAM, Cervelo, Global Merino and all of our other sponsors has been phenomenal.

"It's exciting to see increased interest in women's cycling and I look forward to seeing that interest turn into growth and more opportunities for women in cycling in the future."

It's not the lack of results that has forced the team to come to an end - Velocio-SRAM have been one of the more successful teams this season.

Lisa Brennauer won the overall at the Women's Tour in June as well as the Energiewacht Tour in April, while Barbara Guarischi won both the Sparkassen Giro and the RideLondon women's Grand Prix.

In total the team have won 21 races this season and Scrymgeour is looking forward to the final few months of racing, with the team looking to defend their World Team Time Trial Championships crown.

"I'm excited about the future and I'm looking forward to new challenges. For now we still have two months left of exciting racing and the team is focussed on trying to defend their World TTT Championship title," she said.

"This was a hard decision for me, but I'm announcing early to give the riders a clear opportunity to find other teams for next year. I believe in these riders and I believe in women's cycling and I will continue to advocate for growth in the sport."