Cannondale-Drapac team seeks new sponsors for 2018 season

Cannondale-Drapac, the American WorldTour team, have announced that they are in need of new financial support for the 2018 season and beyond.

The team - which is home to American stars like Andrew Talansky and Taylor Phinney, as well as British talent Hugh Carthy - has admitted that their budget is "extremely limited" and new cash injection is required to maintain a top-tier UCI outfit and to be competitive.

Slipstream Sports, the owner of the team, has never denied that the financial budget is substantially less than that of other teams such as Sky, and so the team's announcement is not a surprise.

Just last month, the team's CEO Jonathan Vaughters alluded to the need for more cash injection, saying that "if we want to make it to the next level, we need to find (additional sponsors) willing to see the vision of what this can be."

The team have gone under various guises in recent years to ensure that they can continue to race at the highest level, and it would appear than Cannondale are looking to withdraw from title sponsorship next year, but also maintain a relationship with the Argyle team

In a statement, Slipstream Sports said: "Cannondale is not only a sponsor of the team but also a major owner of Slipstream Sports.

"And while Cannondale wishes to continue as a major financial backer, we are actively looking for additional sponsors.

"The team's budget is extremely limited and has been for several years, forcing cuts in areas such as sport science and aerodynamic testing.

"In order to provide the proper level of support to our riders, we will continue to search for further backing."

There is no hint, however, that Drapac - who only came on board last June before the Tour de France - are planning on pulling their co-sponsorship.

Talasnky's win on stage five of the recent Amgen Tour of California was the Argyle team's first WorldTour victory in over two years; a few days later, Pierre Rolland won stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia.