Oleg Tinkov has revealed that Tinkoff Bank "will end its sponsorship and that he will sell the team" at the end of the '16 season, according to Stephen Farrand of CYCLING NEWS. The Russian businessman explained that "he made the decision for both commercial and personal reasons." Tinkoff Bank has "achieved its marketing goals after five years as a sponsor and Tinkov is angry and disappointed that nobody has supported his attempts to change the business model of professional cycling and reduce teams’ dependency on sponsorship." Team CEO Stefano Feltrin is "working to find new sponsorship and a new owner for the team," with the goal of obtaining a new three-year WorldTour licence for '17 until '20 but "if no backer is found the team will disappear after next season." Tinkov said, "All the contracts and sponsorships are in place for 2016 but it will be the last season in the sport for Tinkoff Bank and for me. There are two main reasons for my decision and I hope people will understand them and then reflect on why professional cycling has lost a guy who has spent over €60 million and who loves the sport. First of all, Tinkoff Bank has sponsored the team for five years and from a marketing point of view that's enough. ... That's the logical, business side of my decision. ... I’ve decided to sell the team and quit the sport because I’ve realized nobody wants to work with me to help change the business model of the sport. In the last two or three years I’ve tried to fight with ASO and the UCI, I’ve tried to find new revenue streams via TV rights, merchandise sales and tickets sales but nobody really supported me and wanted to take a strong stand with me." Tinkov also "pointed the finger" at the UCI for failing to change the structure of professional cycling, dismissing its "recently announced plans to give three-year licences to teams" from '17. Tinkov: "The UCI are stupid guys" (CYCLING NEWS, 12/12).
