British women's team Lifeplus-Wahoo to close at end of year

British Continental women's team Lifeplus-Wahoo will end operations at the end of 2024, it was announced on Monday afternoon.

The team, which began life as Drops in 2016, has been unable to find a sponsor to pay for naming rights in 2025, and will not compete next year.

"We are very sad to announce that Drops Cycling – currently racing as Lifeplus Wahoo - Britain's most successful and longest running UCI women’s team, will close at the end of the year," said team managers Bob and Tom Varney in a statement.

"Despite securing a full stable of premium product partners for 2025, we have been unable to sell the naming rights for a figure commensurate with the budget required for a UCI Pro Team Licence application. A second division in women's cycling, the Pro Tour, is being introduced from next year, with minimum salaries a requirement.

"Our aim has always been to progress to Pro Team level and ultimately become a World Tour team. With uncertainty surrounding the viability of the project at Continental level, we no longer have the appetite to struggle to deliver our professional vision on a minimum budget at this largely unregulated level."

 The pair also pointed to a rising cost of racing, and the "loss of sponsor bonus income with TDFF [Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift] participation".

The team competed in the Tour in 2022 and 2023, the only British squad to do so, which is worth a great deal in sponsor terms, and they would have hoped to do so again this year. However, the disappointment of non-selection dealt the team a significant blow. They often punched above their weight with invites to some of the biggest races, including Paris-Roubaix Femmes and the Tour of Flanders.

Lifeplus also referenced the theft of the team's bikes at this year's Tour of Britain Women. The entire fleet of 14 machines – worth more than £5,000 each – was taken from the team's hotel after stage one of the race. It left the team's riders using borrowed bikes for the day before tech partner Ribble was able to resupply the team with new bikes.

It was also experiencing an "ongoing partnership dispute due to unpaid instalments" it said, with these multiple factors leading ultimately to the end of the team.

"We thank our global fan base for their loyal support over the past nine years and send the international peloton our best wishes for the future," the statement concluded.

Over the years the team won multiple races and provided the start for many promising riders, including former British champion Alice Towers and former Hour Record holder Joss Lowden. Many of its number have gone onto race at WorldTour level.