Madison-Genesis will fold at the end of the season, team announces

Madison-Genesis will cease racing at the end of the 2019 season, the team has announced.

The British continental outfit has become an iconic part of the domestic racing scene since its inception in 2012, but the team will cease to race as headline sponsor Madison looks to invest in other areas of cycling.

Madison-Genesis has helped develop a generation of homegrown racing talent, most recently reigning British national champion Connor Swift, who has now stepped up to race for André Greipel’s Arkéa-Samsic squad.

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Team manager Roger Hammond, who has been with the team since the start, said: “I will always have fond memories of Madison Genesis. Over the last seven years the team has enjoyed an incredible journey that has allowed us to engage with so many people around the world.

“When the team was built, we set out to achieve certain goals and it is with great pride that I can say we achieved those goals and continued to do so each year. It has given me great pleasure to see riders developing with out team, with some of them going to ride the biggest races in the world.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved with or support the team. It has been a pleasure to have you along for the ride.”

The team is currently home to the likes of Jon Dibben, who just joined after leaving Team Sky at the end of last season, Ian Bibby and Jon Mould.

Madison-Genesis is the most recent in a string of losses for the British scene after the closure of JLT-Condor and One Pro Cycling last year.

Founder of the team and CEO of distribution company Madison, Dominic Langan, said he has frustrations with aspects of the UK scene and that the sponsor is looking to invest in other areas of the cycling world.

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Langan said: “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and the team is very personal to me. We created a UK road cycle team brand loved by so many people, with a highly desirable image.

“We have worked incredibly hard to create a team ethos of good sportsmanship and a high level of fan base engagement, which delivered some fantastic results and over the last seven years we helped some talented riders achieve their full potential.

“However, the market is constantly evolving and whilst I would be lying if I said we didn’t have frustrations with certain aspects of the UK race scene, I feel, more importantly that now is the right time to bring the team to an end so we can invest in other market segments which are now showing much more significant growth potential.”

Cycling Weekly is awaiting further details from Madison about the “frustrations” with the UK scene and where the company has opted to invest instead.

Madison-Genesis will continue to race until the end of the season and the squad says their main goal is to race the Tour of Britain in September.