A bid to form a men’s British Continental team for next year has failed due to an inability to attract a title sponsor in a very short time frame.
Harry Tanfield, who led the bid, said that he initially had until 6 December to apply for a Continental team licence after his former team Saint Piran collapsed. The loss of Saint Piran and the road arm of Trinity Racing means the UK is set to have no men’s UCI Continental teams for the first time since 2004 at the start of next season.
Tanfield was leading an ambitious effort to attempt to ensure that the grim situation would not materialise. However, he has now said his project will not get off the ground due to struggles raising funds.
“We can’t go Continental, that’s just not possible,” he said. “We’re not really sure what to do now. I kind of just want to have a week off to compose my thoughts. We can’t go Continental so there’s no deadline now to reach. If we want to register an elite team then I think we can do that.”
“There’s a few things that could happen but as of yet I haven’t got anything confirmed," he continued. "It would be nice if a team could get off the ground in some way here in the UK. I'm just going to keep looking for the sponsorship now going forward to 2026 as we can’t make the deadline for this year as it's passed now, it’s gone. British Cycling said to come back in November next year.”
Being an elite team, instead of a UCI Continental team, would mean that the squad has less guaranteed access to UCI-level races, but could still compete in the British National Road Series and other domestic events, based on invites.
It is understood that British Cycling officials were concerned about Tanfield’s team being linked to former Saint Piran staff, after the outfit was under investigation by the UCI after it transpired managers had asked mechanics to glue fake UCI compliance stickers to frames bought from China. Tanfield has played down links to the team, which he rode for this year.
The British rider said he would not be deterred by the setback and would look to carry his ideas into the new year, with the intention of pitching plans for an elite team to British Cycling.
“I’ll just be plugging away over the winter essentially and into next year to just see where I can go with this,” he said. “Some of the companies we approached regarding sponsorship were really interested, but they just didn’t have the marketing budget at this time of year so can’t do anything about it. Hopefully we could maybe try and get something off the ground for 2026 but I’m not too sure.”
Despite the setback, Tanfield did not have a bad word to say on BC's involvement.
“It is just protocol and you can’t change it," he explained. “And anyway, even if they had given us an extra month to do something it doesn’t change anything, you can’t get a title sponsor in a month. It’s just not possible for us so end of.
“It is what it is. I just need some time to chill out now and focus back on my own cycling again at the moment as it was very mentally draining.”
As things stand, the former WorldTour professional is now without a ride on a personal level. Tanfield explained that his brother, Charlie, is in a similar situation but both hoped that could turn a corner.
“I really don’t know for myself and my brother and where this leaves us,” he said. “I’m talking to some other teams, there’s this sort of on the go, there’s a lot of ifs and buts with it all. I just want to do what’s best for the scene in the UK and even if that is a non-UCI team then that’s better than nothing.”
