
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, will not renew its three-year contract to sponsor the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team, the team announced Friday.
Team owner Sean Tucker held a conference call with team riders, staff and managers to tell them that the car company will let its three-year contract expire at the end of this season.
Tucker said he is looking to find another sponsor in the next 100 days.
"We will always be grateful for the support Toyota, its dealer network and employees have shown our team and me personally,” Tucker said in a statement. "We are confident another sponsor will capitalize on the value United Pro Cycling Team generates, with our 25,000 registered fans, eight-figure annual measurable media exposure, 3.3 million annual on site spectators and the charitable work our team does in the communities we race in.”
Toyota's Keith Dahl said, “we accomplished our goals in this three-year term and have since shifted strategies.”
Toyota-United consists of 14 riders from seven different countries, with representation from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Cuba, Serbia and Mexico. The team includes current UCI B World Road Race Champion and 2008 Olympian Ivan Stevic, from Serbia. Also on the team are riders Dominique Rollin, the 2008 Amgen Tour of California stage 4 winner and overall sprint jersey winner from Quebec, Canada, and Jose Manuel (Chepe) Garcia, the 2008 National Time Trial champion from Mexico.
At the time of the announcement, eight of the team's riders were competing in the Tour of the Gila stage race in New Mexico.