CCC makes major staff cuts, faces uncertain future
The CCC team, whose roster includes the likes of Greg Van Avermaet, Ilnur Zakarin, and Patrick Bevin, has joined the list of pro outfits making major financial cuts amid the coronavirus crisis, and now faces an uncertain future. Sportowe Fakty reports that the founder of Polish footwear company CCC is looking to pull out of the contract that funds the team.
Media reports in recent days have suggested that the team’s main sponsor, Polish footwear company CCC, was in financial difficulties due to widespread lockdowns. Giant Bicycles, another major partner, is also facing shortfall issues.
In a video conference on Thursday, Greg Van Avermaet told a group of reporters that included CyclingTips that the team was discussing cuts. As of Friday, Het Laatste Nieuws reports that three quarters of the CCC team staff have been told their contracts are cancelled. Riders are taking an 80 percent pay cut.
Other teams, like Lotto Soudal and Bahrain-McLaren, have taken similar measures, but for CCC it is unclear what the future holds even should racing return. Dariusz Milek, founder of the company that sponsors the team, said that the Polish-based footwear company must cut costs dramatically.
“We have a contract that obliges us for this year and for the next, but the company must and wants to withdraw from it at a low cost, because the cyclists simply do not provide services,” Milek said, according to Sportowe Fakty. “We don’t have 265 racing days at Eurosport, they canceled Giro d’Italia … they also cancel Tour de France. So it makes no sense to invest in this sponsorship, since we have no benefit from it.”
For now, CCC has made no official announcements of either staff cuts of decreases in pay. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the team will hold a crisis meeting on Friday.
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