Team SmartStop's rise from criterium squad to the upper echelons of US domestic road racing was swift and thorough, but the team's collapse was even more abrupt after the self-storage company that had been title sponsor since 2013 was sold and the new owners declined to renew the sponsorship.
Now former Team SmartStop riders have told Cyclingnews that Premier Sports Group, which owned and managed the Continental team, stopped regular contract payments just over halfway through last year, leaving the riders struggling to recoup the money they're owed. Premier Sports Group manager and co-owner Jamie Bennett confirmed to Cyclingnews that the management company owes riders and staff the back pay, saying that he is continuing to work on making everyone whole.
“At the end of the day we're going to get each one of the riders about 95 per cent,” Bennett said. “Between the bond money and money we have coming in from some final liquidations on stuff, we'll get everybody 95 per cent within the next 45 days, and then we'll have a little bit to clean up after that.”
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Bennett said the problems began when SmartStop didn't renew its sponsorship for 2016, and he likened the team's demise to a retreating army.
“We're trying to grab together the last remaining pieces and liquidate them and make good on our commitments. We're still trying to do that,” he said. “Unfortunately, the timing hasn't gone well. Had we had a sponsorship renewal, we wouldn't be having any of these problems. That's the difference. Nobody really has a good exit plan if they don't get a renewal. And I think we're a case in point there.”
USA Cycling Technical Director Chuck Hodge, who took over his current position in November, told Cyclingnews he has received several inquiries from riders and staff about accessing the team's bank guarantee, money that teams are required to put in an escrow account to cover unpaid financial obligations in these situations. Hodge said he's currently working with all the involved parties, including Bennett, to figure out how much everyone is owed so that he can help release the bank guarantee funds as soon as possible.
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