Astellas Cycling, a third-year US Continental team with a criterium focus, competed for the final time at this month's Boston Mayor's Cup, team manager Andrew Frey confirmed to Cyclingnews.
Astellas is now the third US Continental team to close shop following the 2016 season, with both Team Jamis, a longtime staple of US domestic racing, and relative newcomer Lupus Racing both succumbing to sponsorship woes.
Frey said the team's title sponsor, Astellas Pharma US – an Illinois-based affiliate of Tokyo's Astellas Pharma – used a clause in the company's contract with team owner Cycling Development Foundation (CDF) to back out of the initial level of funding that was in place for the 2016 season. After further negotiations with Frey, he said, the company amended the sponsorship to cover the team through September. With the majority of the team's schedule front-loaded in the season, however, the decrease in budget meant funds ran dry by June.
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"We were told by Astellas in February that things would actually even change this year with the sponsorship," Frey said. "After the fact, after contracts had been signed and all that, some stuff had changed. We didn't get to do as many races as we had hoped for, based on the contract with Astellas changing in February."
In a statement sent to Cyclingnews via email, Astellas Director of Corporate Affairs Marjorie Moeling confirmed Frey's timeline but maintained the company honoured all of its contractual obligations.
"In keeping with the terms of the contract, Astellas provided notification to CDF in February that the company would be discontinuing its sponsorship," the statement read. "After speaking with Andrew Frey, and to give the CDF time to find a new sponsor, the Company agreed to continue as title sponsor through the end of the 2016 cycling season. Astellas has fully complied with all contractual obligations to CDF.
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