Schneider sisters Samantha and Skylar announced on Instagram last week that they have left Team Illuminate, a first-year US-registered UCI women's program, after racing just one local event in California.
Both talented sprinters, Skylar, 18, was second at the UCI Road World Championships junior road race in Doha, Qatar, in October and fourth in the junior time trial. The Schneiders raced on the US domestic circuit for ISCorp-SmartChoice MRI in 2016, with Samantha, 26, winning the season-long USA Cycling Pro Road Tour and Skylar finishing third behind runner-up Coryn Rivera. ISCorp also won the 2016 team standings.
The sisters surprised many when they signed with the upstart Illuminate women's team this year for its inaugural season. The women's program is an expansion of the men's Continental team, which grew out of the Airgas-Safeway squad that famously signed Chris Horner in 2015 on his return from European racing. The decision to sign with Team Illuminate obviously didn't pan out for the Schneiders, however.
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In the announcement on their joint Instagram account, Samantha and Skylar Schneider said they needed to respect their "well-being as well as our future," but they did not elaborate about why they decided to leave the team before the season started in earnest.
"It is time to officially announce that we will no longer be racing with Team Illuminate," they wrote. "Doing what is right is not always easy, but we feel right about this decision. Although we don't know what is next, we are ready to move on and are more motivated than ever to race our bikes and prove that it is possible to overcome difficult experiences. As human beings, athletes, and mentors we need to respect ourselves and our well-being as well as our future. Thank you for your support, it truly does mean a lot to us."
In an email to Cyclingnews, Skylar Schneider claimed promises were made during contract negotiations but most were not delivered, which had a detrimental affect on the Schneider sisters and on several of their teammates.
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