It's Monday morning and the performance management group at Rick Delaney's Aqua Blue Sport team fires up Skype ahead of their weekly review. On the agenda: race plans, updates on a possible merger with Sniper Cycling, and signings for next season. Few of the individuals on the call know what's coming but, within minutes of hanging up, a press release is dispatched, a Tweet is posted, and news of Aqua Blue's termination is public.
As is always the way in these circumstances, the riders and staff are the last to know. At 10:18 AM, Michel Kreder – one of the 16 Aqua Blue riders under contract – posts the press release in the team's Whatsapp group.
"What's going on?" he asks.
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Within a few seconds, his teammate Adam Blythe responds: "Team's ended mate."
For a moment, there's no response. Just silence. Then a new notification appears: Rick Delaney has left the group.
This is the story of Aqua Blue, and how a team founded on goodwill, hope, and the promise of a new economic model of self-sustainability came crashing down in less than two years.
3T
Sniper
Legal action
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/rick-delaney-has-left-the-group-the-story-behind-the-rise-and-fall-of-aqua-blue
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