Rumours have abounded as to the future of Team Sky ever since it was announced that the broadcaster Sky would end their sponsorship at the end of the 2019 season. Another potential saviour for the team has been added into the mix with reports that team manager Dave Brailsford met with the Colombian President Ivan Duque and Coldeportes [sports ministry -ed] director Ernesto Lucena to discuss the possibility of turning Team Sky into the first ever Colombian WorldTour team. According to Colombian publication El Espectador, the meeting was organised by former Team Sky rider Rigoberto Uran, who has previously expressed his desire for a top-level team from the country. The report said that Brailsford, who is in the region for the Colombia 2.1 race, went to the President´s home, the Casa de Nariño, in Bogota. `It is the dream and the hope that we have,` Coldeportes director Ernesto Lucena told El Espectador.ADVERTISEMENT In the article, it states that the idea surrounding the project would be to keep the current crop of Team Sky riders but to create a base of Colombian riders. Team Sky have a long history of signing Colombian riders with Uran and Sergio Henao two of their earliest additions. Though Uran and Henao are not part of the team any more, Team Sky still have three Colombians on their roster, Sebastian Henao, Egan Bernal and Ivan Sosa. One of the biggest challenges, if the project were to go ahead, would be shoring up the funds to pay Team Sky´s top earners. The British outfit has the biggest salary outlay in the peloton, but Lucena believes that it would be possible to secure the financial backing necessary. `The most significant amount is the salaries of Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. The project could cost around $30 million per year, which, with the union of three or four multinational companies, we believe could be viable. The market analysis that Sky did shows the remuneration that the brands investing would get,` said Lucena. Brailsford effusi ...
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