The future of Team Sky has been cast into doubt after its owner and sponsor, broadcaster Sky, confirmed it will end involvement in professional cycling after the 2019 season.
The decision means the hugely successful team, which has won eight Grand Tours since 2012, will need to begin the search for another source of funding from the beginning of 2020 and continue to compete under a new name.
"While Sky will be moving on at the end of next year, the team is open minded about the future and the potential of working with a new partner, should the right opportunity present itself," said team principal Dave Brailsford.
Team Sky was founded in 2010 with an ambitious goal of securing a first Tour de France victory by a British cyclist within five years, a feat they achieved just two years later when Bradley Wiggins triumphed in Paris.
Chris Froome then claimed the first of four Tour de France wins a year later and became the first cyclist in more than 30 years to hold all three Grand Tour titles at the same time when he added the 2017 Vuelta a Espana and 2018 Giro d'Italia to his list of honours.
Geraint Thomas this year became the third Briton to win the Tour de France for Sky, who have amassed 322 overall victories since their formation.
"The end of 2019 is the right time for us to move on as we open a new chapter in Sky's story and turn our focus to different initiatives including our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign," Sky Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch said.
Team Sky said changes at the satellite broadcaster had played a part in Sky's decision to withdraw from cycling.
U.S. cable group Comcast Corp outbid Rupert Murdoch-owned Twenty-First Century Fox Inc at an auction earlier this year to take control of Sky in a deal valued at $US40 billion ($A55 billion).
Fox, which owns a minority stake in Team Sky, also confirmed that 2019 would be the last year of its involvement in cycling.
Team Sky's dominance of the cycling landscape has not been without controversy.
Froome was investigated and subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by cycling's world governing body (UCI) over an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for an asthma drug at last year's Vuelta just days before the Tour de France in July.
The team was also investigated by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) over a "mystery package" ordered by former team doctor Richard Freeman and delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine.
