Sir Dave Brailsford has set himself a six-month deadline to find a new backer for Team Sky before pulling the plug on the team, kick-starting a scramble to secure the services of a host of staff and riders, including Tour de France winners Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.

Long-term partner Sky dropped the bombshell announcement on Wednesday that it was ending its involvement in cycling at the end of 2019, bringing to a close one of the most successful – and controversial – chapters in British sporting history.

Sky have backed Team Sky since their inception in 2009, pouring in over £180 million in that time, making them the richest team in the sport. However, the team have also been caught up in various controversies, with the potential for further damaging headlines presumably one of the reasons Sky is ending its involvement, particularly given the recent takeover of Sky by US cable giant Comcast.

Brailsford - who only found out three weeks ago and who had told just a handful of senior management - said the reaction from his riders and staff when he broke the news to them on Tuesday night had been “unanimously” supportive and he had been given a mandate to go out and find new investment.