{
  "id": 11481663,
  "title": "'An incredibly difficult decision' – British Continental women's team closes after nine years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/an-incredibly-difficult-decision-british-continental-womens-team",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-02T16:10:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Cycling Weekly",
    "slug": "cycling-weekly",
    "url": "https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/an-incredibly-difficult-decision-british-continental-womens-team-closes-after-nine-years"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Das-Hutchinson, the UK's most successful women's UCI Continental team in recent years, will cease operations at the end of 2026. Established in 2018 as Torelli-Brother, the team secured victories in four out of the last five editions of Britain's National Road Series, with Sammie Stuart (2022), Monica Greenwood (2023), Robyn Clay (2025), and Morven Yeoman (2026) leading the charge. In a statement on their website, the team cited the escalating costs of maintaining a squad at the UCI level, which operates below the professional ranks, as the primary reason for their decision to close. The cost of competing in European races and travel has surged in recent years, making it increasingly challenging to sustain the program at the desired level. Despite strong support from partners, the team acknowledged the difficulty in maintaining its previous standards. Moving forward, Das-Hutchinson will operate as a lower-ranked development club under the name Team OnForm. Founder Simon Howes expressed immense pride in the opportunities provided to riders and emphasized the importance of programs like these in the pathway of women's cycling. Among past graduates of the team are Olympic silver medallist Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) and the duo Becky Storrie and Robyn Clay of Picnic PostNL. With the closure of Das-Hutchinson, there will be three women's UCI Continental teams in the UK next season, following six in 2024. Currently, there are no British men's UCI Continental teams remaining since the dissolution of Saint Piran in 2024.",
  "summary": "DAS-Hutchinson riders won four of the last five editions of the National Road Series",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}