Euskaltel might be history in August

Euskaltel's economic woes are well documented, but on Tuesday it transpired they may be more pressing than initially thought.

The simple fact is this: if the team doesn't succeed in finding a new sponsor in the next 45 days, the team will be history by the end of the year.

The lack of economic support from the public institutions in the Basque Country is hurting the team badly. The telephone company Euskaltel is prepared to pay what the institutions are not, which is thought to be somewhere between three and three and a half million euro, but say they can't do that beyond 2013.

"The economic situation was not this bad when we started this project", an Euskaltel executive, Mikel Astorkiza, told El Diario Vasco. "We'll cover the whole budget this season, but we can't bear the weight of the team in the future.

"As for the public institutions, it's clear they have other priorities now. Nobody can accuse us of raising our voice or complaining - we completely understand. But we need that money. It not..."

Astorkiza says they're "open to all possibilities" and that "some companies have expressed an interest in what we can offer them".

A new sponsor can't be found soon enough, though. The Tour traditionally marks the unofficial opening of the transfer market in the sport, meaning riders might be tempted over to other teams if the team can't guarantee it's continued existence.