Timmerman quits as CEO but insists salaries will be paid
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(L-R) Leigh Bryan, Rick Delaney and Stephen Moore(Image credit: Team Aqua Blue Sport)
Larry Warbasse of Aqua Blue Sport at the Vuelta a Burgos(Image credit: Team Aqua Blue Sport)
Andy Fenn is the last man standing from the breakaway(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thumbs up from the Aqua Blue team on their new bus(Image credit: Team Aqua Blue Sport)
Andrew Fenn in the 2018 Aqua Blue Sport team kit(Image credit: Karen M. Edwards/Aqua Blue Sport)
Aqua Blue Sport have informed Cyclingnews that they have started legal proceedings against a member of the team due to what they see as "slander and breach of confidentiality". The members of the now-defunct team were informed of the news by CEO Tom Timmerman, who, in an email titled 'Overview of the Facts', also announced he would be stepping down with immediate effect.
Before he announced his resignation, Timmerman stated that all salaries relating to the team would be covered by the UCI bank guarantee. The team announced on August 27 that they would fold and that all contracts with riders and staff would be annulled. However, the UCI bank guarantee – a figure of €400,000 – was set aside to cover the salaries for the remainder of the season.
Aqua Blue had been in talks with Sniper Cycling amid a possible merger for 2019 but those negotiations broke down in the summer and Aqua Blue owner Rick Delaney decided to end the team soon after, despite a race schedule that included September’s Tour of Britain.
"Let me also stress, that bar from a few people, no one has offered to help, no one has contacted us other than for receiving money…" Timmerman continues after concluding his six-point list.
Fenn has not yet responded to an enquiry from Cyclingnews.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
