Days after team manager Bjarne Riis said it was "unrealistic" to save the NTT Pro Cycling team, team principal Doug Ryder revealed that the team is "very close to hitting the road next year."

The South African team, formerly known as MTN-Qhubeka and Dimension Data, fell into crisis in September when Japanese high-tech firm NTT decided to cut off support.

A search for a new sponsor was urgently launched, and despite Riis' claims that he joined the team this year, it appears to have borne fruit, and an announcement is expected in the next few days.

"I had a good year on the bike. Sadly, from a sponsorship standpoint, it wasn't so good in terms of our future, but we are piecing that puzzle together," the rider said in a press release from the team.

"When we announced that we needed a new partner, there was an incredible response from around the world. There were an incredible amount of people on social media supporting us"

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"People from the US to Australia and everywhere in between love this team, want to be involved, want to make a difference, and want to connect with us. The world today is a tough place economically, some companies are really struggling, others not so much. But we are very close to touring next year."

The riders confirmed that the team will not be on the 2021 list of registered teams because the UCI will hold the competition on Thursday. However, teams can still register after the deadline, albeit for an additional fee, and the rider almost confirmed that the team will be on the road next year.

Rider did not say whether the team would remain at the World Tour level or drop to the pro team level.

"This Thursday they will announce the teams that have submitted their paperwork and we will not be on that list. I think in the next few days we will have a plan in place to move forward for 2021."

Ryder's comments came the same week that Riis seemed to put the nail in the coffin of the team he joined earlier this year.

It was initially suggested that Virtu Cycling, the company he runs with Lars Seel Christensen and Jan Beck Andersen, would own one-third of the team, but Danish media reported in September that the process had not gone through and that Ryder would remain full owner reported that the team is now fully owned by Virtu Cycling.

"At the moment there is no team that I will be in charge of next year. That's the status quo. I don't have a sponsor on hand right now, and the time is getting late, so it doesn't look good," Riis told the Ekstra Bladet this week

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"I don't know [if that sounds pessimistic] right now. The status quo is the status quo and there is nothing I can do about it." Asked if it was realistic to find new sponsors to keep the team alive, he replied: "No, not really."

It is unclear what Ryder's plans are for 2021; in an interview with the Ekstra Bladet, he said that the Danish identity, he reiterated his desire to be in charge of a team, but despite the Tour de France Copenhagen Grande Parle being postponed from next year to 2022, he has been unable to find sponsors in his home country and should not expect Seije to personally fund the He argued that he should not be expected to fund the project personally.

The current NTT Pro Cycling team is still registered in South Africa and maintains its commitment to the Qhubeka charity, which aims to change lives by providing bicycles in Africa.

The team has signed eight riders for next year, including Domenico Pozzovivo and Victor Campenaerts. Some riders, such as Ben O'Connor, who recently won a stage at the Giro d'Italia, have already made plans elsewhere.