The women's team Ekip Paule Ka has announced that it will not be competing in Sunday's Tour de Flanders due to financial problems.

French fashion brand Paule Ka sponsored the team after its previous sponsors Bigla and Katusha cut off funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Équipe Paule Ka claimed that the sponsors were late with the first payment in July and then failed to pay the team despite repeated assurances that payments would follow in August, September, and October.

When contacted by Cyclingnews, Paule Ka responded: "The team and the owner of the company are in negotiations regarding the termination of the sponsorship agreement."

According to Cyclingnews, Paule Ka had signed an 800,000 euro sponsorship deal for 2020, but team manager Thomas Campana personally provided 300,000 euro to fight for the team's survival during the rescheduled season He said.

The team now lacks the funds to continue racing.

"It is with great regret that we announce that Ekip Pole Ca will immediately cancel the racing season as there have been no payments from sponsors since August and, unfortunately, close the fourth largest team in the world, which currently has over 3000 UCI points," the team The announcement was made Friday morning.

Lizzie Banks took a stage win at the Giro Rosa, while Mikayla Harvey finished fifth overall. Banks also finished second in the GP de Ploué, while American Leah Thomas finished third in Strade Bianche. Fortunately, these results helped many athletes find new teams for 2021.

"This is a very sad event in the 15-year history of this team, which prides itself on developing exciting young talent in the peloton. [The team restarted the season with a string of victories and good results, including a stage win at the Giro Rosa, a silver medal at the UCI World Championships, a bronze medal at the European Championships, and multiple national championship titles.

"Unfortunately, however, after a decade and a half in the peloton, the team was forced to disband and this was no longer our common goal. Now our main goal is to find a new team to secure the future of our riders and staff.

"I would like to sincerely thank all the cycling fans around the world, the team's followers, and our competitors within the peloton." "They have reached out to us to let us know that our presence in the peloton will be missed during this difficult time.

Équipe Paule Ka rode Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday and stayed in Belgium, but team manager Thomas Compana told Cyclingnews that he does not have the money to continue racing and will not participate in Sunday's Tour de Flanders Compana told Cyclingnews that he did not have the funds to continue racing and would not be attending Sunday's Tour de Flandres.

The team has already approached the Swiss Federation to open a bank guarantee for the team and get at least part of the missing wages.