Greg Van Avermaet said he would give Jim Ochowicz time to find a replacement sponsor for the CCC team before signing with another team.

When BMC cut off its support for the team two years ago, Van Avermaet refrained from joining the immediate talent drain, and his presence ensured the merger with CCC and the team's future.

On Monday morning, Ochowicz confirmed that his Continuum Sports Management company was looking for a new title sponsor, following CCC's decision to end its relationship with the team at the end of the 2020 season, a year earlier than originally planned.

"I don't want to go through a second situation like BMC, but until a certain point I want to do my part for this team. I have been running for this employer for about 10 years and it would be a shame to let this go," Juan Avermato told Sporza (open in new tab) on Monday.

"Hopefully, there are still sponsors interested in keeping this project alive. I definitely want to work on it. That's especially difficult this year because it's not a typical year. I'm thinking in favor of Ochowicz, the team manager."

Asked what he had heard from Ochowicz about the search for a new sponsor, Van Avermaet replied: "He's in America and can't move much because of this crisis. I don't know if it looks negative or positive to me."

Van Avermaat has been with the team (then BMC) since 2011, when he joined from Lotto, the 2016 Olympic road races, Paris-Roubaix, Ghent-Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke, and Omloop Het Nuusblad, Grand Prix Cycliste de Monreal, and Paris-Tour.

The CCC team took a pay cut in early April after its season was interrupted by a coronavirus outbreak, and Van Avermaert told Sporza that he had known since last month that CCC would not continue sponsorship in 2021.

"It was not a comfortable period," Van Avermaet said, adding that he hoped the team would find a replacement sponsor. 'It was and still is the best solution. Above all, we want to have a great year now and find a sponsor."

"I would say that I believe in looking for ...... There is always the possibility that someone will bite. We are positive and we have to believe that. But it's probably 50-50. I hope our team will continue to exist for the sake of this sport."

Despite the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on cycling's economy, Van Avermaert will have no shortage of suitors if the CCC team does not survive until 2021; the 35-year-old's first WorldTour victory since the 2017 Paris-Roubaix will come in September s Grand Prix of Montreal, but he has been a consistent performer in 2019.

"It interests me anyway. My track record is still there. Last year I was the best one-day rider in UCI racing," van Avermaat said.

"Anyway I will find a good team next year. Is Belgium interested? There must be room and budget. It's not simple. The most important thing is to keep this project alive. If we don't have a sponsor, we'll look at plan B."

"I'm open to adventure, it's a bit like the story with BMC. That time we found CCC at the last minute. I'm open. I'll be running with a lot of teams."