The Swiss crowd roared with applause as the seven members of the BMC Racing team stood atop the start ramp for the stage 1 team time trial at this year’s Tour de Suisse. The adulation continued 18 kilometers later, when the team crossed the finish line with the fastest time and put young Swiss champion Stefan Kung in the race leader's jersey.

Though BMC Racing is registered in the U.S. and its riders hail from across the globe, the team truly belongs to Swiss cycling fans. The primary sponsor, bike company BMC, is a Swiss company and five of its 24 racers are of Swiss nationality.

It’s no secret why BMC brought its strongest ever line-up to Suisse—essentially its home race and an important test event for the Tour de France: BMC Racing’s future is in doubt, and the team’s best racers are in Switzerland to put on a show in front of an adoring audience.

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The BMC bike brand had announced at the start of the year it would not continue primary sponsorship in 2019. And in April, team owner and longtime pro cycling benefactor Andy Rihs passed away. To date, the team has yet to find a replacement for the title sponsor.

With the world’s best pros often working out new contracts prior to and during the Tour de France, the team’s general manager, Jim Ochowicz, is under intense pressure. VeloNews reported that Ochowicz asked his riders to give him until the end of the Tour de Suisse—this Sunday, June 17—to secure the team’s future before looking elsewhere.

While Ochowicz has publicly stated there’s no definite deadline for shuttering BMC Racing, time is running out to retain top talent. Time trial specialist and aspiring GC rider Rohan Dennis is reportedly near signing a deal with Bahrain-Merida.

If BMC Racing goes away, there will undoubtedly be ripple effects across the pro peloton.

But, it may not be all bad news for bike racing fans.

More Money, More Problems?

Unlike mainstream American sports, in which salary caps and athlete drafts create parity, pro cycling has long been a world of haves and have nots. Behemoths like Team Sky reportedly operate on budgets topping $40 million, while outfits like American squad EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale make due on roughly a third of that amount.

Since joining the WorldTour in 2011 BMC Racing has been amongst the haves. The team’s estimated budget hovers around $30 million, allowing General Manager Ochowicz to employ racers at the peak of their careers: 2011 Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, 2012 World Champion Philippe Gilbert, and 2016 Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet.

But more money doesn’t always mean more success. In 2016, CyclingTips performed an analysis of estimated budgets versus season-long success as defined by UCI points. The report showed BMC Racing underperformed in comparison to teams with significantly lower budget like Movistar, Quick-Step, and Mitchelton-Scott.

If teams with deep pockets continue to inflate salaries for the sport’s top riders, smaller teams will subsequently struggle to do more with less.

Additionally, as team budgets and rider salaries rise, the buy-in becomes larger and larger for businesses willing to significantly invest in a pro cycling team. At a certain point, the advertising return for corporate sponsors no longer makes sense.

In the potential demise of BMC Racing, the silver lining may be closer, more dynamic racing.

The Race Is On

BMC has raced defiantly through the first six stages of the Tour de Suisse. The team has yet to win a stage since the stage 1 team time trial, but not from lack of trying. With BMC riding hard at the front for the two pronged approach of Van Avermaet and Porte, breakaways have struggled to gain ground and wins have come by whisker thin margins.

The scene is reminiscent of the 2017 Vuelta a Espana, when news broke that Cannondale-Drapac was on the brink of collapse following the loss of a major sponsor.

During the stage the day after the announcement, the team rode the front to try and set up a win for Michael Woods. The effort didn’t result in victory, but Cannondale’s inspiring performance made headlines. Shortly after, a title sponsor was found in EF Education First.

We may know by Sunday if BMCs performance in Switzerland helps save the squad.