After a promising start to the season and participation in several races alongside professional teams, Petrolike’s campaign has gradually stalled. The team’s riders and staff have reportedly gone unpaid for several months, prompting intervention from the UCI.
Following discussions with the team’s ownership, the governing body imposed a final deadline of June 12 for outstanding wages to be paid and normal operations to resume. Failure to comply could result in the revocation of Petrolike’s Continental licence, immediately releasing riders and staff from their contracts and allowing them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Jakob Omrzel won 2025 Giro d’Italia Next Gen
Team manager explains situation
Speaking about the crisis, team manager Marco Bellini acknowledged that the organisation’s main sponsor is also the holder of the team’s UCI licence and is currently facing significant financial challenges.
“For this reason, the team has been struggling for several months. Clearly, the UCI was aware of the situation, and to ensure a favourable outcome to this crisis, they initially set a payment deadline of May 30 and then June 12.”
Despite the uncertainty, Bellini said he had recently received encouraging messages from the team’s backers and remains hopeful that a solution can still be found.
“To date, the situation has not been regularised, and this has prevented us from participating in the Giro Next Gen. However, just last night, I received reassurances from Petrolike. Clearly, I remain confident that the situation can be resolved in the next few hours.”