Having been surprised by the announcement that his Roth team will step down a level and mainly continue as a team for young riders, Bruno Pires was unable to extend his contract with the Swiss squad with whom he signed a contract for 2016 after several years at Tinkoff.

According to the Portuguese website record.xl, Pires is expected to officially announce his retirement soon. The 35-year-old Portuguese spent five seasons in the WorldTour (at Leopard Trek and Tinkoff) before joining Roth. 

His attempts to sign with one of the Portuguese continental teams were apparently unsuccessful and Pires is likely to be one of many victims of the demise of several teams this season.