Riis Cycling has decided to put an end to negotiations with co-sponsor Tinkoff Bank, the company announced in a statement earlier today. Since the 2012 edition of the Tour de France, Tinkoff-Bank has co-sponsored the Saxo-Tinkoff team and negotiations to continue the Russian bank’s involvement in the team beyond the 2013 season has been going on for some time.

“During our negotiations with Tinkoff Bank it has become clear that we cannot agree upon the strategies and development ideas necessary for our partnership to continue its evolvement to our mutual benefit in 2014 – most importantly we cannot agree on how to run the team. For these reasons I have decided to terminate the negotiations with Tinkoff Bank and to look for other solutions. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Oleg Tinkov and Tinkoff Bank for their contribution to the team. I look forward to continuing our cooperation for the remainder of the 2013 season, and I wish them all the best for the future,” team owner Bjarne Riis said in an official statement.

The decision to terminate the negotiations means that Riis Cycling will immediately intensify its quest for new sponsors to replace Tinkoff Bank at the end of 2013. Saxo Bank, who has been sponsoring the team since 2008, has agreed to prolong its sponsorship deal through 2014 and help secure the future of the team.

We already have a strong portfolio of partners and our most important partner, Saxo Bank, has informed us that they will continue their sponsorship and that they are willing to help us find a mutually beneficial solution. As a consequence I’m confident that we will have a strong and competitive team for the years to come,” Riis said.

Prior to the Tour this year, Oleg Tinkov was quoted as saying that he wanted to assume the full sponsorship of the team. After this year’s Tour, however, Tinkov publicly stated his dissatisfaction with the team’s performance and Alberto Contador’s fourth place overall.