Riders, suppliers and business partners were reportedly left out of pocket after the collapse of a British women’s team.
According to reports by the BBC, the collapse of Hess Cycling, among other things, left an unpaid debt of £50,000 owed to one team supplier.
Last year, Cycling Weekly reported extensively on the end of Hess Cycling, a British Continental women’s team that folded amid financial pressures and the fallout of a fraud investigation into the owner’s business affairs.
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It began, though, with the stated objective of becoming Britain’s first Women’s WorldTour team and elevating the status of the sport. Initially licensed in Luxembourg, before applying for a British Continental race license, the team was envisioned and launched by the Swiss businessman Rolf Hess, who talked a big game.
Hess’s declared five-year plan was to build a budget of €5million. “Our first-year budget is €750,000, with no sponsor at all,” he boasted to the BBC at time. “This is entrepreneurship – we do it ourselves. We didn’t buy a team – we are building a team.”
Last year, it won the East Cleveland Classic through Alice McWilliam and finished third at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix with Grace Lister. It also competed in the 2025 Tour of Britain, but will be missing from this year’s tour.
Hess’ collapse followed a turbulent year for the team with a fraud investigation into its owner’s business and allegations of missed payments to riders.
“There were reasonable money issues from the start where riders were paid late or wouldn’t get reimbursements,” one rider told the BBC.
“We were lucky if we even saw half a million [as a team],” the cyclist said. “There was even no money at team camps and other stuff they didn’t pay for. There were big bills… I know there were other riders still owed money – a lot of it.”
According to the BBC, several suppliers were left with substantial unpaid bills, and soon the walls started closing in.
“Unfortunately, [our] sponsor withdrew from the partnership at the beginning of 2025,” Hess said in a statement. “Hess Sports Group continued to fund operations, contributing more than £200,000 over the course of summer 2025, while working to enable the team to compete under a financially sustainable model.
“This shortfall in funding had a material impact on our operations, but allowed our athletes to compete while we worked on securing the team’s future. Hess Sports Group remains committed to repaying all its creditors.”
The anonymous rider added: “The team had a duty to us as riders and they failed.”
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