At the 2025 Tour of Britain Women a chaotic concertina crash involving Hess Cycling’s team car became a metaphor for a squad that shot forward too quickly and then imploded. Within two months the Hess team, launched two years earlier with grand ambitions, had collapsed. A former rider recalls, “We got promised the world – a big elaborate dream… It seems like it was created for one person, not for the benefit of riders.”

Hess’s co‑owner Rolf Hess unveiled a 750,000‑euro first‑year budget with no sponsor, promising a five‑fold increase by 2025 and an athlete‑led model. The team never rose above continental level, riders were paid late, and suppliers were owed more than £50,000. The title sponsor withdrew after media coverage of a civil claim against a director over a separate water‑company venture, leaving Hess Sports Group to inject over £200,000 before the team folded in August 2025. Hess now says funding negotiations continue.

The collapse underscores structural issues: cycling teams receive no TV‑rights revenue, forcing reliance on multiple sponsors. About ten British‑based men’s and women’s continental teams have folded in the past two years, and many blame ASO’s market dominance. The UCI has opened a consultation on economic models, while Pirmin Lang, Hess’s sporting director, notes, “Riders have too high expectations.”