Pro Team Sponsorship -- info needed

I'm going to be racing for the first time in the spring in some college races, but for now i need some knowledgable people to point me toward sources covering the topic of pro bike racing sponsorship. Are there any good books out there or any quality websites that would help me?

I'm hoping to write this college essay about the nature of the sponsorships in general, whether or not they're economically and financially sound, how US and european sponsorships differ, etc.

Also, what is the name of the team that is up for bid after this season (I thought i heard this mentioned during the Tour de France)?

Thanks.

Go to the UCI website. www.uci.ch (I believe). They are the world governing body. It will explain the difference between the different levels of teams and such.

There are many teams looking for new sponsors. The big loss you may be talking of this year was probably Fassa Bortolo. The director, Ferretti is going to retire and not pursue further sponsors, so the team will just fade away. Those riders will sign with other teams.

Here are some things I have witnessed over the years.

1) Bigger budget teams (Pro-Tour) always get enough exposure to justify the 5-12 million dollar budgets.

2) Lower budget teams on the pro level rarely get enough exposure to keep sponsors really happy. You will usually find somebody in the sponsoring company that is a cycling enthusiast and therefore doesn't mind putting out a bit of cash to be "involved".

3) Lower budget teams are required by the UCI to pay a minimum salary. Quite often a team cannot really afford to bring on 15-20 riders at $15,000+ each, so they will require some of the lesser riders to bring cash with them in order to be on the team. This is quite unfair to the amateurs without a rich Grandmother, but it is business.

Gotta go. Hope you find what you are looking for. I'll try to post again if you have any specific questions.

I think you may be referring to Fassa Bortalo? They lost their title sponsor (Fassa Bortalo) this year and were unable to find another. I believe the team has offically split up so the riders will have to find places on other teams.