American technology services company Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) has decided to end its sponsorship of the professional cycling team managed by former Tour de France winner Dane Bjarne Riis.

"Team CSC's current main sponsor, the information technology company CSC, is leaving professional cycling when its contract expires at the end of this year," the team said.

"CSC indicated the decision reflects a shift in priorities as the company makes new investments to implement a strategic long-term growth plan," it added.

Cycling has been blighted by a series of doping scandals in recent years and last May CSC team manager Riis (pictured) admitted to doping when he won the 1996 Tour de France.

But California-based CSC, whose subsidiary in Denmark has backed the team for eight years, said its sponsorship had been a success.

"Our involvement in the sport of cycling has been a positive and productive experience," said Henrik Bo Pedersen, the CSC executive responsible for overseeing the sponsorship.

"We will continue to support the team and exercise our sponsorship rights during the 2008 race season. At the same time, we are committed to helping the team secure a new title sponsor,"

The CSC team has won many high-profile races including the team prize in the last three editions of the season-long UCI ProTour series but Riis now has just a few months to find a new main sponsor for his team.

"This marks the beginning of something new for us and I know that we are ready to go out and show the world that we are here to stay," Riis said.

"We have an exceptional product with worldwide exposure that we can offer to a new sponsor. I'm optimistic about the future, even though cycling has its challenges.

"We have a team that is a ready to lead the way and an organisation that is up for the task at hand," he added.

The CSC team is currently competing in the Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico races.

Reuters