On the day when they were scheduled to attend a high-profile team launch in London's Trafalgar Square, Irish cyclists Ciaran Power and Mark Scanlon are instead rethinking their careers after the sudden collapse of the Linda McCartney team. After crisis talks between team officials and the Linda McCartney food company came to naught, road manager Sean Yates yesterday confirmed the squad was all but certain to fold. The 1988 Tour de France stage winner said he was still trying to find new backers, but conceded that "it would take a miracle to get anything at all".

The team's demise has been both dramatic and unexpected. According to Power, many of the riders had been owed money from last season, but general manager Julian Clarke had assured them that finances were healthy and payment was imminent. Instead, inquiries made by other team officials on Wednesday morning showed that little if any backing was secured for 2001.

Most of the team were unaware that the recently announced Jaguar sponsorship was bogus, as revealed in an investigation printed yesterday by Cycling Weekly magazine. At the same time, it has emerged that the Linda McCartney brand's continuing association with the team was in name only, as a mechanism designed to attract more sponsors. The vegetarian food company had apparently ended their support of the team last month, but allowed Clarke to retain the use of their name as he hunted for other backing.

"Everything is in a mess now," said a dejected Ciaran Power yesterday. "He (Clarke) had told us that everything was fine, that backing was in place for 2001. I had my wages doubled after last season, the team was supposed to be expanding, but now it has turned out that there was no money at all. I am owed wages for December, plus my bonus from last year - that's lost, now."

The team released a statement late Wednesday evening confirming that Clarke was no longer part of the outfit. They also stated that they would be trying set up a new management structure and find other backing for the team. Sadly, for riders like Mark Scanlon and Ciaran Power, that rescue plan has failed.