The Dutch bank Rabobank has ended sponsorship of the cycling team that bears its name. Its decision comes after seven times Tour de France Lance Armstrong was condemned as a drugs cheat.

Bert Bruggink, a member of the bank’s managing board, said: “We are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport. We are not confident that this will change for the better in the foreseeable future.”

The only surprise is that cycling has any sponsors at all. The failure of the sport to tackle endemic use of drugs has been a scandal for years. Let’s hope that the new generation of professional cyclists show that cycling has a future. Bradley Wiggins is a better role model than the likes of Michael Rasmussen and Levi Leipheimer, disgraced former Rabobank riders.