The East Midlands International CiCLE Classic is under threat after losing one of its principle sponsors.

The East Midlands Development Agency is facing the axe in the Government’s spending cuts, bringing an end to its involvement with the race.

The race, with its short, sharp climbs and farm tracks, emulates the Classics on the continent and last year’s event – its sixth edition – was won by Dane Michael Berling.

A final decision regarding the 2011 event, scheduled to take place on Sunday April 17, will be made in January, by which time the success of current efforts to find the required race budget of nearly £40,000 will be known.

And race director Colin Clews has called for sponsors to step forward to ensure the race, which this year covered 168km, lives on.

“Over the past four years emda’s support of the CiCLE Classic, and its associated events has enabled the event to grow rapidly to its position as Britain’s premier ‘flagship’ single day cycle road race,” said Clews.

“In doing so the event has become more than simply a sporting occasion, raising the sporting profile of the area in the international and national consciousness, and as a result brought into the area inward investment several times the annual contribution made to the event by emda  and our other supporting sponsors.

“While the race organisation will be forever appreciative of emda’s role in the event’s success, it now leaves us with a significant problem in finding alternative sources of sponsorship to allow the event to be maintained either at its current level, or to continue at all.”