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Photo: Casey B. Gibson (file)
The T-Mobile cycling program has lost its title sponsor, but the American director of the men’s and women’s teams said Tuesday that both will continue to operate with private support.
Deutsche Telekom AG announced on Tuesday that it “has elected to end sponsorship of professional cycling with immediate effect.” The decision affects both men’s and women’s teams.
The Bonn-based telecommunications group has been involved in cycling since 1991. The current contract had been scheduled to run until December 31, 2010.
“We arrived at this decision to separate our brand from further exposure from doping in sport and cycling specifically. This was a difficult decision given our long history of support for professional cycling and the efforts of Bob Stapleton in managing the team in 2007,” said Hamid Akhavan, CEO of T-Mobile International and a member of the Deutsche Telekom board of directors.
“We have an obligation to our employees, customers and shareholders to focus our attention and resources on our core businesses. We have worked very hard with the current team management to promote clean cycling sport, but we reached the decision to continue our efforts to rid all sports of doping by applying our resources in other directions.”
Akhavan added that the decision “is not based on any disagreement with or misconduct by team management.”
Team director Bob Stapleton said both the men’s and women’s teams will continue despite T-Mobile’s departure, racing under the name Team High Road.
“T-Mobile’s decision to end its involvement in professional cycling is a challenge for the sport and our team,” Stapleton said. “We will review and adapt our operations, and continue to advance our leadership position in athletic success and commitment to clean and fair sport that began during our work with T-Mobile.”
High Road Sports Inc. holds a ProTour team license and will ask the UCI to authorize the change in the team’s identity and operations, Stapleton said. High Road and its subsidiaries own the infrastructure of both teams.
“We have an outstanding international roster of exciting young talent backed by proven veteran leadership for 2008,” Stapleton said. “We will likely be the youngest team in the ProTour and believe that together these athletes can shape the future of the sport with their talent and commitment.”
Photo: AFP
The T-Mobile team, formerly known as Deutsche Telekom, has been rocked in recent years by allegations that its cyclists used drugs.
The team sacked its highest-profile rider, 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, in July 2006 amid allegations he was involved in a Spanish doping network. Ullrich has since retired from cycling but continues to protest his innocence.
His teammate on Team Telekom, Bjarne Riis, has confessed to using EPO en route to winning the 1996 Tour. Others who have come forward to admit using banned substances include Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Bert Dietz, Christian Henn and Udo Bölts. All are retired from racing save Zabel, who rides for Milram.
T-Mobile also sacked German rider Patrik Sinkewitz in July this year after abnormal levels of testosterone were found in his blood.
Sinkewitz was given a one-year ban this month and has admitted using drugs.
Despite its troubles, 2007 was a successful year for the men and women of T-Mobile. The men’s ProTour team scored 37 victories during the year, while the women ended their season as the Nov. 1 ranked team in the world.
In September, Stapleton told VeloNews that he was optimistic about the future.
“We’re building on a good 2007 season and we’re even more optimistic for 2008,” Stapleton said. “We won 35 races with 12 different riders. We’re proud of the results of our team.”
And, he added: “We’ve got a great team for next season, maybe one of the youngest in cycling. We have 12 riders who are 25 or under. The key to developing young talent is to have good leadership and have teammates they can be inspired from and from who they can learn how to be a pro and how to win races on the bike.”
One of those leaders is George Hincapie, a two-time U.S. champion who signed a two-year deal with the team as Discovery Channel announced its decision to withdraw from professional cycling. He, too, was looking forward to 2008.
“It feels like I am starting over. I’m excited about what’s coming up this season,” Hincapie told VeloNews in September. “I needed a new start and I believe with T-Mobile it’s a perfect team. I’ve seen other riders change teams and get stronger. I was set in my ways somewhat at Discovery Channel. I am looking forward to a new challenge.” —Agence France Presse contributed to this story.
