'Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team' (''UCI Team Code'': 'DSC') is a
US-based professional
road bicycle racing team. It is the continuation of the 2004
US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team.
Lance Armstrong, seven time
Tour de France winner, was its leader (albeit only during the Tour) until July 2005. Since 2005, the team is one of the 20 teams that compete in the new
UCI ProTour.
On
June 15 2004, the
Discovery Channel signed a deal to become sponsor of the team for the seasons of 2004 until 2008. As part of the sponsorship deal, Armstrong will provide on-air appearances for the
Discovery Networks TV Channels, including but not limited to, The Discovery Channel,
TLC, and
Fit TV. The deal did not affect the rights of secondary sponsor OLN, now known as
Versus in the U.S., to air major cycling events such as the Tour de France, despite the fact that the two channels are competitors.
The team is
directed by
Belgian Johan Bruyneel, who also managed U.S. Postal. The chief
mechanic is Julien DeVries. The team is co-owned by Tailwind Sports Corp. of
San Francisco and Capital Sports & Entertainment of
Austin, TX.
On
February 10 2007 Discovery Channel announced that it will not renew its sponsorship of the team at the end of the 2007 season.
[1] The decison to end its sponsorship is believed to be related to the
sacking of
Discovery Networks president
Billy Campbell by David Zaslav, the new president of
Discovery Communications the same day.
On
August 10, 2007, for reasons that have not been made clear, the team announced that it would cease operations at the end of the year.
[2]
Team rosters
The final season
On
August 10 2007, Tailwind Sports announced the end of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Tailwind officials stopped their search for a new title sponsor for the Discovery team, citing the current tumultuous conditions within the sport of cycling. Team operations will continue until the end of the 2007 season.
The team's riders will now be on the market in search of new teams. American Levi Leipheimer who finished 3rd in the general classification of the 2007 Tour de France should have no trouble finding a team. 2007 Tour de France winner, Alberto Contador will need to address recent accusations that he was involved in the
Operacion Puerto doping scandal before securing a team contract.
The 2007 U.S. national road champion, George Hincapie has found a new team for 2008. Hincapie has signed a contract for the 2008 season with the
T-mobile cycling team, run by the American and T-mobile founder,
Bob Stapleton.
[3]
2007 squad
As of
April 30,
2007.
[4]
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Fumiyuki Beppu|nat=JPN |birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Volodymyr Bileka|nat=UKR|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Janez BrajkoviÄ|nat=SLO|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Alberto Contador|nat=ESP|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Antonio Cruz|nat=USA|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Steve Cummings|nat=GBR|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Tom Danielson|nat=USA|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Allan Davis|nat=AUS|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
John Devine[5] |other=From July 2007|nat=USA|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Stijn Devolder|nat=BEL|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Vladimir Gusev|nat=RUS|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
George Hincapie|nat=USA|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Levi Leipheimer|nat=USA|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Fuyu Li|nat=CHN|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Trent Lowe|nat=AUS|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Egoi MartÃnez|nat=ESP|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Jason McCartney|nat=USA|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Gianni Meersman|nat=BEL|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Uroš Murn|nat=SLO|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
BenjamÃn Noval|nat=ESP|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Pavel Padrnos|nat=CZE|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Sérgio Paulinho|nat=POR|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Yaroslav Popovych|nat=UKR|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
José Luis Rubiera|nat=ESP|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Tomas Vaitkus|nat=LTU|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Jurgen Van Goolen|nat=BEL|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Brian Vandborg|nat=DEN|birthdate=
{{Cycling squad rider|name=
Matt White|nat=AUS|birthdate=
Former members of Discovery Channel
Former members of U.S. Postal
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team history and notable wins
2007
2006
2005
U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team history and notable wins
The 'US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team' and later named the 'US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team presented by Berry Floor' operated from 1996 through 2004, and during its time fielded one of the biggest names in modern cycling:
Lance Armstrong.
The United States Postal Service was the title (primary) sponsor from 1996 through 2004 and the team was nicknamed the "Blue Train". Berry Floor, a Belgian flooring company, was the secondary sponsor, also known as a Presenting Sponsor. Domestically the USPS Pro Cycling Team was presented by Alloc, the American subsidiary of Berry Floor.
Armstrong won six Tours de France (1999-2004) with US Postal, and in 2003
Roberto Heras—at that time a US Postal rider—won the
Vuelta a España. Armstrong went on to win a seventh Tour de France in 2005, after the USPS contract and sponsorship ended.
The US Postal Service announced that they would cease sponsorship at the end of the 2004 racing season when their eight-year contract expired. They had previously been under fire for the expenditure from organizations such as Postal Watch, a website critical of the United States Postal Service. Legitimate problems of mismanagement and sloppy accounting were pointed out by the Postal Service itself, via the USPS Office of the Inspector General. Before the expiration of the USPS contract, Armstrong insisted that he would only continue to ride with the USPS team structure. This demand was met on
June 15,
2004 when
Discovery Networks stepped in and agreed to sponsor the team for the next three years as the 'Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team'.
2004
2003
2002
2001
In 2001, the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team was named the
USOC Team of the Year. Also, Armstrong was named USOC SportsMan of the Year, which he won in 1999.
2000
1999
1998
1997
Thomas Weisel brings in
Mark Gorski, who is the
1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Men's 1000 m Sprint (Scratch) event, as
team manager. Due in large part to Russian
Viatcheslav Ekimov and his key stage wins at
Paris-Nice and the
Dauphiné Libéré, the USPS squad gets its first invitation to ride in the
Tour de France.
1996
With the help of
Thomas Weisel and
Eddy Borysewicz, the United States Postal Service begins its reign as title sponsor to what has become the most successful cycling team from the United States. Borysewicz served as the team's
directeur sportif and the team raced mainly in domestic events in the United States.
Early history and notable wins
1995 – Montgomery-Bell
Montgomery Securities Chief Executive Thomas W. Weisel, an avid cyclist, continues his support for cycling.
1992-1994 – Subaru-Montgomery
Subaru and Montgomery Securities, led by Thomas Weisel, serve as co-title sponsors.
1988-1989 – Sunkyong (Amateur)
Eddie Borysewicz, known as "Eddy B", began an amateur squad sponsored by Sunkyong, a South Korea-based manufacturing and industrial conglomerate. At the
1984 Summer Olympics, Borysewicz served as the U.S. Olympic Cycling Coach and led American cyclists to an unprecedented nine Olympic medals. Borysewicz is the author of the 1985 book entitled, ''Bicycle Road Racing: The Complete Program for Training and Competition''.
Sponsors
The following companies and organizations serve as sponsors for the 2007 squad:
[6]
★
Discovery Channel
★
AMD
★
24 Hour Fitness
★
Trek
★
Nike, Inc.
★ Thomas Weisel Partners
★
Å koda Auto
★
Mio Technology Europe
★
Bissell
★ Bontrager
★
Shimano
★
Giro
★ Powerbar
★ Carmichael Training Systems
★ 1st Endurance
★ Tacx
★ Hutchinson
★ FRS Antioxidant Energy
★ eSoles
★ Park Tool USA
★ Sci Con
★ Sapim Race Spokes
★ SRM
★ Maximize
See also
★
List of teams and cyclists in the 2007 Tour de France
★
2007 Tour de France
★
Tour de France
References
1. Discovery Channel to end sponsorship Sue George
2. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/10/ap4008411.html
3. Discovery gives up sponsor hunt
4. Team Discovery Channel Challenge 2007 – THE RIDERS
5. Discovery Channel finalises '07 roster
6. http://www.thepaceline.com/sponsors.aspx
External links
;Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
★
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
★
The Official Fan Club of Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
★
Discovery Channel team page at Cyclingpost
;U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team
★
USPS Pro Cycling Team Website
★
Letter arguing that Postal Watch has no case against the USPS
★
Inspector General criticisms of sponsorships
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