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HTC-Highroad forced to fold by Adam Williams
The cycling world was hit with some unexpected news recently – that successful cycling team HTC-Highroad would be disbanding. In the past few years, HTC-Highroad has easily been the most successful UCI World Tour team, with over 500 race victories since 2008. They also had incredible success in the Grand Tours, winning over 50 stages in the same period. Considering their remarkable record over the years, it is hard to imagine the podiums being HTC free in 2012 and beyond.
The decision was announced by HTC-Highroad owner Bob Stapleton back in early August, and he pointed out the reason being their unsuccessful efforts to secure a long-term sponsor. So while a struggling cycling team being forced to fold due to lack of sponsorship is entirely plausible, having the world’s leading team face the same problem is entirely unheard of. Although HTC had promised to commit to a sponsorship renewal, after dragging their feet for many months they finally decided to pull the pin for reasons unknown.
HTC-Highroad has consistently been ranked as the number one cycling team in the world, and no other team has come close to matching their tally of race wins. So it came as a major surprise for the cycling community to learn of their sponsorship struggles when a normally private Bob Stapleton decided to go public with his sponsor search. He negotiated with several different sponsors after this announcement, and even had last-minute discussions with other teams about a merger, but ultimately a deal could not be struck with any suitors.
Many pundits would point to the rumours of star rider Mark Cavendish leaving for Team Sky as a reason why sponsors were reluctant to come on board, but Bob Stapleton believes other factors were at play. He admitted that every single sponsor they talked with inevitably brought up doping in their discussions, with the issue peaking in intensity this past year with the latest accusations against Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador.
It is not the first time Stapleton has had to deal with doping tarnishing the image of cycling. He was at the helm of the team back when it was sponsored by T-Mobile in 2007. Allegations against high-profile riders on the team led to T-Mobile pulling the plug on cycling sponsorship altogether. Stapleton oversaw the transition through to its present day sponsorship arrangement, and if the HTC-Highroad team leaves behind any sort of legacy in cycling, it would be for its tough anti-doping stance.
Although the HTC-Highroad riders are disappointed with the announcement, they are determined to go out with a bang in the final few races of their tenure. They started their grand-exit with a successful UCI Road World Championships in Denmark last month, with the team collecting 5 gold medals, included taking out 3 of the 4 available gold medals in the feature mens and womens races. Also going out with a bang will be their gear sold in bike shops, so grab a bargain in the cycling jerseys clearance and secure a memento of this great cycling team. We hope they can continue their success in the remaining races for the year, and will look forward to seeing their riders in their respective new teams in 2012 and beyond.
About the Author
Adam Williams is a cycling enthusiast from Australia.
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