Thought that I’d pass on the sad news that the Discovery Channel team is disbanding at the end of the year. This is the same team that evolved from the US Postal Service Lance Armstrong Teams. This team won eight of the last nine Tour De France’s so it was truly a dynasty. It’s pretty sad that cycling has become so stigmatized that a great team thats been a bright spot for the sport is left to fold. I can’t believe no one in America stepped up to sponsor them and keep them going.

Discovery Channel team to disband

By Darren Ennis 18 minutes ago

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Discovery Channel, the U.S.-based cycling team, will disband at the end of the season after being unable to secure a new sponsor, team manager Johan Bruyneel told Belgian television on Friday.

“I had contacts with candidate sponsors but the situation in the sport is so bad that nobody wants to be involved with us,” Bruyneel told VRT television in Dutch.

The team were forced to search for a new backer after Discovery Channel executives opted not to renew their title sponsorship worth in the region of $14 million a year.

But with the sport blighted by doping scandals, Bruyneel could not find a new sponsor.

Bruyneel added he was also retiring from the team — partly owned by seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

This year’s Tour winner Alberto Contador also rides for the outfit.

“After Armstrong, I wanted to win yet another Tour just once and that has happened. I have given it a lot of thought and I am satisfied that I have reached all I can with the team, so I stop,” Bruyneel said.

Bruyneel was in Madrid on Friday with Spaniard Contador, who held a press conference to proclaim himself a clean rider.

Last year, the 24 year-old was implicated in the Spanish anti-doping investigation Operation Puerto, but was cleared by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

However, suspicions and allegations in the media resurfaced after Contador won last month’s Tour de France which was dogged by doping scandals.

“I won the race cleanly and greatly enjoyed it,” Contador said.

(Additional reporting by Mark Elkington in Madrid)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070810/sp_nm/cycling_discovery_dc_2;_ylt=Ah5B4yG9RFHG79ycyW7mHRoE1vAI

This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 8:56 am and is filed under Cycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.