Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
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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 the 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.
In its maiden year, the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team won two of the three Grand Tours of cycling: The Tour de France (Lance Armstrong) and the Giro d'Italia (Paolo Savoldelli).
Contents |
[edit] Team rosters
[edit] 2007 squad
Though the 2007 roster is not yet finalized, the following changes have been announced:
- Viatcheslav Ekimov is retiring and taking a position with Discovery Channel as directeur sportif (sporting director).
- Levi Leipheimer is returning to the team (with whom he rode in the US Postal days) from Team Gerolsteiner.
- Sérgio Paulinho from Team Astana is coming onboard.
- Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus arrives from AG2R Prévoyance.
- Belgians Leif Hoste and Jurgen van den Broeck will ride for Davitamon-Lotto in 2007.
- José Azevedo is leaving to race domestically in Portugal for SL Benfica.
- Manuel Beltrán is joining Liquigas.
- Slovenian Uros Murn will join up after this season. Murns currently rides for Phonak.
- Canadian Michael Barry and Brit Roger Hammond will be part of the 2007 T-Mobile Team.
- While 21 year old Gianni Meersman of Belgium will also join up. Meersman rides for Beveren 2000 and has 6 wins this year.
- Benoit Joachim, Guennady Mikhaylov, Paolo Savoldelli, will all ride for Astana in 2007.
- Max van Heeswijk has joined Rabobank.
- Ivan Basso having been cleared of charges surrounding the Operación Puerto affair, has signed for 2007 and beyond.
[edit] 2006 squad
Team leaders include 2005 Giro winner Paolo Savoldelli, 2005 Tour white jersey winner Yaroslav Popovych, George Hincapie, and climbing specialists José Azevedo and José Luis Rubiera. Other notable riders include Manuel Beltrán and Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov, who is the most experienced rider in the team at 40 years old, and has finished all 11 Tours he has ridden.
Many expected the team to achieve success in the 2006 Tour de France, despite the retirement of Lance Armstrong. Indeed, after the first stage, Hincapie was in the yellow jersey. However, after that point the team had no more results, except during stage 12 between Luchon and Carcassonne (211 km), when Popovych won the stage by 27 seconds.
[edit] Former members of U.S. Postal
[edit] Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team history and notable wins
[edit] 2006
[edit] 2005
[edit] 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.
[edit] 2004
[edit] 2003
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-09-28 | Overall, Vuelta a España | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | Roberto Heras |
| 2003-09-27 | Stage 20, Vuelta a España | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | Roberto Heras |
| 2003-07-27 | Overall, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2003-07-21 | Stage 15, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2003-07-09 | Stage 4 (TTT), Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team |
[edit] 2002
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-07-28 | Overall, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2002-07-27 | Stage 19 (ITT), Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2002-07-19 | Stage 12, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2002-07-18 | Stage 11, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2002-06 | USPRO National Road Race Championships | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Chann McRae |
| 2002-07-18 | Overall, Vuelta a Murcia | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | Víctor Hugo Peña |
[edit] 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.
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-07-28 | Overall, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2001-07-27 | Stage 18 (ITT), Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2001-07-18 | Stage 11, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2001-07-17 | Stage 10, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2001-04-11 | Gent-Wevelgem | Image:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium | George Hincapie |
[edit] 2000
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-07-23 | General Classification, Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2000-07-21 | Stage 19 (ITT), Tour de France | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 2000 | GP Eddy Merckx | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong and Viatcheslav Ekimov |
[edit] 1999
[edit] 1998
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | USPRO National Road Race Championships | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | George Hincapie |
| 1998 | Overall, Tour of Luxembourg | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 1998 | Stage, Tour of Luxembourg | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 1998 | Stage, Rheinland Pfalz | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Lance Armstrong |
| 1998 | Killington (Vermont) Stage Race | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | George Hincapie |
| 1998 | First Union Invitational (Lancaster, Pa.) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Frankie Andreu |
[edit] 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.
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Stage, Dauphiné Libéré | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Viatcheslav Ekimov |
| 1997 | Stage, Paris-Nice | Image:Flag of France.svg France | Viatcheslav Ekimov |
| 1997 | Image:Flag of Russia (bordered).svg Russia National Road Race Championship | Image:Flag of Russia (bordered).svg Russia | Viatcheslav Ekimov |
| 1997 | Stage, Setmana Catalana | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | George Hincapie |
[edit] 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.
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | USPRO National Road Race Championships | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Eddy Gragus |
[edit] Early history and notable wins
[edit] 1995 – Montgomery-Bell
Montgomery Securities Chief Executive Thomas W. Weisel, an avid cyclist, continues his support for cycling.
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Stage 8, Tour Du Pont | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Clark Sheehan |
[edit] 1992-1994 – Subaru-Montgomery
Subaru and Montgomery Securities, led by Thomas Weisel, serve as co-title sponsors.
| Date | Race | Location | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Stage 1, Redlands Classic | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Miguel Arroyo |
| 1992 | USPRO National Road Race Championships | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Bart Bowen |
| 1992 | Herald Sun Tour | Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | Bart Bowen |
| 1991 | Stage 2, Redlands Classic | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Jim Copeland |
| 1991 | Stage 6, Redlands Classic | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Krzysstof Wiatr |
[edit] 1988-1991 – Sunkyong (Amateur)
Eddy Borysewicz, known as "Eddy B", begins an amateur squad sponsored by Sunkyong, a South Korea-based manufacturing and industrial conglomerate. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, Borysewicz serves as the U.S. Olympic Cycling Coach and leds U.S. 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.
[edit] Sponsors
The following companies and organizations serve as sponsors for the 2006 squad:<ref>http://www.thepaceline.com/sponsors.aspx</ref>
- Discovery Channel
- AMD
- 24 Hour Fitness
- Berry Floor
- Trek / Bontrager (same company)
- Nike, Inc.
- OLN
- Powerbar
- Thomas Weisel Partners
- Bissell
- Subaru
- Shimano
- Ciclosport
- Dasani
- Giro
- Hutchinson
- Carmichael Training Systems
- Park Tool USA
- Sci Con
- Sapim Race Spokes
- Maximize
- Tacx
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] 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
- 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
| Teams UCI ProTour (2007) |
|---|
| Ag2r Prévoyance • Astana Team • Bouygues Télécom • Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone • Crédit Agricole • Team CSC • Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team • Euskaltel-Euskadi • La Française des Jeux • Gerolsteiner • Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears • Lampre-Fondital • Liquigas • Team Milram • Predictor-Lotto • Quick·Step-Innergetic • Rabobank • Saunier Duval-Prodir • T-Mobile Team • Unibet.com See also: UCI ProTour • UCI ProTour 2007 • 2006-2007 UCI Africa Tour • 2006-2007 UCI America Tour • 2006-2007 UCI Asia Tour • 2006-2007 UCI Europe Tour • 2006-2007 UCI Oceania Tour |
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