U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (until 2004: U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ) was a cycling team in the U.S..
- 4.1 Achievements in the ProTour
- 4.2 Achievements in the Continental Circuits
- 4.3 Disposals Additions
- 4.4 Team 2007
Organization
The team was mainly founded in 1996 under the name U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team with staff of the previously resolved Team Motorola. After the withdrawal of the U.S. Postal Service from cycling at the end of the 2004 season of the American TV channel Discovery Channel took over the sponsorship of the team with a budget of 12 million US-Dollar/Jahr. In the sporting and business area succeeded in guiding people in the team to Lance Armstrong, to renew the contracts of most cyclist and also to undertake some new drivers. Sports director of the team was the Belgian Johan Bruyneel as with U.S. Postal. Since November 2006, there was a cooperation with the Chinese Marco Polo Cycling Team, which ran in the 2007 season under the name Discovery Channel Marco Polo.
On 8 December 2006, the Association of UCI ProTeam IPCT, the Discovery Channel team decided in an upcoming meeting on 11 January 2007 excluded, since the obligation would in the doping scandal involved Fuentes Ivan Basso a breach of the Code of Ethics are available. However, with 8 votes to 7, the members decided against exclusion. Since April 2007 appeared new incriminating evidence against Basso, he was only suspended from the team management and solved a few days later his two- year contract on itself.
Discovery Channel pulled the end of 2007 from cycling sponsorship back. Since the team could not find a new sponsor, it was dissolved in late 2007. Bruyneel and many drivers switched to Kazakh team Astana.
Sports and doping profile
The team was known primarily for the six victories in the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong imports from 1999 to 2004 in the U.S. Postal jersey and a seventh success in 2005 for Discovery Channel ( subsequently stripped for doping ). Team manager Bruyneel and Armstrong built in this period, systematically together a team, which was like no team aligned previously completely and exclusively to supporting Armstrong in the Tour de France. The core of the team formed since Armstrong's first victory of the all-rounder George Hincapie and time trial specialist Vyacheslav Ekimov. For this purpose every year strong climbers like Roberto Heras, José Luis Rubiera, Manuel Beltrán and José Azevedo were committed as " noble helpers". Top professionals with own ambitions left the team, eg Tyler Hamilton, Levi Leipheimer, Tom Boonen and finally Roberto Heras. The important role of the team with Lance Armstrong's victories is illustrated by the strong placement U.S. postals at the team time trial of the Tour, which she won in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
In October 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency USADA released the results of its investigation into doping Armstrong. The report stated that the team have operated the most sophisticated, most professional and most successful doping program in sports history. The report included incriminating statements of eleven former riders including Frankie Andreu, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, which the use of erythropoietin ( EPO), blood transfusions, testosterone and other banned substances and methods described by the team on 22 October saw the world cycling federation UCI on this basis, all the results obtained by Armstrong since 1 August 1998 for doping from, including all seven Tour de France victories.
Season 2006
Success in the ProTour
Successes in the Continental Circuits
Season 2007
Success in the ProTour
Successes in the Continental Circuits
Departures - Arrivals
Team 2007
Placings in UCI rankings
UCI World Ranking
UCI ProTour