Team hoping to leave the peloton on a high note in final races
HTC-Highroad will cease to exist at the end of this season but team owner Bob Stapleton has lauded his athletes after what they’ve achieved at the recent World Championships in Copenhagen.
Mark Cavendish won the men’s road race last Sunday when riding as part of the impressive Great Britain team. Germans Tony Martin and Judith Arndt both won the individual time trial to nearly make it a clean sweep in the gold medal stakes.
Finishing second behind Cavendish was trade team-mate Matt Goss while another former HTC-Highroad rider Andre Greipel rounded out the podium.
“These great performances top off an unmatched five years of athletic success” said Stapleton. “These results are the product of a remarkable group of people – athletes, managers, staff and expert support. We can all be proud to see our success continue through the entire season.
“I am interested to see the impact our athletes and managers have in shaping the sport in the coming years. I believe they can be valuable leaders. I would like to thank our people, our partners and our fans for their remarkable support and enthusiasm. We wanted to set the bar high and finish strong. It’s been a great ride.”
The men and women’s team combined have racked up 119 wins this season making the total an impressive 509 victories since 2008. No other team has come close to this tally, which includes 50 Grand Tour stage wins.
“It was and remains an honour to work for this team until the last day,” team manager Rolf Aldag said. “We achieved so much success with such a unique group of people in our own way, never giving up our values and always trying to do things a little bit differently than others. I am very thankful I had the chance to work with this group of people and I am looking forward to new challenges once the season is over.”
Martin has been named on the provisional start list for the Tour of Beijing and should his participation be confirmed, it will give him the opportunity to wear the rainbow colours on an HTC-Highroad jersey for the first and last time as the new Chinese race starts with an individual time trial.
While it is expected that Cavendish will race with Team Sky next season, he will compete in Paris Tours on 9th October giving him the chance to don the rainbow jersey for HTC-Highroad before the American team shuts its doors. With six races left on the calendar, it would take a brave man to bet that the team’s winning number will remain at 509 by the end of the season.