T-Mobile Launch | Cyclingnews

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T-Mobile fills a large stage(Image credit: John Pierce)

News feature, January 17, 2007

One year ago Jan Ullrich was the star of the team and, following the retirement of Lance Armstrong, hopes were strong that he could finally repeat his Tour win of 1997. However Operación Puerto put paid to all of that and, according to several team sources on Saturday, the scandal went very close to ending the sponsor's multi-million euro backing of the team. What saved the squad was the determination that something good could come out of the problem, namely that T-Mobile would reshuffle, reassess, regroup and lead the new anti-doping fight in the sport.

Those words were well received by the audience and no more so than attendees Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and UCI President Pat McQuaid. The two were placed sitting side by side and, despite their considerable differences over the ProTour, both will have appreciated the message that was conveyed. They are also likely to have been impressed by the full battery of anti-doping tests – including a revolutionary anti-blood doping measure – plus the very strong ethical stance that the team has set this year.

Mallorca is Spanish but small pockets of Germany exist on the island, thanks to the annual influx of visitors from this country and the resulting infrastructure that this has created. One example is the Club Robinson resort situated on the eastern side of the island in Cala Serena, the venue for the launch. Things kicked off with a snappy five minute film showing images of the men and women riders, then attention shifted to those presenting the show, the management and, of course, the cyclists themselves.

First to speak was the new CEO of T-Mobile International, Hamid Akhavan. He was asked about the similarity between bike racing and the business of the sponsors, and stated that there are clear parallels. "Both jobs are about facing challenges you can only overcome through strong teamwork and team spirit," he stated. "I think success is about selecting strong individuals with the right mind-set, the tenacity and the competitive spirit to win, then putting them all together and then taking the performance to the next level through team play. I think there are a lot of parallels."

Akhavan said that he is likely to travel to the Tour de France and also the company's local race, the Rund um Köln, in order to support the team. Despite the scandals of last year, he remains convinced that the sport is a good vehicle for their sponsorship. "We have selected the tagline 'simply closer' for T-Mobile's brand. We like to build a very emotional brand for our customers, we like to have a bonding with them and cycling can bring that to life. Cycling is very much an enthusiasts' sport and it is the team spirit of the cycling team that can convey that emotional brand message to our customers.

"My whole career has been based on steady improvements and finishing inside the top ten last year while doing domestique duties was pretty satisfying," he stated. "If I can get into the same shape again I hope to go better, perhaps top five is possible. I've worked hard this winter, doing a lot of mountain biking, and feel like I am in good shape. Things are great with the team this year; there is a really good atmosphere."

In 2006 Bob Stapleton was involved in running the international team and while he has been handed a considerably bigger role this time round, he remains very proud of what the women have achieved. "Last year was their first as an international team," he stated. "They won races on three continents and had a very successful year. They had the world cup jersey for over half the season, so I think the bar is very high for them. They are an extraordinarily motivated group. As Hamid said, they want to build quite a few schools in Africa and they are very motivated to do that."

In terms of guidance, the team will have an all-women management setup in 2007. This draws on the experience of three successful ex-professionals. Former world hour record holder Anna Wilson was a two-time winner of the women's world cup and has given up her occupation as a lawyer to return to working in the sport. Petra Rossner was another world cup winner and also won gold in the Olympics and world championship pursuit, while former Cyclingnews journalist Kristy Scrymgeour was previously Australian national criterium and time trial champion, as well as being a successful pro with the other two on team Saturn.

"These are three very motivated women," said Stapleton. "It is an all-women management team that has a two-time world cup winner and one of the most dominant athletes ever to wear the German national team jersey. In the past, Kristy, Anna, Ina, Petra and Judith all rode together (on Saturn) so they knew a bit about Die Mannschaft. It was also the number one team in the world, so that is a good ambition."

"I love cycling and it is impossible to stay away," said Wilson. "When I finished racing I always wanted to come back and work in cycling and just needed the right opportunity. The T-Mobile team has put together this amazing programme. It is all about the team and we have an amazing group of athletes... Every rider is someone who is capable of winning a race by herself, but they are also people who are willing to sacrifice for their team-mates. That chemistry is incredible. I experienced good chemistry when I rode as part of the Saturn team but I think we have an even better group here."

"We are going to try to have as good a year as in 2006," agreed Arndt. "Last year we won three world cup placings, I was on the top step of the podium several times and I think we made €50,000 for Unicef [the team supports its Schools for Africa campaign]. We were always at the forefront of races and this year, I think a lot of different team members will win races. I believe we can achieve a lot of goals."

Men (29): Michael Barry (30/Canada), Eric Baumann (26/Germany), Lorenzo Bernucci (27/Italy), Marcus Burghardt (23/Germany), Mark Cavendish (21/Great Britain), Gerald Ciolek (20/Germany), Scott Davis (27/Australia), Bernhard Eisel (25/Austria), Linus Gerdemann (24/Germany), Bert Grabsch (30/Germany), André Greipel (24/Germany), Giuseppe Guerini (36/Italy), Roger Hammond (31/Great Britain), Adam Hansen (Australia/25), Greg Henderson (New Zealand/30), Serhiy Honchar (36/Ukraine), Kim Kirchen (28/Luxembourg), Andreas Klier (30/Germany), Servais Knaven (35/Netherlands), André Korff (33/Germany), Axel Merckx (34/Belgium), Aaron Olsen (29/USA), Jacob Piil (33/Denmark), Marco Pinotti (30/Italy, Frantisek Rabon, (23/Czech Republic), Michael Rogers (27/Australia), Stephan Schreck (28/Germany), Patrik Sinkewitz (26/Germany) and Thomas Ziegler (26/Germany).