Highroad ends association with cycling after four successful years

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Sunday's Chrono des Nations marked the end of an era as the HTC-Highroad men's and women's teams not only finished their seasons, but also concluded Highroad's involvement with the sport. 

After the demise of the T-Mobile team at the end of 2007, Bob Stapleton breathed new life into the team, dubbed 'Highroad', shedding much of the former roster and instilling a philosophy that welcomed riders from a wealth of nations and creating a formula for success. In its four year history the team racked up no less than 513 wins between the women's and men's squads, and it was perhaps fitting that in its last race, it went out with a double victory.

Amber Neben won the women's race, and new time trial world champion Tony Martin proved the strongest of the men.

"I felt really good racing here and I was confident after worlds and winning in China," said Martin. "Now I'm really happy to finish the season on a high and I'm looking forward to some rest and building towards next season."

Team owner Bob Stapleton was also happy to be signing off in the best possible way.

"It's wonderful to see the team successful again right to the very end of the season," said Stapleton. "Both the men and the women won their first race of the season in January and now they have both won the last race. It's testament to the attitude of all of our staff and riders over the years and I'm very proud of their success."

Though the men's team has very much disbanded, much of the HTC-Highroad women's team will stay together under Highroad communications manager Kristy Scrymgeour with new team Specialized - lululemon.