Phonak team manager Andy Rihs has written of his pride in his team's and Floyd Landis' achievement in winning the Tour de France. The mood among the team as Landis crossed the line in Paris was "indescribable," Rihs wrote in a team newsletter.
Landis, Rihs wrote, "knows how to work a spell on people, and he won their hearts with his uncomplicated and very approachable style. I'm proud of Floyd Landis and the entire team. What they did during the past three weeks is enormous."
This year's Tour was only Phonak's third and Rihs charted the team's increasing ambition and achievement over its brief career. "The first year we were happy just to be a part of it," he wrote. "The next year, we celebrated our first stage win, and this year, after taking another stage win, we were also able to cheer together after achieving the biggest goal, the overall win."
Despite having an American team leader and Tour winner and, next year, an American sponsor in iShares, Rihs says the team "will remain a Swiss team. For that reason, I not only hope that we'll be able to defend the Tour de France title next year. I also hope that a top Swiss rider will soon emerge from our team."
