So the end of an era comes suddenly and with little warning. In Germany, the fight against doping has taken on the air of a Salem trial witch hunt. Telekom, one of Cycling's oldest and most reliable sponsors, has decided to pull the plug on it's cycling sponsorship. The team could not outrun it's past. Even with the revamping of the team and Bob Stapleton coming on board and making the team into one of the youngest and most promising in the pro tour, German Media continued to lambast the team. Sinkewitz, while admitting to doping, relayed that the culture on the team had totally changed and he was out on his own slapping testosterone patches on. He reported a culture of doping that while pervasive prior to Stapleton, had totally disappeared. Sadly this press was enough to end the team. Heroically, Stapleton has saved enough money to allow the team to operate for the next two years without any major title sponsor. This guy truly is a hero and comes across as genuine. You get the sense he is really in it for the athletes and the sport and should be commended. The new team operating with the name Team High Road will operate with an in house testing system like last year. Again, making them one of the few teams putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to fighting doping. They will be fun to watch and really demonstrate what can be good about the sport.
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