Team HTC-Highroad will disband at the end of 2011 because the team could not find a new sponsor, but it will compete in Colorado’s inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge, race co-chairman Shawn Hunter confirmed Saturday.
“All good,” he texted about the news.
Bob Stapleton, owner of the San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based team, said Thursday night a potential sponsorship deal fell through recently.
“After an exhaustive search to secure long-term sponsorship we have concluded that it’s time to release our team members to pursue other options,” Stapleton said in a statement.
The team includes Mark Cavendish, the British sprinter who has won 20 stages in the Tour de France. HTC-Highroad’s men’s and women’s teams have compiled a world-best 484 victories.
The USA Pro Cycling Challenge is Aug. 22-28, starting in Colorado Springs and ending in Denver.
John Henderson, The Denver Post
