Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team

Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (UCI Team Code: DSC) was a US-based professional road bicycle racing team. It was the continuation of the 2004 US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. Lance Armstrong, seven time Tour de France winner, was its leader (albeit only during the Tour) until July 2005. From 2005 until 2007, the team was one of the 20 teams that compete in the new UCI ProTour.

On June 15 2004, the Discovery Channel signed a deal to become sponsor of the team for the seasons of 2004 until 2008. As part of the sponsorship deal, Armstrong provided on-air appearances for the Discovery Networks TV Channels, including but not limited to, The Discovery Channel, TLC, and Fit TV. The deal did not affect the rights of secondary sponsor OLN, now known as Versus in the U.S., to air major cycling events such as the Tour de France, despite the fact that the two channels are competitors.

The team was directed by Belgian Johan Bruyneel, who also managed U.S. Postal. The chief mechanic was Julien DeVries. The team was co-owned by Tailwind Sports Corp. of San Francisco and Capital Sports & Entertainment of Austin, TX.

On February 10 2007 Discovery Channel announced that it will not renew its sponsorship of the team at the end of the 2007 season. The decision to end its sponsorship is believed to be related to the sacking of Discovery Networks president Billy Campbell (TV executive) by David Zaslav, the new president of Discovery Communications the same day.

On August 10, 2007, for reasons that have not been made clear, the team announced that it would cease operations and disband at the end of the 2007.

Team rosters

The final season

On August 10 2007, Tailwind Sports announced the end of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Tailwind officials stopped their search for a new title sponsor for the Discovery team, citing the current tumultuous conditions within the sport of cycling. [Weislo, Laura "Discovery disbands: Tailwind Sports confirms team's end". CyclingNews, .] Team operations continued until the end of the 2007 season.

The 2007 U.S. national road champion George Hincapie signed a contract for the 2008 season with Team High Road, now Team Columbia, run by the American Bob Stapleton.

2007 squad

As of April 30, 2007.

Former members of Discovery Channel

Name	Years	Career Highlight with Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
Lance Armstrong	2005	2005 Tour de France (7th consecutive win)
José Azevedo	2005-2006
Michael Barry	2005-2006	2005, 1st Stage 5 Tour of Austria; 2006, 3rd Sachsen Tour International
Ivan Basso	2007
Manuel Beltran	2005-2006	9th 2006 Vuelta a España
Michael Creed	2005
Antonio Cruz	2005
Viatcheslav Ekimov	2005-2006	1st Stage 4 2005 Three Days of De Panne
Roger Hammond	2005-2006
Ryder Hesjedal	2005
Leif Hoste	2005-2006	2006 Three Days of De Panne, 2nd 2006 Ronde van Vlaanderen
Benoît Joachim	2005-2006	2006 National Time Trial Cycling Championship
Jonathan Patrick McCarty	2005
Gennady Mikhaylov	2005-2006
Hayden Roulston	2005
Paolo Savoldelli	2005-2006	2005 Giro d'Italia, 1st Stage 17 2005 Tour de France
Jurgen Van Den Broeck	2005-2006
Max Van Heeswijk	2005-2006	1st Stage 1 2006 Tour de Pologne

Former members of U.S. Postal

Name	Years	Career Highlight with US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team
Lance Armstrong	1998-2004	1999-2004 Tour de France (First 6 of 7 consecutive wins)
Frankie Andreu	1998-2000
José Azevedo	2004	5th at the 2004 Tour de France
Dariusz Baranowski	1998	12th at the 1998 Tour de France
Michael Barry	2002-2004
Tom Boonen	2000-2002	3rd at the 2002 Paris-Roubaix
Jamie Burrow	2000
Dylan Casey	1999-2002	1998/2002 US National Time Trial Champion; 1999, 3rd Tour of the Netherlands; 2000, 1st TT Four Days of Dunkirk; 2000, 1st TT Tour de Luxembourg
David Clinger	2002
Michael Creed	2004
Antonio Cruz	2001-2004
Julian Dean	1999-2000
Pascal Derame	1998-1999
Viatcheslav Ekimov	1997-2004
David George	1999-2000
Tyler Hamilton	1996-2000
Andrew Hampsten	1996
Roberto Heras	2001-2003	2003 Vuelta a España
Ryder Hesjedal	2004
Frank Høj	1999
Marty Jemison	1998-1999	1999 USPRO National Road Champion
Patrick Jonker	2000
Steffen Kjærgaard	2000-2003
Damon Kluck	2003
Kenny Labbé	2000-2004
Floyd Landis	2002-2004
Juan Llaneras Rosello	1998
Levi Leipheimer	2000-2001	3rd Overall, 2001 Vuelta a España
Kevin Livingston	1999-2000
Glenn Magnusson	1999
Chann McRae	2002	2002 USPRO National Road Champion
Peter Meinert-Nielsen	1998-1999
Gianpaolo Mondini	2002
Kirk O'Bee	2000
Víctor Hugo Peña	2001-2004
Daniel Rincon	2004
Jean-Cyril Robin	1998	6th at the 1998 Tour de France
Sven Teutenberg	1998
Christian Vandevelde	1998-2003
Jonathan Vaughters	1998-1999
Cédric Vasseur	2000
Stive Vermaut	2000
Robbie Ventura	2003-2004
Anton Villatoro	1996-1998
Matt White	2001-2003
Dave Zabriskie	2003-2004	2004 U.S. National Elite Time Trial Championship

Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team history and notable wins

2007

Date	Race	Winner
2007-09-16	Overall, 2007 Tour of Missouri	George Hincapie
2007-09-15	Stage 14, 2007 Vuelta a España	Jason McCartney
2007-09-13	Stage 3, 2007 Tour of Missouri	Levi Leipheimer
2007-09-12	Stage 2, 2007 Tour of Missouri	George Hincapie
2007-09-02	National Road Race Cycling Championship	Levi Leipheimer
2007-08-13	Stage 2, 2007 Tour de l'Ain	Brian Vandborg
2007-07-29	Overall, 2007 Tour de France	Alberto Contador
2007-07-29	Best Young Rider, 2007 Tour de France	Alberto Contador
2007-07-29	Team Classification, 2007 Tour de France	Discovery Channel
2007-07-28	Stage 19 (ITT), 2007 Tour de France	Levi Leipheimer
2007-07-22	Stage 14, 2007 Tour de France	Alberto Contador
2007-07-22	Points Classification, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	Allan Davis
2007-07-22	Stage 9, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	Allan Davis
2007-07-21	Stage 8, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	José Luis Rubiera
2007-07-19	Stage 6, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	Allan Davis
2007-07-18	Stage 5, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	Allan Davis
2007-07-16	Stage 3, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	Allan Davis
2007-07-15	Overall, 2007 Tour of Austria	Stijn Devolder
2007-07-14	Stage 7 (ITT), 2007 Tour of Austria	Stijn Devolder
2007-07-14	Stage 1, 2007 Tour of Qinghai Lake	Allan Davis
2007-07-12	Stage 5, 2007 Tour of Austria	Gianni Meersman
2007-07-01	National Road Race Championships	Stijn Devolder
2007-06-29	National Time Trial Cycling Championship	Vladimir Gusev
2007-06-24	Mountains Classification, 2007 Tour de Suisse	Vladimir Gusev
2007-06-21	Stage 6, 2007 Tour de Suisse	Vladimir Gusev
2007-06-03	Overall, 2007 Tour of Belgium	Vladimir Gusev
2007-06-01	Stage 3 (ITT), 2007 Tour of Belgium	Vladimir Gusev
2007-05-23	Stage 3, 2007 Volta a Catalunya	Allan Davis
2007-04-22	Overall, 2007 Tour de Georgia	Janez Brajkovič
2007-04-22	Best Young Rider, 2007 Tour de Georgia	Janez Brajkovič
2007-04-22	Team Classification, 2007 Tour de Georgia	Discovery Channel
2007-04-20	Stage 5, 2007 Tour de Georgia	Levi Leipheimer
2007-04-19	Stage 4 (ITT), 2007 Tour de Georgia	Levi Leipheimer
2007-04-18	Stage 3, 2007 Tour de Georgia	Gianni Meersman
2007-04-05	Stage 4 (ITT), 2007 Three Days of De Panne	Stijn Devolder
2007-03-30	Overall, 2007 Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León	Alberto Contador
2007-03-30	Combination Classification, 2007 Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León	Alberto Contador
2007-03-30	Spanish Rider Classification, 2007 Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León	Alberto Contador
2007-03-29	Stage 4, 2007 Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León	Alberto Contador
2007-03-18	Overall, 2007 Paris-Nice	Alberto Contador
2007-03-18	Best Young Rider, 2007 Paris-Nice	Alberto Contador
2007-03-18	Stage 7, 2007 Paris-Nice	Alberto Contador
2007-03-16	Stage 5, 2007 Paris-Nice	Yaroslav Popovych
2007-03-15	Stage 4, 2007 Paris-Nice	Alberto Contador
2007-03-02	Stage 4, 2007 Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana	Alberto Contador
2007-02-25	Overall, 2007 Tour of California	Levi Leipheimer
2007-02-23	Stage 5 (ITT), 2007 Tour of California	Levi Leipheimer
2007-02-18	Prologue, 2007 Tour of California	Levi Leipheimer
2007-02-15	Metas Volantes, 2007 Vuelta a Mallorca	Tomas Vaitkus

2006

Date	Race	Winner
2006-09-17	Team Classification, Vuelta a España	Discovery Channel
2006-09-17	King of the Mountains, Vuelta a España	Egoi Martínez
2006-09-13	Stage 17, Vuelta a España	Tom Danielson
2006-09-06	Stage 11, Vuelta a España	Egoi Martínez
2006-09-04	Stage 1, Tour de Pologne	Max van Heeswijk
2006-09-02	National Road Race Cycling Championship	George Hincapie
2006-08-27	National Time Trial Cycling Championship	Leif Hoste
2006-08-20	Stage 4 (ITT), Eneco Tour of Benelux	George Hincapie
2006-08-09	Best Young Rider, Deutschland Tour	Vladimir Gusev
2006-08-01	Prologue, Deutschland Tour	Vladimir Gusev
2006-07-23	Overall, Sachen Tour International	Vladimir Gusev
2006-07-14	Stage 12, Tour de France	Yaroslav Popovych
2006-07-09	Overall, Hervis Tour of Austria	Tom Danielson
2006-07-03	Maillot jaune After Stage 1, Tour de France	George Hincapie
2006-06-11	National Time Trial Cycling Championship	Fumiyuki Beppu
2006	National Road Race Cycling Championship	Fumiyuki Beppu
2006-05-28	Combination Classification (Maglia Blu), Giro d'Italia	Paolo Savoldelli
2006-05-06	Prologue, Giro d'Italia	Paolo Savoldelli
2006-04-25	Prologue, Tour de Romandie	Paolo Savoldelli
2006-03-30	Overall, Three Days of De Panne	Leif Hoste
2006-03-30	KOM, Three Days of De Panne	Leif Hoste
2006-03-30	Stage 4, Three Days of De Panne	Leif Hoste
2006-03-28	Stage 1, Three Days of De Panne	Leif Hoste
2006-02-26	Stage 5, Tour of California	George Hincapie
2006-02-21	Stage 2, Tour of California	George Hincapie
2006	National Cyclo-Cross Championship	Roger Hammond

2005

Date	Race	Winner
2005	Team Classification, Hervis Tour of Austria	Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
2005-09-02	Stage 6, Vuelta a España	Max van Heeswijk
2005-08-28	GP Ouest-France	George Hincapie
2005-08-08	Stage 5 Eneco Tour of Benelux	Max van Heeswijk
2005-08-04	Stage 1, Eneco Tour of Benelux	Max van Heeswijk
2005-07-24	General Classification, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2005-07-24	Best Young Rider Classification, Tour de France	Yaroslav Popovych
2005-07-23	Stage 20, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2005-07-20	Stage 17, Tour de France	Paolo Savoldelli
2005-07-17	Stage 15, Tour de France	George Hincapie
2005-07-05	Stage 4 (TTT), Tour de France	Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
2005-06-12	Team Classification, Dauphiné Libéré	Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
2005-06-12	Points Classification, Dauphiné Libéré	Lance Armstrong
2005-06-12	Stage 7, Dauphiné Libéré	George Hincapie
2005-06-05	Prologue, Dauphiné Libéré	George Hincapie
2005-05-29	General Classification, Giro d'Italia	Paolo Savoldelli
2005-05-19	Stage 11, Giro d'Italia	Paolo Savoldelli
2005-05-22	Overall, Volta a Catalunya	Yaroslav Popovych
2005-04	Overall, Tour of Georgia	Tom Danielson
2005-02-27	Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne	George Hincapie

U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team history and notable wins

The US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and later named the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team presented by Berry Floor operated from 1996 through 2004, and during its time fielded one of the biggest names in modern cycling: Lance Armstrong.

The United States Postal Service was the title (primary) sponsor from 1996 through 2004 and the team was nicknamed the "Blue Train". Berry Floor, a Belgian flooring company, was the secondary sponsor, also known as a Presenting Sponsor. Domestically the USPS Pro Cycling Team was presented by Alloc, the American subsidiary of Berry Floor.

Armstrong won six Tours de France (1999-2004) with US Postal, and in 2003 Roberto Heras—at that time a US Postal rider—won the Vuelta a España. Armstrong went on to win a seventh Tour de France in 2005, after the USPS contract and sponsorship ended.

The US Postal Service announced that they would cease sponsorship at the end of the 2004 racing season when their eight-year contract expired. They had previously been under fire for the expenditure from organizations such as Postal Watch, a website critical of the United States Postal Service. Legitimate problems of mismanagement and sloppy accounting were pointed out by the Postal Service itself, via the USPS Office of the Inspector General. Before the expiration of the USPS contract, Armstrong insisted that he would only continue to ride with the USPS team structure. This demand was met on June 15, 2004 when Discovery Networks stepped in and agreed to sponsor the team for the next three years as the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.

2004

Date	Race	Winner
2004-07-25	Overall, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2004-07-24	Stage 19, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2004-07-22	Stage 17, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2004-07-21	Stage 16, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2004-07-20	Stage 15, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2004-07-17	Stage 13, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2004-07-07	Stage 4 (TTT), Tour de France	U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team
2004-04-24	Overall, Tour de Georgia	Lance Armstrong
2004-04-23	Stage 4, Tour de Georgia	Lance Armstrong
2004-04-22	Stage 3, Tour de Georgia	Lance Armstrong
2004-04-01	Overall, Three Days of De Panne	George Hincapie

2003

Date	Race	Winner
2003-09-28	Overall, Vuelta a España	Roberto Heras
2003-09-27	Stage 20, Vuelta a España	Roberto Heras
2003-07-27	Overall, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2003-07-21	Stage 15, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2003-07-09	Stage 4 (TTT), Tour de France	U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team

2002

Date	Race	Winner
2002-07-28	Overall, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2002-07-27	Stage 19 (ITT), Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2002-07-19	Stage 12, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2002-07-18	Stage 11, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2002-06	USPRO National Road Race Championships	Chann McRae
2002-07-18	Overall, Vuelta a Murcia	Víctor Hugo Peña

2001

In 2001, the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team was named the USOC Team of the Year. Also, Armstrong was named USOC SportsMan of the Year, which he won in 1999.

Date	Race	Winner
2001-07-28	Overall, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2001-07-27	Stage 18 (ITT), Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2001-07-18	Stage 11, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2001-07-17	Stage 10, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2001-04-11	Gent-Wevelgem	George Hincapie

2000

Date	Race	Winner
2000-07-23	Overall, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2000-07-21	Stage 19 (ITT), Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
2000	GP Eddy Merckx	Lance Armstrong and Viatcheslav Ekimov

1999

Date	Race	Winner
1999-07-25	Overal, Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
1999-07-24	Stage 19 (ITT), Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
1999-07-11	Stage 8 (ITT), Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
1999-06-03	Prologue (ITT), Tour de France	Lance Armstrong
1999	USPRO National Road Race Championships	Marty Jemison
1999	Stage, Circuit de la Sarthe	Lance Armstrong
1999	Stage, Dauphiné Libéré	Lance Armstrong
1999	Stage, Route du Sud	Lance Armstrong
1999	First Union Classic (Trenton, NJ)	George Hincapie
1999	Redlands Classic (Redlands, CA)	Christian Vandevelde
1999	Best Young Rider Classification, Four Days of Dunkirk	Christian Vandevelde

1998

Date	Race	Winner
1998	USPRO National Road Race Championships	George Hincapie
1998	Overall, Tour de Luxembourg	Lance Armstrong
1998	Stage, Tour de Luxembourg	Lance Armstrong
1998	Overall, Rheinland Pfalz	Lance Armstrong
1998	Killington (Vermont) Stage Race	George Hincapie
1998	First Union Invitational (Lancaster, Pa.)	Frankie Andreu

1997

Thomas Weisel brings in Mark Gorski, who is the 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Men's 1000 m Sprint (Scratch) event, as team manager. Due in large part to Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov and his key stage wins at Paris-Nice and the Dauphiné Libéré, the USPS squad gets its first invitation to ride in the Tour de France.

Date	Race	Winner
1997	Stage, Dauphiné Libéré	Viatcheslav Ekimov
1997	Stage, Paris-Nice	Viatcheslav Ekimov
1997	National Road Race Championship	Viatcheslav Ekimov
1997	Stage, Setmana Catalana	George Hincapie

1996

With the help of Thomas Weisel and Eddy Borysewicz, the United States Postal Service begins its reign as title sponsor to what has become the most successful cycling team from the United States. Borysewicz served as the team's directeur sportif and the team raced mainly in domestic events in the United States.

Date	Race	Location	Winner
1996	USPRO National Road Race Championships		Eddy Gragus

Early history and notable wins

1995 – Montgomery-Bell

Montgomery Securities Chief Executive Thomas W. Weisel, an avid cyclist, continues his support for cycling.

Date	Race	Location	Winner
1995	Stage 8, Tour Du Pont		Clark Sheehan

1992-1994 – Subaru-Montgomery

Subaru and Montgomery Securities, led by Thomas Weisel, serve as co-title sponsors.

Date	Race	Winner
1993	Stage 1, Redlands Classic	Miguel Arroyo
1992	USPRO National Road Race Championships	Bart Bowen
1992	Herald Sun Tour	Bart Bowen
1991	Stage 2, Redlands Classic	Jim Copeland
1991	Stage 6, Redlands Classic	Krzysstof Wiatr
1991	Tour de Gastown	Lance Armstrong
1990	Tour de Gastown	Jonas Carney

1988-1989 – Sunkyong (Amateur)

Eddie Borysewicz, known as "Eddy B", began an amateur squad sponsored by Sunkyong, a South Korea-based manufacturing and industrial conglomerate. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, Borysewicz served as the U.S. Olympic Cycling Coach and led American cyclists to an unprecedented nine Olympic medals. Borysewicz is the author of the 1985 book entitled, Bicycle Road Racing: The Complete Program for Training and Competition.