The new Team T-Mobile is ready to speed into the lead in the arena of international women’s cycling competition. T-Mobile has joined with the
US Olympic Committee and
Cannondale, as primary sponsors of the Elite USA women’s road racing team.
The 7 member team’s nucleus is formed around Colorado Springs, Colorado native
Mari Holden, the 2000
World Champion and
Olympic silver medallist. Other members include
Kim Anderson who also hails from
Colorado Springs;
Katrina Bereger from
Ft. Collins,
Colorado;
Dotsie Cowden from sunny
Santa Monica,
California;
Amber Neben from
Irvine, California;
Lara Ruthven of
Austin, Texas; and
Missy Thompson of Colorado Springs, CO.
“While the national team has always been around to race in the world championships and Olympics, as a rider it’s really important (to have the backing of T-Mobile),” said team member Mari Holden, “because now with Team T-Mobile I can race in
Europe while staying on an American team.“
Team T-Mobile made it’s mark on the international racing circuit in its very first European race, the 277-mile (445 km) Spanish
Vuelta Castilla y Leon. Team T-Mobile came in second place overall in team standings on the back of strong performances by Holden, along with mountain-biker-turned-road racer Amber Neben, who came in fourth place at the end of the five day event.
With their next race things got even better for Team T-Mobile at the five-day, 423 km (263 miles)
Gracia Cez stage race on May 2-5, in the
Czech Republic. Amber Neben showed she intends to be a dominant team member when she won the race for Team T-Mobile. Neben, a former collegiate soccer and running star, had only recently made the shift from competitive
mountain bike racing to
road racing. Neben´s victory along with four of her teammates (Holden , Ruthven, Cowden, and Anderson) top 25 finishes helped push Team T-Mobile into second place in the overall team standings.
“This year were working on how to race as a team,” said Holden. “Many of us had never been to Europe, so winning the Czech race was a great start to the year for us. Were a really young team and we’re hoping to have to have a lot of good experiences in Europe.”
Team T-Mobile returned to the
United States for its domestic debut at the
Housatonic Valley Classic, May 19 in Danbury, Connecticut. Team T-Mobile member Amber Neben captured a second-place finish on an extremely difficult 70-mile course at the
Saturn-Timex Women’s Classic - the parallel race of the Housatonic Valley Classic.
The team’s “new look” -
Team Telekom magenta jerseys, received rave reviews from the riders and fans alike
“People familiar with Team Telekom (the top
German men’s cycling team, sponsored by
Deutsche Telekom) recognized the connection represented by our new jerseys,” said Kelly Walker, the communications coordinator for Team T-Mobile.
Team T-Mobile travels next to
Canada for the fifth edition of the
Montreal World Cup on June 1 and
Le Criterium International de Lachine on June 3 and 4. Their full year schedule has more than 20 other US and International races on it, including the
HP Women’s Challenge in
Idaho and the
Tour de France Feminine.
“For me personally, my goals are at the end of the year with the World Championships,” said Mari Holden, “but also the Tour de France Feminine and the HP Challenge are important for the team. We’re looking as a stage win and a GC result in the top five at these events”
The long term goals for the team are clear: to develop and foster a state-of-the-art women’s cycling program in the U.S. in order to reestablish the United States as the leader in elite women’s international competition. The team will focus on road racing in 2002 and then next year begin to look towards women’s mountain biking and track cycling.
Team T-Mobile got its name on April 5, 2002 when
VoiceStream, T-Mobile International’s American subsidiary signed an exclusive 3-year sponsorship deal with
USA Cycling.
“The T-Mobile wireless brand is built upon the desire to “Get More From Life,” said Bob Stapelton, a member of the T-Mobile International Management Board upon the occasion of the naming of the team. “These fine athletes personally demonstrate how to “get more” as they compete successfully in the U.S. and Europe. The association with USA cycling enables the development of a superior women’s team that will powerfully communicate our brand message in the U.S., Europe and beyond.”
The idea of sponsoring cycling teams is not a new one for T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom has been the standing sponsorship of Team Telekom, the top German cycling team and Tour de France winner, as well as the chief sponsor of the original Team T-Mobile, the German men’s mountain biking team. The combination of T-Mobile’s “Get More” philosophy with the excellence of the Elite US women’s cycling team makes for a situation in which victory is only to be expected.
Within the realm of charitable acts, Team T-Mobile also leads the pack. These women who exemplify the “get more” attitude try to also “give more” by riding in support of The
Breast Cancer Research Foundation, keeping the spotlight on looking for treatments and a cure for this all too common disease that strikes only women.
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