For the past four years I have called the Highroad organization my home in the cycling world.  A home, like my own parent’s, that I just always assumed would be around.  Highroad has been made up by the most talented in every aspect of the sport.  From the bus driver, Mario, to the owner, Bob Stapleton, himself it all felt like a big family.  Sure riders and staff came and went over the years, but the vibe of the team never changed.

That vibe was the building block for everything Highroad accomplished. Those four years have seen unrivaled success rates – we’ve won close to 500 races - and the birth of many of today’s big stars.  I could probably count on one hand the number of stage races that have past where Highroad didn’t win at least one stage.  How do you create this atmosphere?  Remove the worry.

With every team and with every job you can find some negatives and find room for complaints, even with Highroad.  But at Highroad you were always certain that you’d have the best equipment and the best support behind you.  Every little detail from clothing, food and equipment was tested and retested to make sure we always had the advantage over the other teams. 

All that was left was for us riders to do the training.  For the training, we even had some of the best coaches in the business to toss around ideas with.  Bob was also always there behind each and every rider listing for feedback and thinking of how to make the team better.

In the last month that confident feeling within the team has gone away.  Now all I can do is worry.  With the team announcing its departure from the sport this past week, the scramble has begun to secure new jobs so that we all can continue in what we love to do.

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I’ve taken the news very hard.  Not only do I feel bad for Bob and the staff who have done everything that they could think of to find a sponsor, I feel bad for the sport itself.  It is a huge sign that major corporations, with no personal ties to cycling, do not find the sport attractive at all for marketing purposes.   Even in these economic times, cycling is still a huge bargain for any brand.  For ten-fifteen million dollars you can triple that value worth of media exposure in the Tour de France alone. 

I would think that the tough economic conditions would only help a sport like cycling.  Companies should be downsizing and looking for value for their dollars in marketing.  I challenge you to find a better value than cycling in the world of sports.