ZURICH, 16 August 2006 — The Phonak cycling team announced yesterday that it was disbanding in the wake of the Tour de France doping scandal surrounding team leader Floyd Landis.
Team Andy owner Andy Rihs said the Landis affair had been the deciding factor, in the wake of other doping scandals that affected Phonak riders over the past two years.
“As a passionate cyclist, I am bitterly disappointed that the sport of cycling apparently has become a synonym for doping,” he said.
“I truly regret this development and it has brought me to the decision of disbanding the Phonak Cycling Team per the end of 2006,” Rihs said in a statement distributed at a press conference in Zurich. Rihs said he had found few alternatives to closure, in particular due to uncertainty surrounding the renewal of Phonak’s ProTour license for next season. “We looked for solutions, talked day and night... and now I’ve made my decision, I’m pulling out,” he explained, underlining that replacement sponsors were hard to find.
The UCI originally excluded the Swiss team from the Pro Tour early in 2005 after three cyclists failed doping tests in swift succession the previous season and were subsequently banned. But the team won back its place later that season after a legal appeal.
Rihs, a successful businessman and a cycling fan, ordered a major shake-up last season, sacking most of the managers and drafting in current sporting director John Lelangue.
