Team Columbia

Team Columbia, owned and operated by High Road Sports Inc., is made up of talented young cyclists supported by a leadership group of experienced riders and management. We have 21 athletes aged 26 and under, making us the youngest team at the top level of professional cycling.

We count seven current national champions, 11 former national champions, and seven current or former world champions on our roster We proudly represent the national champions of the United States, Germany, Australia, Great Britain, Italy and Norway.

In 2008, Team Columbia has won more races than any other team in professional cycling, with the men tallying 37 wins including exciting stage wins in the Giro d’Italia, wins in the Fleche Wallone, Schildeprijs, Tour de Georgia, Tour of California and the Dauphine Libere.

We place ourselves at the front in a relentless fight against doping. We have introduced a new comprehensive and independent anti-doping program that is managed by Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE). Through this stringent program, each member of the team gives a minimum of 26 random blood and urine tests per year. The volume of test results enables ACE to build extremely detailed longitudinal profiles of each rider so that they can detect small changes in body chemistry that might be caused by doping.

The profiles are used in conjunction with the new World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) biological passports which were introduced at the beginning of the 2008 season.

We believe frequent and comprehensive testing using profiles that detect small changes in body chemistry are invaluable tools to ensure the future of the team and the future of the sport. The testing keeps us more informed about the conduct and health of our athletes.

(Quelle: www.highroadsports.com)

Weitere Infos zum Team gibt es auf www.highroadsports.com