By Susan Westemeyer
Team High Road has changed its headquarters from Germany to the USA, it was announced yesterday evening. The UCI ProTour Council (UPTC) met in Geneva and said that "it approved the change of nationality of the High Road team. This team will now be domiciled in the United States rather than Germany."
The team confirmed the change in a press release, calling itself, however, an "international" team. It noted that it had moved its headquarters from Bonn, Germany, to San Luis Obispo, California, as approved by the International Cycling Union (UCI).
"We are an International team and proud of it," said team owner Bob Stapleton, from the USA. "We are open to committed athletes from wherever they come from. One of the simple pleasures of this team is the international diversity and personal character each athlete brings to the team."
In emphasizing the international nature of the team, he noted that the 42 athletes making up the men's and women's team come from 16 countries, including seven national champions from Australia, Germany, Norway, Italy and the USA, 11 former national champions and three current or former world champions.
The team will continue to maintain its logistical base in Bonn. "We remain committed to our European operations centre in Germany and our excellent staff located there," Stapleton noted.
The team lost its former sponsor, T-Mobile/Deutsche Telekom in November. Speculation had abounded since then that the team would apply for a license in the USA, and increased when the team announced that it would hold its training camp and team presentation in California this year instead of on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
