Two approaches made and open to RadioShack discussions
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HTC-Highroad owner Bob Stapleton is looking forward to Mark Cavendish taking on his former teammate next year.(Image credit: Laura Weislo)
Garmin-Transition's Doug Ellis and Bob Stapleton of HTC-Columbia(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Mike Sinyard and Bob Stapleton show off one of the bikes HTC-Highroad's men's squad will use in 2011.(Image credit: Laura Weislo)
Bob Stapleton, the man behind Team Highroad and HTC-Highroad, has told Cyclingnews that he is open to a return to cycling. Stapleton took over control of the T-Mobile team in 2006, restructuring the squad before launching the highly successful Highroad team.
Despite continually leading the way in terms of number of wins and topping the UCI standings, the team folded at the end of 2011. Stapleton's HTC model helped form the blueprints for a number of teams, including Sky, who currently have 9 former HTC riders on their books.
However, with Friday’s announcement that Johan Bruyneel had been dismissed by RadioShack-Nissan due to his involvement in the US Postal doping scandal, rumours quickly surfaced with Stapleton pigeonholed as a possible successor.
The American confirmed that he had already been approached by two high profile teams for the 2013 season but that RadioShack had not contacted him.
“They know where I live but I’ve not heard from anybody there. I’ve been contacted by two other teams but not RadioShack,” Stapleton told Cyclingnews.
Stapleton's approach was based around complete control over team affairs but he also surrounded himself with dedicated staff such as Rolf Aldag, Allan Peiper, Brian Holm, and Valerio Piva. Stapleton's team's won over 500 races, 51 Grand Tour stages and the 2011 green jersey at the Tour de France through Mark Cavendish.
When asked if he would be open to an approach from RadioShack’s owner Flavio Becca, Stapleton added: “If the resources and motivation were there then it could make some sense."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
