'It just means we're all moving on to different things and new opportunities' says team owner
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Lindsay Goldman attacks during the US Pro Criterium(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Leigh Ann Ganzar in her stars-and-stripes jersey(Image credit: Courtesy of Hagens Berman-Supermint/SnowyMountain Photography)
Hagens Berman-Supermint(Image credit: Courtesy of Hagens Berman-Supermint/SnowyMountain Photography)
The 2018 Hagens Berman Supermint team(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
After four seasons in the women's UCI ranks, the US team Hagens Berman-Supermint will not return next year, and rider-owner Lindsay Goldman told Cyclingnews last week at the Colorado Classic that she is not seeking new sponsors to keep the program going.
"I decided back in June that it was time to end on a high note and let the riders and staff know that the team had been an amazing opportunity for all of us, and we had a wonderful four years together, but it was time to move onto other things," Goldman said before the start of Sunday's final Colorado Classic stage in Denver.
The good news for Goldman's riders and her staff is that she let them know early enough in the season so they had time to find new opportunities for next season.
"When I'm running a team I always think about how I would want things to be handled if I was a rider on that team," Goldman said. "I would want to know early so I would know I needed to look for other opportunities. At this point, all of my riders and staff are moving on to amazing opportunities for each of them."
Hagens Berman-Supermint hit the ground as a UCI team in 2016 with a roster of eight Americans, four Italians, an Australian, a Canadian and riders from Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine and Japan. The team took a decidedly more American flavor over the years, until this year's roster was all US riders except for for one rider from Great Britain.
The team was a force and animator on the US domestic circuit, best known for the riders' attacking style. But that era is now over, and the team as a whole has grieved briefly before moving on.
"It was sad at first, and there was definitely a good bit of sorrow, both for me and the riders and staff," Goldman said. "There were some periods of lamenting the end of something great, but I think now everyone has come to terms with what that means and realise it doesn't mean anyone's career is over. It just means we're all moving on to different things and new opportunities."
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Last week in Colorado, the team animated the racing with multiple attacks over the stages. Whitney Allison-Schultz was the team's top overall finisher in 10th place, but the team riders, including Goldman, wore jerseys throughout the week and soaked up the podium time.
With the team's final season winding down, riders and staff have been trying to make the most of the time they have.
"The rest of the season has really been focused on making the most of it," Goldman said. "It's like seniors in high school. There's a little bit of focusing on the business and a lot of focusing on the enjoyment."
Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Pat competed in his first bike race in 1985 at Flathead Lake. He studied English and journalism at the University of Oregon and has covered North American cycling extensively since 2009, as well as racing and teams in Europe and South America. Pat currently lives in the US outside of Portland, Oregon, with his imaginary dog Rusty.
