2005. Lance Armstrong wins a memorable 7th Tour de France. Winning his last race and going out on a “high”. But no more Lance, his bike in the shed and only occasionally he’ll get it out to do “the ride for the roses”. So no more competing for Armstrong. His legacy remains in the team name, since Lance was partly responsible for getting Discovery Channel to support the only American cycling team in the ProTour.


Is there life after Lance? Yes there is! Teammanager Bruyneel’s got a very good eye on selecting riders. He still knows exactly where he’s going and how to go about it. He will start building his team for many new victories. A few new signings will hold them in good stead. Belgian Jurgen van Goolen (Quick Step) will be an addition to the team’s time trials and very useful in the classics. So will Vladimir Gusev (CSC), a good time triallist himself, who will have his eye on one or more classics besides doing well in one of the grand tours. In support of the whole team, Bruyneel opted for Martinez (Euskaltel), Lowe (Jittery Joe) and White (Cofidis) to invest in the future of this team.


Discovery Channel team can challenge any team on any field with a very wide selection of cyclists. Maybe their only weakness is in their sprint departement. Although Max van Heeswijk is a gifted sprinter, he doesn’t like crowded finishes and might not even sprint at all. He did manage to get several wins in 2005 though, so certainly a dangerous sprinter. Brit Roger Hammond is also pretty fast and well equipped for prologues. He will be present in some sprints as their main sprinter. Bileka, finally, also a man to watch out for since he might be a surprise in the smaller stageraces.


No team has a wider selection for the classics and grand tours as this team. Even without Armstrong they’ll be a force to take into account.
George Hincapie has shown on many occasion he’s well suited for almost any race. Fast finishing, time trialling and climbing, he’s got what it takes. His focus will be mainly on the classics.
2005 Giro winner Paolo Savoldelli will be their trumpcard in the next Giro edition, supported by the likes of Beltran, Ekimov, Padrnos and Danielson. Danielson is developing into a good allrounder as well as he’s shown us during the 2005 Vuelta. In training, this guy has crushed some of the records Armstrong has set on climbing certain mountains, so Bruyneel considers him to be the new Lance. This American from Durango, Colorado, probably won’t ride the Tour de France though.
The team will be represented by Popovich who was already named as Armstrong’s successor. He too is brought slowly to do the job in the “big one”. In 2005 he rode the Tour in support of Armstrong, now he has to do it himself. But he’s not alone. If you consider his supportteam: Rubiera and Beltran are very experienced riders with lots of titles of their own. Expected is that Beltran will co-lead in the Vuelta a España together with Danielson.
Janez Brajkovic is one other supporting rider who has already shown to be very strong in time trials and could help the team in hilly terrains. So next to Gusev, another youngster on the rise and to watch out for!

When we look at the whole picture, Discovery is clearly set for a new season with some good additions. Some riders have left for other teams, but won’t be missed much. Discovery’s in the winning mood and certainly not planning on a losing streak, so there is life after Lance!


Additions to the team:
Vladimir Gusev, Trent Lowe, Egoi Martinez, Jurgen van Goolen, Matthew White


Left the team:
Lance Armstrong, Ryder Hesjedal, Jonathan Patrick McCarty, Michael Creed, Antonio Cruz, Hayden Roulston