Discovery Channel Cycling Team Disbands

Then Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, leader of the American Discovery Channel cycling team, left, poses with his teammates before training in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, outside Nantes, western France, in this June 30, 2005 file photo, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. Discovery Channel said Friday, Aug. 10, 2007, it will cease operations at the end of this season because it has been unable to find a new sponsor. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) (Peter Dejong - AP)

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Lance Armstrong era in cycling is over. Citing fractious leadership in the sport, constant doping allegations and the struggles of finding a new sponsor, Armstrong and the owners of his former Discovery Channel team said Friday the squad will disband after this season.

Armstrong said it was the perfect time to go out on top: Discovery's Alberto Contador of Spain won the team's eighth Tour de France title in nine years last month.

"It's a sad day for cycling. Certainly a sad day for American cycling," Armstrong said. "We're proud of our record."

The decision shuts down the sport's only elite professional team based in the United States. Armstrong retired from riding in 2005 but remained a visible co-owner of the team operated by Tailwind Sports.

Discovery announced in February it would not sponsor the team beyond this year. Team General Manager Bill Stapleton acknowledged difficulty securing new sponsorship with the sport under the constant pressure of doping allegations.

"It's not an environment right now that's conducive to a lot of investment," Stapleton said, adding the team was in talks with several potential sponsors. "This was a difficult decision, not made any easier by our recent Tour de France success."

Armstrong said he believes a sponsor could have been found, but the ownership group decided now was the time to quit.

Armstrong can turn his attention to his cancer foundation and politics _ he is hosting a cancer forum with presidential candidates later this month and is a key player behind a $3 billion research initiative in Texas _ and team director Johan Bruyneel is retiring.

"This is not about the lack of a sponsor," Armstrong said. "Right now is a good time to step aside."

The team was a dominant force in cycling for nearly a decade.

Armstrong won the first of his record seven consecutive Tour de France titles in 1999 racing under the U.S. Postal Service banner. The team built cycling's top lineup as Armstrong and his lieutenants powered their way through France and maintained that dominance when Contador won the Tour and American teammate Levi Leipheimer finished third.

Discovery will still ride in this year's Tour of Spain and the Tour of Missouri, but the shutdown means Contador, Leipheimer and the 25 other riders must find new teams for 2008.