| Velocio–SRAM Pro Cycling | |
| Code: | SLU |
| Registered: | United States (2003–2011 & 2013–2014) Germany (2012 & 2015) |
| Disbanded: | 2015 (Canyon-SRAM set up for 2016 by Ronny Lauke) |
| Generalmanager: | Kristy Scrymgeour |
| Teammanager: | Ronny Lauke Jens Zemke |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Bicycles: | 2003–2008 Giant 2009–2011 Scott 2012–2014 Specialized 2015 Cervélo |
| Status: | UCI Women's Team |
| Season: | 2003 2004–2007 2007–2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013–2014 2015 |
| Oldname: | Team T-Mobile Team T-Mobile Women Team High Road Women Team Columbia Women Team Columbia–High Road Women Team Columbia–HTC Women Team HTC–Columbia Women HTC–Highroad Women Team Specialized–lululemon Specialized–lululemon Velocio–SRAM Pro Cycling |
Velocio–SRAM Pro Cycling, formerly known as Specialized–lululemon, was a professional cycling team based in the United States that competes in elite road bicycle racing and track cycling events. The final-season title sponsors were SRAM Corporation and Cervelo bicycles. Velocio Sports was the holding company for the team and the place-holder during a larger search for a title sponsor.
Before 2012, the team was owned by Bob Stapleton's High Road Sports and was known in 2011 as HTC–Highroad Women. Following HTC's withdrawal of sponsorship and the failure to find a replacement sponsor, a new company, Velocio Sports, directed by High Road's former Marketing and Communications officer Kristy Scrymgeour, was set up to own the team, but most of the riders and other staff remained the same. High Road also operated an elite men's professional team known most recently as, which disbanded.[1] [2]
Prior to 2008, the team was named T-Mobile Women. Columbia Sportswear were a title sponsor from July 2008 until the end of 2010.
In August 2015, Scrymgeour announced that the team would be disbanded at the end of the 2015 season.[3] Under Scrymgeour's management, and with the introduction of team time trials world championships for trade teams in 2012, the team has won every TTT world championships in the team's existence.
See main article: 2009 Team Columbia–High Road Women season. The main new riders for the team were the European Time Travel Champion Ellen van Dijk and the Canadian national champion Alex Wrubleski. Alexis Rhodes and Madeleine Sandig left the team and Anke Wichmann and Oenone Wood both retired.
See main article: 2010 Team HTC–Columbia Women season.
See main article: 2011 HTC–Highroad Women season.
The main new riders for the team were the Americans Amber Neben and Amanda Miller and the German time trial champion Charlotte Becker. Sadly, in January, Carla Swart died whilst training after being hit by a truck. After winning a stage, Ellen van Dijk won the Ladies Tour of Qatar which was the 400th victory for the team (men's and women's) since 2008. Ina Teutenberg won the fifth round in the Women's World Cup and the team won the seventh round, the Open de Suède Vårgårda team time trial. The team finished second overall in the World Cup. Judith Arndt finished fourth in the individual standings and Teutenberg fifth. At the end of the season Arndt took the third place in the UCI World Ranking, Teutenberg fourth and the team ended in second place in the team classification.
See main article: 2012 Team Specialized–lululemon season. After the men's team HTC–Highroad stopped, Kristy Scrymgeour convinced manufacturer Specialized and sports apparel company Lululemon Athletica to perpetuate the women's team in this Olympic year. The team changed slightly: Clara Hughes and Trixi Worrack were the main new recruits, while Judith Arndt, team leader since 2006, joined GreenEdge–AIS. The team had a great year. Ina-Yoko Teutenberg won numerous sprints and finished fourth in the road race of the Olympic Games. Evelyn Stevens had an excellent season by winning at the world cup race Flèche Wallonne, she won a prestigious stage of the Giro d'Italia Femminile and finished on the podium in the end and she won the general classification of the La Route de France. At the end of the season the team was in fourth place in the UCI World Ranking. Ellen van Dijk won the general classification of the Lotto–Decca Tour, the Omloop van Borsele and several stage races. The team dominated especially in the team time trials. Ellen van Dijk together with Stevens, Hughes, Amber Neben and Trixi Worrack or Teutenberg were consistent and undefeated the whole year. At the end of the season the team won the first team time trial at the world championship which was a main goal for the team this year. The team finished second in the UCI World Ranking.
See main article: 2013 Specialized–lululemon season. Three riders joined the team in 2013, American cyclists Carmen Small and Tayler Wiles, and the Canadian Gillian Carleton. Charlotte Becker, Emilia Fahlin, Chloe Hosking, Clara Hughes and Amber Neben left the team in the post-Olympic year. The year was marked with a crash of Ina-Yoko Teutenberg at the Drenste 8 in March. She was unable to ride for the remainder of the season and ended her career afterwards. Ellen van Dijk became the leader of the team and had a great season. She won the general classification of a stage race four times as well as several one-day races and finished four times on the podium in World Cup races. Above all she won the World Time Trial Championships. Van Dijk finished 3rd in the final World Cup standings and also 3rd in the UCI World Ranking. Evelyn Stevens had to miss the Tour of Flanders due to a fall. She finished fifth in the Giro Rosa, third in the Route de France, with the American Team and finished behind teammates Ellen van Dijk and Carmen Small (3rd place), fourth in the time trial at the World Championships. She finished ultimately 7th in the UCI world Ranking. The team was, like last year, undefeated in the team time trials and won the World Team Time Trial Championships in September. The team finished 3rd in the UCI World Ranking.
See main article: 2014 Specialized–lululemon season. After being part of the team since 2005, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg left the team for her retirement. Also Ellen van Dijk, the top UCI ranked and best rider of the 2013 season left the team, together with Gillian Carleton and Katie Colclough. The team attracted Chantal Blaak, Karol-Ann Canuel, Élise Delzenne and Tiffany Cromwell, with the last becoming the leader of the team. After losing the backing of the two major sponsors (Lululemon and Specialized) the team announced that Cervelo would return to the Women's peloton and become a partner of the new team[4] with SRAM also entering the team as a title sponsor as the team becomes rebranded into Velocio–SRAM Pro Cycling.[5]
In preparation for the 2015 season the team signed Barbara Guarischi and Alena Amialiusik, as well as signing contract extensions with Loren Rowney, Élise Delzenne, Karol-Ann Canuel and Trixi Worrack.
See main article: List of wins by Team T-Mobile (women's team) and its successors.