HIGH ROAD'S TEAM COLUMBIA VICTORIOUS ON BOARD GIANT TCR ADVANCED SL

(September 2, 2008) Riding the Giant TCR Advanced SL bicycle, Team Columbia finished August and began September with more stage victories and race wins.

In the Deutschland Tour, Andre Greipel out-sprinted a field featuring the likes of Silence-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen and Gerolsteiner’s Robert Foster to claim the fourth stage. The stage win marks Greipel’s 12th of the season.

And the victory continues Columbia’s emphatic stamp on this race, as Linus Gerdemann leads the event in the General Classification, only :17 seconds ahead of another of Columbia’s young guns—Thomas Lovkvist.

Gerdemann, on the comeback after suffering injuries in a crash early in the season, won the first stage of the Deutschland Tour. He won despite an unusual incident that cost him time: his radio earpiece became entangled with his gear chain. He told Velo News: "I lost a lot of time with that. It cost me at least 30 seconds."

Another group of riders from Team Columbia also completely dominated the just-completed Tour of Ireland. Manx speedster Mark Cavendish won the first three stages of that Tour, and the fifth and final stage was won by Frantisek Rabon. Their team mate, Marco Pinotti, wound up claiming the General Classification victory in the Tour of Ireland by finishing well ahead of the other G.C. contenders.

Pinotti, who is a three-time Italian Time Trial champion, and who also won the final time-trial stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia, told Velo News: "I am delighted with this, it is my first stage race victory," he said. "This was already my best pro season but this is really the cherry on top of the cake – I am very happy. Before the stage I didn't think the circuit would suit me but it worked out very well.”

Finally, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg has scorched to a classy sprint victory in the opening stage of the Holland Ladies Tour in Hellendorn.

"She won it comfortably, by a good three bikes lengths. It was very impressive." Sports Director Ronny Lauke said afterwards.

The men and women of Team Columbia ride the Giant TCR Advanced SL bicycle, and have more pro wins this season than any other team.