TEAM COLUMBIA SENDS 18 TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES

San Luis Obispo, California, 7 August 2008 - A remarkable total of eighteen Team Columbia riders from twelve different nations across the world will be taking part in the Olympic Games this August.

Starting this Saturday with the men’s road-race, riders from veteran George Hincapie of the USA to young Gerald Ciolek from Germany will be on participating in the greatest sporting event on the planet.

Some such as Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain and Judith Arndt of Germany are already medal winners in the Olympics, others like Michael Barry - a participant in the 1996 Games in Atlanta - will be racing in their third Olympics in 12 years, whilst yet others like Edvald Boassen Hagen of Norway are taking part in the Games for the first time.

Of the eighteen Columbia riders, there will be three each racing for Australia, Great Britain and Germany, with the other nine representing Belarus, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the USA respectively.

“To have so many riders representing their countries at the Olympics, a showcase event, is truly exceptional for Team Columbia. It’s actually made it a little tricky finding riders for all the usual competitions.” commented team owner Bob Stapleton.

“Columbia is a team with a real international flavour. The high level of participation at the Olympics is both a reflection on that and the depth of widespread, upcoming talent within our team.”
Team Columbia wishes their riders and countries every success in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Olympic Games 2008: Columbia riders

Australia: Michael Rogers (Road), Kate Bates (Road), Oenone Wood (Road)
Belarus: Konstantin Sivtsov (Road)
Canada: Michael Barry (Road)
Denmark: Linda Villumsen (Road)
Germany: Gerald Ciolek (Road), Bert Grabsch (Road), Judith Arndt (Road)
Great Britain: Mark Cavendish (Track), Roger Hammond (Road), Bradley Wiggins (Track)
Luxembourg: Kim Kirchen (Road)
Netherlands: Chantal Beltman (Road)
New Zealand: Greg Henderson (Track)
Norway: Edvald Boasson Hagen (Road)
Sweden: Thomas Lovkvist (Road)
USA: George Hincapie (Road)

For more information on Team Columbia please visit www.highroadsports.com