Team Columbia Mass Exodus Puts Pressure on Cavendish to Carry 2010 Torch Alone

Bob Stapleton's 2009 Columbia-HTC team will go down in history as one of the most dominant teams in recent memory. Behind the best sprinter in the world Mark Cavendish and a lead-out train comprised by some of the best domestiques in the business, Columbia cleaned up in 2009. But it wasn't only Cavendish. Names like Boasson Hagen and Lovqvist were in the headlines throughout the year, and a late season surge from George Hincapie kept Columbia in the news far into the summer.

In looking at the team for 2010 though, it is apparent that Columbia's campaign next season may be significantly more difficult after the American-registered team lost some of its biggest names. Thus far, George Hincapie, Greg Henderson, Marcus Burghardt, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Thomas Lövkvist, Kim Kirchen and Kanstantsin Sivtsov are all gone for next year, leaving a huge gap in Mark Cavendish's previously unbeatable lead-out train.

Hincapie and Henderson will be sorely missed by Cavendish, as the British sprint star depended heavily on each of them to guide him to the line throughout a race. Kirchin, Boasson Hagen and Lovkvist meanwhile provided punch for hilly one day classics, and with all three gone Columbia will be hard pressed to find their equal for 2010. Sivtsov, a strong up and coming stage racing talent, will leave Aussie Mick Rogers alone as the only stage race threat for Columbia. Rogers has yet to accomplish anything significant in a grand tour, and without a co-captain the Aussie could find himself breaking under the pressure next year.

All of these departures from Columbia have led to whispers within the cycling world that perhaps all was not as it seemed at Columbia in 2009. While the team was wildly successful throughout the year, it is hard to say just how good the team chemistry was within Stapleton's team. Or perhaps money was the issue. There are only so many dollars (or euros) to go around each year, and maybe Stapleton was forced to make tough decisions about who he would compensate for 2010. That he allowed Boasson Hagen in particular to get away though seems strange to say the least, as the Norwegian is a clear force for the future.

Columbia-HTC still has many talented riders under contract, but the likelihood of them winning as many races next year as they have this year is slim. The departing riders were directly responsibile for more than ten wins among them, and countless others in staunch support of Mark Cavendish. Replacing those wins while continuing to support Cavendish will be a huge challenge for the team next year. If any team is up to it though, Bob Stapleton's squad is that team.