Brian Holm to remain with HTC-Columbia
Brian Holm had accepted a position as a sporting director for the new Luxembourg Cycling Project but he has now announced that he has changed his mind, deciding that his personal
ties with American team HTC-Columbia were too strong to let go.
“I had said yes to switch to the Luxembourg team,” said Holm to Danish website
Ekstrabladet.dk. “I felt the time was ripe to try something new, and Kim Andersen and Brian Nygaard have started a project that really appeals to me.”
Andersen and Nygaard have announced their full management staff, though it’s unclear now whether there is another sporting director position available. The team is being built around
brothers Andy and Frank Schleck, with the full roster not yet revealed, nor a title sponsor.
“I've always wanted to work with Kim Andersen, who is probably the world's best sports director," said Holm.
47-year-old Holm has ridden for Team Telecom from 1993 to 1997. His first position as a sporting director was with Team T-Mobile in 2004, and moved to HTC-Columbia in 2007. Rolf Aldag, senior sporting
director at HTC-Columbia, had been Holm’s team-mate at Telecom and was a catalyst for Holm’s realization that he was attached to HTC.
“When it became clear to me how many close relationships I have with Aldag, Erik Zabel and Mark Cavendish, then leaving Columbia would be like leaving a girlfriend. And I can't do that right now,” said
Holm. “I have always insisted that one should not commit themselves personally to people in this industry, but I have done that. I have acted more with my heart than my brain.”
He is not without regret for the missed opportunity at the Luxembourg team, however. Despite the apparent lack of a title sponsor, Holm expects the team to be financially secure in 2011, listing a number
of examples of pro teams which primarily backed by a ‘money-man.’
“It would not surprise me if people called it the Luxembourg Cycling Project or something like that,” said Holm. “Slipstream did not really have a sponsor, but there was a money man behind it. The High
Road team had Bob Stapleton behind it. Then there is BMC, which is a bicycle brand and has money man Andy Rihs from Switzerland in the background."
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