| Team information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCI code | COS | |||||||||||||
| Based | Netherlands | |||||||||||||
| Disbanded | 2008 | |||||||||||||
| Status | Professional Continental | |||||||||||||
| Key personnel | ||||||||||||||
| General manager | Koen Terryn | |||||||||||||
| Directeur sportif | Jacques Hanegraaf | |||||||||||||
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Cycle Collstrop (UCI Team Code: COS) was a Swedish UCI Professional Continental cycling team. It was the successor to Unibet.com, which was mainly sponsored by the online gambling website Unibet.com and as a continuation of the MrBookmaker.com cycling team. The team rode on the European Continental Circuit, until the beginning of the 2007 season, when they were granted a ProTour licence.[1] In 2008, they were awarded a Professional Continental licence. The new team was led by Steffen Wesemann, and problems previously experienced through having had sponsorship from a betting company were avoided with new sponsorship from a wooden flooring company.
Unibet.com had also been drawn into the Operación Puerto doping investigation. The cyclist Carlos Quesada was named by the Spanish authorities as a patient of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and was suspended by the team [2]. Although Quesada had been named, he has not yet been formally charged with doping, which led to the management of Unibet.com to lift its suspension of Quesada two weeks after it was imposed.[3] Nevertheless, the team did not pay the Spanish cyclist his salary, which led to a lawsuit, finally resolved with Quesada leaving the team in exchange for a compensation.
The team, whose sponsors have pulled out of cycling, failed to submit its application for renewal by the 20 November 2007 deadline and did not be take part in the 2008 UCI ProTour.[4] Many of the team members went to the newly formed team Vacansoleil.
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Despite obtaining a ProTour license for the 2007 season, Unibet.com were not granted entry in Paris–Nice, the inaugural race of the series. The organiser of the French race, Amaury Sport Organisation, argued that French law bans gambling companies (except for Française des Jeux and PMU, as well as some casinos). Nevertheless, Unibet.com took part in the French races GP La Marseillaise and Étoile de Bessèges with special jerseys without their sponsor's name.
RCS also snubbed Unibet.com for the Tirreno–Adriatico, explaining that Italian gambling law required a special license for Unibet. However, as the Unibet.com management pointed out, Unibet did have the license, while Predictor-Lotto's sponsor (the Belgian national lottery) did not, but the Belgian squad was allowed to race on Italian soil. RCS further contradicted themselves when they later invited Unibet.com to Milan – San Remo in which Jeremy Hunt was their best rider, finishing in 17th place, ahead of former winners such as Filippo Pozzato or Paolo Bettini.
However, Unibet.com was not chosen to ride in any of the three Grand Tours.
| Name | Birthdate | Nationality | Team 2007 | Team 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borut Božič | 8. August 1980 | Slovenia | Team L.P.R. | Vacansoleil |
| Tom Criel | 6. June 1983 | Belgium | Unibet.com | Topsport Vlaanderen |
| Bas Giling | 4. November 1982 | Netherlands | Wiesenhof-Felt | Team Designa Køkken |
| Michał Gołaś | 29. April 1984 | Poland | Unibet.com | Amica Chips-Knauf |
| Sergey Kolesnikov | 3. September 1986 | Russia | Unibet.com | Moscow |
| David Kopp | 5. January 1979 | Germany | Team Gerolsteiner | Elite 2 |
| Sergey Lagutin | 14. January 1981 | Uzbekistan | Navigators Insurance Cycling Team | Vacansoleil |
| Marco Marcato | 11. February 1984 | Italy | Team L.P.R. | Vacansoleil |
| Lucas Persson | 16. March 1984 | Sweden | Unibet.com Continental | Team Capinordic |
| Matthé Pronk | 1. July 1974 | Netherlands | Unibet.com | Vacansoleil |
| Sergey Rudaskov | 6. August 1984 | Russia | Neo-pro | Elite 2 |
| Mirko Selvaggi | 11. February 1985 | Italy | Neo-pro | Amica Chips-Knauf |
| Raynold Smith | 20. November 1985 | South Africa | Ex-Pro (Fondas Imabo 2005) | Elite 2 |
| Gil Suray | 29. August 1984 | Belgium | Unibet.com | Roubaix - Lille Metropole |
| Kenny Van Der Schueren | 20. July 1982 | Belgium | Unibet.com Continental | Palmans-Cras |
| Troels Vinther | 24. February 1987 | Denmark | Unibet.com | Team Capinordic |
| Steffen Wesemann | 11. March 1971 | Switzerland | Wiesenhof-Felt | Retired |