T-Mobile Team creates elite women's team

• T-Mobile Team creates elite women's team
• Long term commitment through to 2008
• Nicole Cooke and Judith Arndt to wear magenta

Bonn, November 8th 2005 - T-Mobile is expanding its international cycling platform for the coming season, with the creation of a new international elite women's professional team. The team, known as the T-Mobile Team, will compliment the mobile communications firm's existing men's team. The new team has already attracted world class athletes of the caliber of Britain's Nicole Cooke and Germany's Judith Arndt.

"It was the right time for me to make a change", says the Olympic silver medallist and 2004 World Champion Judith Arndt. "T-Mobile have offered me a great opportunity and I am looking forward to the challenge. "A women's team has competed in the UCI International Calendar, since 2002, under the name T-Mobile Professional Cycling Team. Under the management of the High Road Sports the team raced primarily in the United States, representing local subsidiary T-Mobile US. Over the next three years, the team - like the men's equivalent - will be based in Bonn, Germany, and play an important role in the international firm's cycling program.

Accordingly, the women's team will compete at high profile cycling events around the world. "Our goal is to nail down a top position in the UCI-World ranking list", says the team's sporting director Andrzej Bek. "For that, we will target both one day classics and international stage races," adds Bek, who is looking forward to "sending rosters of world class riders into action at major races." Among those riders are Germany's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (31, six-time Tour de France stage winner), who is staying with the team, and Britain's Nicole Cooke (22, silver medallist in Madrid and winner of the 2004 Giro d'Italia), who joins the team for next season.

T-Mobile will announce more details in the coming weeks, though Bek can already reveal: "We are very enthusiastic about the new team's prospects and are looking forward to starting the new season under new structures and new backing." The team will be presented to the public during the course of the official team presentation (January 14th 2006, Club Robinson / Mallorca).

T-Mobile International has in recent years been actively involved in all activities around the theme of "cycling". These range from knowledge sharing on nutrition, fitness and technology issues, organising events for leisure cyclists and more ambitious enthusiasts, providing practical and financial assistance to organisers of national and international races - right up to the establishment of an extensive feeder system for talented young cyclists (Development Programme). The world class men's team lies at the pinnacle of this sponsorship, where they will now be joined by the women's team.

"In terms of identity, we won't draw any lines," says Reinhard Plückthun, Vice President Sponsoring at T-Mobile International. "There is only one T-Mobile Team. And now that consists of a men's and a women's team. "We have always insisted that our sponsorship engagement is extensive and long-term. This latest expansion is a logical step that underpins the consistent approach we take to our  sponsorship activities," adds Plückthun.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.