The decision to end its association with the team was made earlier this year and confirmed over the weekend. The Phonak team was led by American Floyd Landis the surprise winner of this year’s Tour de France who subsequently tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone. If the positive test is confirmed the Tour organisers will strip Landis of his crown and declare Spain's Oscar Pereiro, who finished second overall, the winner.
In the financial year 2005/2006, Phonak spent 3.8 million Swiss francs ($3.07 million) on sponsoring the team. Phonak Chief Executive Valentin Chapero said in May that the company plans to move away from sports and refocus sponsoring on cultural events like music due to concerns that the public mistook Phonak for a bicycle company instead of one of the world's largest makers of high-tech hearing aids.
