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Top German cycling sponsor ends support

German company Gerolsteiner will not extend its sponsorship deal with the cycling team that bears its name.

The deal runs out at the end of 2008 and the company will not renew and may even pull out earlier if a replacement can be found.

The team said in a statement that the sport’s recent doping problems were not the main factor in the decision, but that they did, however, “contribute to the temporary devaluation of cycling as a communications platform."

Gerolsteiner has been the sponsor of the team since 1998.