Trek Bicycle Corp. shifts gears, drops Lance Armstrong as sponsor
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Charles Benson reports Video by 620wtmj.com
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WATERLOO- Sponsors have abandoned one of the most famous athletes in the world.
Several big name brands dropped their endorsement deals with Lance Armstrong Wednesday, including: Anheuser-Busch, Nike and Wisconsin-based Trek.
Armstrong's cycling success not only helped Trek sell lots of bikes, his star power helped raise more than $2 million for the MACC Fund charity at the Trek 100.
Trek said it was disappointed by the USADA's doping finding and concluded: "Given the determinations of the report, Trek today is terminating our long-term relationship with Lance Armstrong."
"I think they have to drop him," said Tom Klein, owner of the Bicycle Doctors in Dousman. Klein, better knows as "The Doc", remembers Armstrong's stronghold on cycling.
"It was a big impact. We just saw the road bike business grow."
Trek says it will still continue to support Armstrong's Livestrong cancer charity which has raised $500 million, but on Wednesday, Armstrong resigned from the charity.
"This is Trek country," said Liza Claire at Wheel and Sprocket.
They are Trek's number one dealer but they're not worried about a black eye for the brand
"They're going to ride Trek bicycles because they know it's a quality bike, it's a Wisconsin brand," said Claire.
TODAY'S TMJ4 called and emailed Trek for an interview about the company's break up with Armstrong, but no one responded Wednesday evening.
Trek spokesman Bill Mashek told BikeRadar.com that Armstrong will continue as a minority owner of the company. The Burke family privately holds a controlling interest in Trek.
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