Jan Koba, team manager of the mountain bike racing team of the same name, describes the decision to transfer the resources of his previous team to "biketeam.gr" as "half a step backwards". "I couldn't offer my riders the opportunities that are necessary today to maintain a successful racing team," explains Koba, who in a way becomes a victim of his own success.

Over and over again, Koba riders - despite modest financial resources, but with all the more team spirit and fighting spirit - have achieved remarkable successes at title competitions. Ralph Näf's U23 World Championship silver medal in 2002 was outstanding, and the rider from eastern Switzerland successfully made the transition to the Multivan Merida Biking Team as a professional.

This year, Lukas Flückiger, another rider from the former professional cyclist's team, equaled the great result. Only beaten by Russian Jury Trovimov, Lukas Flückiger finished second at the U23 World Championships in Livigno and now wants to follow the same career path as Näf. Koba helped his 21-year-old team rider in the not-so-easy search for a new team that would allow the Bernese rider to switch to the pros.

This marked the end of an era for Koba. "I had already realized a few months ago that I would no longer be able to work indefinitely as before," explains the 43-year-old. With the move and expansion of the specialist bike store from Gams to Buchs on Altendorferstrasse, the business pressure also increased, which at some point became a burden. "After a strenuous six-day week, being regularly on duty at the races on Sundays was taking its toll on me. I felt myself getting emptier and emptier," says Koba, describing his situation. Together with his wife Anita, who took care of his business during his absences, he therefore decided to stop running the racing team. "I can't demand total commitment from my riders if I don't set a good example myself," Koba points out. However, the Koba name will not disappear completely from the scene: "My daughter Sarah will continue to race. I will support her new team biketeam.gr with bikes and financial resources," Koba promises.

Like the Koba team, biketeam.gr is dedicated to promoting young talent, is mainly financed by Graubünden Sport and Bündner Kantonalbank and is about to enter its second season under the management of Roger Clavadetscher. In addition to Sarah Koba, junior national team member Giancarlo Sax is the best-known rider to wear the colors of biketeam.gr.

The other Koba riders have signed contracts with other teams; Jürg Graf with Scott Allianz Michelin, Michael Hutter with Rocky Mountain and Robert Odink with Othmar Häfliger. However, his previous main sponsor is no longer Univega but Kona. The only thing that is still uncertain is what Christof Bischof will be doing in the coming season.