Cheerwine racer Kelly Benjamin (Image credit: Kurt Jambretz)

Cheerwine Cycling Team Owner and financial sponsor Anne Bolyea has announced the she and the team will take a hiatus for the 2009 season. The Cheerwine team was started as a grassroots effort to give riders the opportunity to gain experience as racers. Within five years, Cheerwine became the number one team in the United States. Since its inception in 2003, Cheerwine has supported over 40+ riders in the US and foreign peloton.

"It is time to sit back and enjoy the results of our efforts and hard work as the number one team in the US," said Bolyea, the sole financial sponsor for the Cheerwine team.

"It was a tough decision to take a year off, but it is something I needed to do personally," she said. "I have something in the works for 2010. There were talks of merging this year, but I am just not quite ready for that.

"I want to re-group and have the best team in the country again. It would be very hard for my girls to settle for second best so this is the best decision for everyone."

"I have been very blessed to be able to do this for as long as I have and this has been a wonderful ride. I want to thank everyone who has ever been involved with this program," she said.