San Luis Obispo, California and Taoyuan, Taiwan – June 29, 2009 – High Road Sports, Inc., the owner of Team Columbia-Highroad and HTC Corporation, a designer of mobile phones, today announced a three-year sponsorship agreement that prominently places the HTC brand at the starting line of the 2009 Tour de France on July 4 in Monaco. "High Road Sports is elated to be partnering with HTC, a recognized leader and growing global brand in mobile phones," said Bob Stapleton, Owner, Team Columbia-HTC. "Team Columbia-HTC is now sponsored by two leading companies in their related industries and we are ready to show the growing power of our partnership at this years Tour de France. The team currently called Columbia-Highroad, and known in 2008 and 2009 as the team with the most victories in professional cycling, will compete as "Team Columbia-HTC" and will present the new team uniform in Monaco on July 3, the day before the start of the 96th Tour de France. "The HTC High Road Sports partnership is a great match of like minded organizations driven by innovation, excellence and competitiveness and we are excited about the opportunity to communicate HTCs brand value through the great sport of cycling," said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. "HTCs sponsorship of Team Columbia-HTC is one step in HTCs commitment to increasing its global brand value and recognition." Recognized in Business Weeks 2009 InfoTech 100 as the 13th best-performing tech company in the world, HTC focuses on putting people at the centre by making their phones work in a more simple and natural way. This drives HTCs choice of partners, product creations and platforms. HTCs global team of designers, researchers and engineers quietly listen and observe people with their phones and in life so they can better understand and anticipate peoples needs to create a more personalized experience. This is central to HTCs culture, spanning across its more than 9,000 employees worldwide. The three-year sponsorship agreement runs through 2011 and includes both the mens and womens professional cycling teams, which are top ranked worldwide and have won over 80 races combined in 2009 – the most wins of any competing team.

About HTC HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry and continues to pioneer industry-leading mobile experiences through design, usability and innovation that is sparked by how the mobile phone can improve how people live and communicate. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

About High Road Sports High Road Sports, Inc., based in San Luis Obispo, California, operates elite-level professional mens and womens cycling teams that have won more victories than any other teams in the 2008 and 2009. High Roads athletes include 36 men and women, and staff members from 20 different nations making it the most international team in the sport. High Road is founded on the principles of clean and fair sport, and focuses on developing young athletes under veteran leadership and an experienced management team. The team is a leader in best methods and practices, technology development, and self-improvement. To learn more about Team Columbia-HTC please visit the teams web site at www.highroadsports.com.

Giant CEO King Liu's 1,668-kilometer ride from Beijing to Shanghai (May 9-28) won the attention and support of cyclists and the bicycle industry in Taiwan and China. This epic ride took Liu through three provinces and three major cities, across the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, and near countless historic and scenic sights. 2 editors 2 photographers  from this publication accompanied Liu on his trip; see the spectacular report in Bike Market Update 2009 Autumn issue which will come out at Eurobike.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have attracted much foreign investment since they joined the EU on May 1, 2004, and their overall economic development and bicycle exports have flourished. Most bicycle manufacturers here export half of their output, and sell the remaining half on the domestic market. Many manufacturers have their own brand names, but some specialize in OEM sales. The bike markets in the two countries are promising, and the much-improved Brno show has become Eastern Europe's largest dedicated bike exhibition.

Global cycling achieved a vital lap of progress with the wrap of this year's Taipei CYCLE 2009 that spotlighted the hottest show from March 17 to March 20. The success of Taipei CYCLE 2009 (The 2009 Taipei Int'l Cycle Show) which defied the global downturn to chalk up growth across the board was chiefly attributed to the industry's firm foundation of added value, innovation, and quality that made for a show that's sustainable even in global recession. ??Largest show in Taipei CYCLE history" This event hosted 762 exhibitors from home and abroad, including 185 companies from 32 different countries and 577 from Taiwan who used 2,888 booths to highlight the largest Taipei CYCLE in its 22-year history.

The 2009 show registered 4,786 foreign visitors, up 2.1% from the previous year. Top executives flew in from around the world for procurement including those from Trek, Specialized, SRAM, DT Swiss, Cycle Europe, Shimano, Bridgestone, Panasonic and Miyata. By nation-buyer representation, the best represented countries at Taipei CYCLE were from Japan, the U.S.A., China, Korea, Hong Kong and Germany. The robust increases in buyer turn out from China, which indicates that Taiwan is gradually winning over the regional market with its emphasis on quality, high-priced and value-added cycling products. President Ma Ying-Jeou attended the opening ceremony, and gave a speech in which he expressed that, although few of the world's heads of state would attend a bicycle show, he came because he personally has been a cycling fanatic for close to 50 years. His father took him to school on a bike when he was a young child, said Ma, and he took his sister to school on a bike during high school. He continued riding a bike while studying in the United States, and he slipped and fell while riding after a snowfall. These experiences gave President Ma a permanent link with bicycles. Among the most attention-getting bikes at this year's shows were many road bikes, single-speed bikes, women's bikes, and small wheel diameter bikes. In addition, many manufacturers responded to the growing popularity of e-bikes in Europe by displaying new models. Most companies reported satisfaction with the quality of buyers while noting how their overall professionalism and purchasing power substantially improved compared with those at last year's event. The attraction of Taipei CYCLE as a purchasing hub was further underscored which was covered in a newscast by Japan's nation broadcaster NHK. Faced with price competition from across the region, Taiwan bicycle manufacturers have actually come out ahead with a 30% increase in exports last year by focusing on delivering their value-added high quality message. Practicality was the key word at 2009 show which saw many exhibitors displaying diverse collections of innovative products targeted at the everyday needs in the daily cyclist. And when diversity comes into play none can match Taiwan, a nation of small-scale family manufacturers. That facet was easily seen across the venue with hundreds of small specialty booths that displayed not only fancy cycling products?Xsuch as the custom-made, high-priced bicycles?Xbut also the outstanding creativity of local bike manufacturers that as been spurred on by hard times.

It was evident at Taipei CYCLE that in spite of the gloomy global economy that these makers have already transformed themselves from OEM contractors into companies that design and make value-added products. That journey has taken them from being passive manufacturers into being founders of their own-brands and products. This event is ranked as the top cycle show in Asia and among the top three in the world and stands out for staging the global best in product design and quality. It's the one place that is links the entire chain of makers and marketers. The people behind this event are proud to be playing this part, as the world awakens to the need for clean and sustainable transportation. Like the legendary Armstrong, Taipei CYCLE 2010 will be going all next March 17th to March 20th to wear the Yellow Jacket.