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Before the Discovery Channel cycling team gave Michael Barry the brush off as part of an 11-rider house cleaning, the Toronto cyclist had already landed a new seat with the T-Mobile pack.

The 31-year-old Barry had laboured in the wings for the U.S. Postal and Discovery teams that did the legwork for Tour de France Legend Lance Armstrong. But Discovery elected to re-tool for next season in the post-Armstrong era. That overhaul coincided with a move by T-Mobile to remake its squad after top riders Jan Ullrich of Germany and Spaniard Oscar Sevilla were disgraced in Spain's the Operation Puerto doping scandal. Ullrich and Sevilla had been among the favourites for the 2006 Tour de France but were unceremoniously withdrawn on the eve of the race. Their contracts were briskly terminated.

Barry has a spotless record as an athlete, but he has never had a chance to shine on a world pro circuit that is plagued with doping discoveries week after week. His Discovery contract expired this season and now Barry will be among the new T-Mobile team to be launched next week, as the Bonn-based company seeks a new image.

T-Mobile manager Bob Stapleton said on the team's website that organizers were trying to cram eight months work into two as they prepared a new group of both "talent and character." The Tour de France might be the marquee cycling event of the season, but Stapleton is choosing not to invest in suspect big names for only three weeks of the year. He wants Barry and the new crew to be competitive the other 200 days of cycling — and especially not to run afoul of doping authorities and police.

"In recent years the team's results outside of the Tour were poor, especially in the last two years," Stapleton said. "Our goal now is to be competitive throughout the entire season with riders that bring the right character and qualities — both on and off the bike — and to no longer depend on just one or two stars to deliver. Having said that it is difficult to say right now which of cycling's big names will continue riding."

As for Discovery, George Hincapie of the United States, long considered Armstrong's key teammate, is one noteable rider staying with the squad. Among the 11 cyclists leaving are: two-time Giro d'Italia champion Paolo Savoldelli of Italy, climber Jose Azevedo of Portugal, Manuel Beltran of Spain, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, Benoit Joachim of Luxembourg and the Canadian Barry.

"After the retirement of Lance in 2005 it was natural for our team to begin making changes," Discovery Channel manager Johan Bruyneel said today. "The team was built around Lance for seven years and as we move out of the Lance era we are now looking at new objectives in addition to the Tour de France."

That said, it remains a goal for Barry to race in the Tour. There was never a place for him in the Armstrong cohort, through he is an experience pro and was seventh in the road race at the 2003 worlds in Hamilton.

Barry suffered a broken back in April when he crashed during the Tour of Flanders in Belgium, but returned to racing by June. He has been racing in the Vuelta in Spain.

Ekimov announced his retirement from racing during the Tour de France. He will stay at Discovery as a deputy to Bruyneel.