A note from Swedish rider Magnus Bäckstedt just two days after his surgery in London:

“I had surgery on Friday afternoon (on broken right clavicle) and it went well. It will however take a bit longer than I expected to get back to racing. The break from Qatar was very close to an old break which will complicate the healing a bit.”

“I am expecting to be on the home trainer by tomorrow (Monday). Though I am not allowed to put any weight on the arm or pull on the handlebars, as I would bend the metal plate I now have permanently screwed into my collarbone.”

“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has sent emails regarding my condition. I also want to say a big thanks to the team management, staff and all of my teammates for sending me messages of encouragement. It shows how close we all are. Like brothers!!!” –Maggy

Check out Bäckstedt’s crash footage from Cycling.tv.

Team Slipstream/Chipotle H3O finished a shortened stage 6 with no real changes to the standings. Sutton just missed making the final podium by six seconds behind third place finisher Greg Van Avermaet, who also took the best young rider classification from Sutton.

The seven remaining members of the team and their support staff will have a day in Qatar to regroup before flying back to Madrid late Saturday night to start the European season.

Magnus Bäckstedt is flying back to London early tomorrow morning to have surgery later in the day (Friday, February 1). If all goes well, he should be back in the saddle very soon.

We all wish him a quick and complete recovery!

Winding up for the final sprint of stage five, Swedish cyclist Magnus Bäckstedt went down in a large pile-up that included Chris Sutton and Julian Dean. Bäckstedt is out of the race with a broken right clavicle while Dean and Sutton finished with road rash and bumps.

Italian Danilo Napolitano (Lampre) celebrated his 27th birthday in style by winning the stage ahead of compatriot Alberto Loddo (Tinkoff). Tom Boonen finished third and retains the gold leader’s jersey.

Sutton remains second in the young rider classification and 4th overall.

Four stages into the Tour of Qatar, Team Slipstream/Chipotle H3O continues to grow stronger in the face of the high speeds and brutal crosswinds of the early season race.

“Team wise, today was the best day we’ve had so far,” said Director Sportif Johnny Weltz. “With 50 kilometers to go, we attacked into a crosswind and had seven guys in the break. Today we were as strong as Quick Step.”

With a lead-out from Backstedt, Sutton finished sixth in the final sprint. Though Sutton moved up in overall classification to 4th place, his nemesis Greg Van Avermaet (Lotto) still gained three seconds on him in the overall and the Best Young Rider classifications through the intermediate sprint time bonuses.

Though Team Slipstream will rest up for tomorrow’s 170-kilometer stage tonight, first they will celebrate Magnus Backstedt’s birthday.

OLATHE, Kan./January 28, 2008/PR Newswire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today announced its sponsorship of Slipstream Sports LLC, an elite cycling team that prides itself on using talent, training and technology in taking on the world’s best competition. Slipstream cyclists will train with the Edge 705, the newest GPS-enabled cycling computer in Garmin’s popular line of fitness products. Slipstream’s support vehicles will use Garmin’s nüvi® 770, which combines compact functionality with comprehensive preloaded maps of North America and Europe.

“Garmin is thrilled to be joining forces with Slipstream, a team that exemplifies sportsmanship and integrity in this new era of competitive cycling,” said Jon Cassat, Garmin’s vice president of communications. “An unparalleled training tool for professional and recreational cyclists, the Edge 705 will help Slipstream excel on the sport’s biggest stages.”

Slipstream Sports is among the best cycling teams in the world and could be the only American team to compete in the 2008 Tour de France. Many riders are also Olympic hopefuls for Beijing. Slipstream Sports is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. In 2007, Slipstream partnered with Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), to create the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional sports world. The team of 25 riders will undergo combined voluntary testing at least 700 times throughout the 2008 season.

“Technology plays a key role in our training, traveling and communicating as a team.” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO/President, Slipstream. “Garmin is the perfect fit for our team’s needs, and we are very excited to work with them this season.”

The Edge 705 represents several breakthroughs in cycling technology, including power compatibility wireless unit-to-unit connectivity and the ability to monitor GPS position, heart rate, speed, cadence, altitude and gradient on the same display. And Slipstream teammates will be able to share their information – including saved rides, waypoints and workouts – with each other through ANT+Sport™ wireless technology.

Slipstream cyclists can display their customizable data fields on large 2.2″ color screens, which also bring the Edge 705’s mapping capabilities and street navigation to life in vivid detail. The Edge 705’s barometric altimeter makes it much easier for cyclists to match their altitude profile with their speed, cadence and heart rate during post-ride analysis. And when paired with a third party’s ANT+Sport-enabled device, the Edge 705 measures power – torque and cadence for each leg at the pedals – which is often cited as a true indicator of an efficient ride.

Slipstream cyclists and coaches can analyze their performance long after the ride ends by turning to Garmin Connect™ — Garmin’s new and enhanced online training site at connect.garmin.com — where they can track their progress, share workouts and participate in an online community. Garmin Connect calculates measurements such as time, distance, speed, elevation and heart rate. This information is displayed through charts, illustrations, reports and a variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and elevation maps as well as the popular Google Earth application. Team Slipstream can replay its workouts and watch as cyclists move along a mapped route that coincides with selected data fields and the statistics at any given point.

Packed with detailed maps and 6 million preloaded points of interest, the nüvi 770 will help the Slipstream team travel with speed and ease across two continents. Barely bigger than a deck of cards, the nüvi 770 has route-planning capabilities for multi-stop trips and also answers two common questions: “Where am I?” and “Where’s my car?” At any time, with a single tap of the screen, drivers can display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. And to help Slipstream’s drivers find their support vehicles in an event’s vast parking lots, the nüvi 770 automatically marks the position in which it was last removed from the mount.

About Slipstream Sports
Founded in 2005, Slipstream Sports LLC is a highly progressive sports management company dedicated solely to promoting the ethical growth of American cycling.

About Team Slipstream/Chipotle
Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, a sports marketing and development company, Team Slipstream/Chipotle is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. In 2007, Team Slipstream partnered with Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), to create the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional sports world. Each of the team’s 25 riders will undergo combined voluntary testing at least 700 times throughout the 2008 season, 20 times the number of tests that most professional cyclists are subject to annually. Team Slipstream will be competing in a full schedule of professional cycling races in the U.S. and Europe throughout 2008. Additional information is available at www.slipstreamsports.com.

About Garmin International
Garmin International Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN) group of companies, which designs and manufactures navigation, communication and information devices - most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin is a leader in the general aviation and consumer GPS markets and its products serve aviation, marine, outdoor recreation, automotive, wireless and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin, Edge and nüvi are registered trademarks, and ANT+Sport and Garmin Connect are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Anticipated product availability dates are based on management’s current expectations and are not guaranteed.

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2006 filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 000-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jake Jacobson
Garmin International Inc.
Phone | 913/397-8200
E-Mail | media.relations@garmin.com

Team Slipstream/Chipotle presented by H3O started the season off with a bang and a strong second place finish in the opening 6-kilometer team time trial at the Tour of Qatar. Slipstream rider Chris Sutton also secured the Best Young Rider jersey.

Making good on David Millar’s promise for a top three finish in this season opener, Slipstream actually held the virtual lead with a time of 6 minutes 37 seconds until Tom Boonen’s Quick Step boys crossed the line. Quick Step bettered Slipstream’s final time by just two seconds. Since Quick Step doesn’t have any riders under 25, the Best Young Rider jersey went to Sutton who crossed the line first.

Director Sportif Johnny Weltz said the riders perfectly executed their game plan for the team time trial. “We started out moderately with Backstedt setting the pace, and then continued to accelerate. All the guys worked together and we had a perfect race.” The team averaged about 55 kilometers an hour.

Tomorrow’s 137.5 kilometer stage from Al Zubarah to the Doha Golf Club includes an intermediate sprint with time bonuses. Weltz said the team would look to put pressure on Quick Step for the sprints. “We’ve been talking a lot the last few weeks and now we just want to perform,” said Weltz.

Free beemers and suite living on the eve of the Tour of Qatar opening team time trial

For the past few days, Team Slipstream’s eight riders and seven staff members have been hold up in the luxurious Ritz Carlton in Doha, Qatar. For the week, the massive hotel is also home to the other 16 pro cycling teams, professional golfers and race car drivers. Then there are the people who can actually afford the rooms, the kind that leave their BMWs and Mercedes unlocked and running the way the rest of us might leave a beater bike unwatched.

After several days of intense training on the flat, busy roads of Qatar, the extra comforts are welcome by the hard working riders. Chris Sutton and Julian Dean are holding on tight to their lavish suite, though the hotel is trying to transfer them to a regular room.

But don’t think for a minute that the boys are getting soft in Qatar. After previewing the 6-kilometer team time trial course, the team is focused and ready to show the cycling world the importance of argyle.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s stage 1 team time trial update.