US Postal Service was created in 1996 as a continuation of the Montgomery-Bell squad, which in turn was a continuation of the Subaru-Montgomery squad. US Postal became known from 1998 as the formation around the Texan climber and time trialist Lance Armstrong, who initially won the Tour de France six times with the team. At the time, Armstrong was the team's signboard worldwide, by extension of American cycling. The team remained in the peloton through 2004, then the Discovery Channel was the continuation of this team until 2007, with Berry Floor still as a co-sponsor.

Of the seven times Armstrong won the Tour de France, that was six times and therefore ninety percent in the US Postal shirt. However, all seven of Lance Armstrong's overall victories were scrapped in 2012 due to doping use. In 2003 Roberto Heras won the Vuelta a España for this team. George Hincapie won Gent-Wevelgem in 2001 and the Three Days of De Panne-Koksijde in 2004.