After a long season, I'm glad to take a long rest before next season. I had a great year, winning the Vuelta a Espana and coming 2nd in the Giro. Next year I will target the Tour de France. I finished 2nd in rider rankings and Garmin finished 3rd in the Team Rankings. It will be tough but I think next year I can be even better.

Good luck with 2012! I like this story and your team (Garmin)

thanks.
Since my main goal will be the TDF, I will not be racing early in the season and my first race will be Paris Nice.

Good luck for 2012! I can't wait!

It may be my last year. I'm not sure if I will continue or not.

Moving over to track?

No. Maybe I'll wait until PCM10 or use a 2010 DB. Maybe at the end of the season I will have changed my mind.

Or because they say that the world will end in 2012.

GL for the new season.

Rabobank CT and Francais des Jeux will be relegated to the Continental Tour while Cofidis and Vacansoleil will be promoted to the Pro Tour.

3 New Young Riders Introduced to Garmin

Sam Cotterill - A future sprinter who may be one of the best in a few years. He could become the next Cav.



Jose Javier Lopez Gill - He may not win grand tours but he will be a good climber in the future. In the newt couple years he could be a top lieutenant in the Mountains.



Tarcisio Fonseca - Theres really only one thing he's good at, which is time trialing, but he is really good at it. He can become a great time trialer, much like Zabriskie and add to the tradition of great time trialers at Garmin.




Tomas Swift Let Go
Unfortunately, Garmin decided to release Tomas Swift. He was not as successful as we liked and we needed to make room for some of our incoming riders. He will be a free agent this year and will have time to relax while he looks for a new team.

What about changes in other teams?

I'm gonna preview each PT team later today or tomorrow.

AG2R


AG2R has a pretty good team, but they lack a star rider on there team to keep them from being relegated. They will be fighting to avoid relegation at the end of the season. Smukulis is there best rider and he is still very young. If he continues to improve he may be this teams savior.

Astana


They will be one of the strongest teams in the mountains and hills but besides that, they lack sprinters and riders who can do well on the cobbles. Ignatiev, Anton, Gerdemann, and Vandevelde lead the new recruits for this team. They will not have trouble avoiding relegation but they won't be at the top either.

BBox


The team has done a good job at keeping it's French roots, as only one rider isn't French on this team. Gautier and Rolland will pick up a lot of wins for this team and Bonnet might take a sprint or two, but they are not incredibly deep. Gautier and Rolland will keep this team away from relegation but they lack depth to contend for 1st.

Caisse d'Epargne


Menchov's skills may be declining but Contador's isn't. Valverde returns to Caisse and adds to an already talented squad. Romain Feillu is one of the top sprinters and will win a lot of stages for the team. They have a balanced squad (besides the cobbles) and will probably finish between 5th-10th.

it's funny to see the young rider after 3 season. Rolland is very strong!

Caisse d'épargn nd Astana will be you most dangerous ennemy during the tour

Yeah you should see Phinney. 85 TT, thomaz nose 82 mountain, and many other riders like that.

And you have some of the young rider find in the scouting zone that are good, no?

save game?

I will continue the game through 2013 but I'm considering following another rider. Don't bother guessing because he is in the U23 circuit right now.

Cofidis


A talented team that has a lot of riders who can pick up points. They have Moinard for the mountains, Visconti for the hills, Taaramae for Time Trials, and Ista who can win some northern classics. They lack a star sprinter and behind their leaders, there are not many riders who can pick up a lot of points. They should have no problem avoiding relegation but probably won't contend for 1st place.


Euskatel


This team is built for sprints. They have 3 sprinters who will pick up a lot of points for them. Astarloza will fill in the gaps and will be a threat in the hills. This team is missing a super climber like this team usually has. Expect to see them anywhere from 5th-10th.


Fuji


This team has 2 great climbers in Cobo and Capecchi. They also have a lot of good climbers who will offer a lot of assistance to those two. They don't have anyone who can sprint, ride on the cobbles, or time trial so don't expect them to contend for 1st place, however there skill at climbing makes them a likely top 8.


ISD


Since joining the PT, ISD has proven it's worth by performing well at many races. This year they add Soler and Hushovd, two riders who fill up the holes of the team. Along with Uran, Larsson, and there other talented riders, this team could really perform well. I would expect them to finish anywhere from 5th to 15th.

Capecchi and Uran have nice stats.

Lampre


Lampre will be led by Cunego, Ballan, and Lorenzetto. Cunego missed out on a chance last year to defend his World RR Jersey, but he may have a chance to win it back this year. The team is filled with sprinters, but lacks climbers and help for Ballan on the cobblestones. They will likely be close to the top but it is unlikely they will be at the top.


Liquigas


This team has very strong leaders but lacks a lot of talent to back them up. There will be a lot of riders to help out the newly acquired sprinter, Bernhard Eisel but there will be little help for Kreuziger and Devolder. The departure of Nibali really hurts this teams chances at contending for the top spot but they will probably finish in the top 10.


Quickstep


This team has to be one of the favorites in the pro tour. Gesink, Nibali, and Seeldraeyers will be more than enough to take stage races, while Chavanel, Hoste, and Van Avermaet will dominate the cobbles. They also have Napolitano and Bennati will take many sprints. Expect this team to finish in the top 3.


Rabobank


This team loses Haedo and Leezer but adds Ciolek, who will continue the dominance of sprinters along with Bos and Boonen. Sastre will add another elite climber alongside Basso who will contend for some of the Stage Races. Expect them to compete in all types of races and finish somewhere in the top 5.