Baden Cooke..hm. Riis is weird this year..It must be linked with money prbolems..

I know about the money issues.

What I meant is that you usually hear a rumour before a signing. That hasn't been the case with Cooke.

Saxo's dire financial trouble continues. No money to renew Arvesen, Goss or Kroon's contracts. Problems getting to an agreement with Ljungqvist because they can't offer much. Offering Bochmann a renewal despite publicly admitting to not being happy with his performance, just because they need cheap riders to fill numbers.

And now signing Cooke who isn't Saxo quality and the wrong side of 30.

Not going well for them at all.

Also, the fact that it's a 1 year contract (which Saxo never do, not even for neo-pros) is very telling

EDIT: You gotta wonder what's gonna happen at the end of next season when the Schlecks' contracts end and they're due massive pay rises (Andy is still on the same contract he signed when his only two results of any note were stage wins at the Sachsen-Tour)

Is this really true? The winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege and 2nd in Tour De France on his first contract? In that case i feel bad for Andy Schleck, I wouldn't have accepted it

No, I'm lying



No, not his first contract. His first contract was as a stagiaire in 2004. His second contract was signed in late 2004 for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

In the winter of 2006/2007 he signed his third and current contract that lasts until the end of next season.



What's he going to say? "I don't accept the legally binding contract that I personally signed"? A contract is a contract. When it ends he can demand more. Which Saxo Bank is unlike to be able to afford, which is the whole point

In 2011, Saxo Bank's only star rider will be Cancellara

Seeing as he is one of Saxo's most valuable riders, couldn't he have pressured them into giving him a better contract?

Let's say a rider sign a pretty lousy contract for 3 years, the next year he suprises everyone and wins the tour(unlikely but still). Then he has no chance of getting a better contract

He can't do anything, unless he has some kind of clause in the contract stating if does x results he gets y pay raise.

Get ready to cry: at the end of 2011 Cancellara's huge gigantic salaried contract that he was given when the team was still sure IT Factory would give them big sponsorship bucks.........ends.

I can't see Saxo having the budget to renew it.

no need to panic..they have all 2010 season to fix this situation..

Cooke will be solid domestique in RVV and Roubiax and good lead-out man (maybe a mentor for Haedo or Breschel). And probably he will be very cheap. Good signing.
And financial problems of Saxo? Yes. But no panic. Riis push for new co-sponsor for 2010. Keep Schlecks, Cancellara, Breschel or Fuglsang is still possible..

Cooke is a better sprinter than Breschel, he has way better positioning skill than Breschel. And he has better ewndurance than Haedo, so he will actually be able to make it to the finish with the pack.

I disagree with both these points

Breschel isn't worse sprinter than Cooke (many podiums in big races) and Haedo too. The big problem for them is get to sprints..
EDIT: And no lead-out man in Saxo is next big problem..

??

Cooke is a great climber for a sprinter, and Breschel, not being a sprinter, is much better still.

See results last few years. Cooke? He won stages in 2008 edition of Clasica a Alcobendas and Herald Sun Tour and he had several positions in top 10.. Breschel? 2008: Wins: Philadelphia International Championship, 2 stages in Tour of Denmark and final stage of Vuelta. This year? Many places in top 10 in races like Tour of Luxembourg, Tour of Denmark or Vattenfall Cyclassics.. In past - yes, Cooke had much more good results in sprints.. The question is if Cooke can recover this time..
And Breschel isn't typical sprinter of course, he is more like Bettini type of rider..

Cooke has never really had a decent team around him, and he deserves a chance for at least a year to prove he is good enough.

Maybe, but he is one of the best riders in the world, though.

Are we thinking of 1) the same Breschel, and 2) the same Bettini?

I think SaxoBank tries to be a sprinting team.
If they trie to go for Schleck and Cooke in the tour it wont work.
Maybe they`ve got inspired of Haedo`s good results in Tour of Misourri.