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Team Saxo Bank - Surviving Without Alberto
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 09-02-2012 00:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3497
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 600.00
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| Info: | | Database: | PCM.Daily's Public Beta 2012 DB | | Race difficulty: | Hard | | Development of attributes: | Random | | Team: | Team Saxo Bank | | Goals: | Survive in the Wolrd Tour |
| Total Wins: | 0 | | Stage Wins: | 0 | | Tour Wins: | 0 | | 1-Day Race Wins: | 0 | | Jersey Wins: | 0 |
Bjarne Riis 
Info: Bjarne Riis is known to most people as the only Dane to date to have won the world's biggest cycling race, the Tour de France. In the past few years, he has also become known for the way he runs his cycling team, Saxo Bank-SunGard, and the company behind it, Riis Cycling A/S.
"Not everyone believes in what we do. That is fine with me: I am happy knowing that our team is different. I am even happier knowing that we have delivered results in both sports and business that speak for themselves."
Riis took over the team and company in 2000 and besides achieving significant results in international cycling, he has also gained recognition from the business community, as is documented in the Danish business magazine Børsen's Gazelle Prize awarded in 2003 to Riis Cycling A/S.
The Tour de France victory in 1996 is naturally the peak of Riis' sports career, a career that also brought him a victory in the the World Cup race Amstel Gold Race, five Danish championships as well as stage wins in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia.
Dan Forst
Info: Dan Frost joined Team CSC as a sports director in 2006 after having been a pro himself for many years.
He was primarily known as a track rider rider, where he demonstrated his tactical skills by winning both the 1986 World Championship and an Olympic Gold Medal in 1988 in points race. He ended his career after having participated in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona in the same discipline.
Besides his international results Frost also won 19 Danish Championships in various disciplines, and after ending his career he became a board member of the Danish Cycling Federation before joining Team CSC.
Nicholas Gates 
Info: 39-year-old Nicholas Gates was a professional rider for 12 years from 1996 to 2008. The Aussie did six seasons at the Lotto squad and in his rookie season, he took the Australian national road championship. Besides the traditional road races, Nicholas was superb in the criteriums where he took a number of victories. With no less than nine grand tours on his resume, the Australian sports director provides the Team Saxo Bank riders with a vast experience from the road.
Nicholas takes on his second year as a sports director as he launched his career with Saxo Bank-SunGard in 2011.
Fabrizio Guidi 
Info: Just like his colleagues, Tristan Hofmann and Bradley McGee, Italian Fabrizio Guidi is a former team rider. As a pro, he was known and feared for his speed and tactical skills which provided him with loads of bunch sprint victories in races like Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Paris-Nice, Tour of Romandie and in 1996, he won Tour of Denmark overall.
The 39-year-old former sprinter was riding for 12 years and he took more than 40 pro wins before he retired in 2007.
Tristan Hoffman 
Info: Tristan Hoffman from Holland is a very experienced sports director – especially when it comes to Spring Classics. As a former rider on the team from 2000 to 2005, the big Dutchman played a dominating role in races Dwars door Vlaandern, Ronde van Vlaandern and Paris-Roubaix. Three times he was among the top four riders in dusty and bone-breaking Paris-Roubaix and he triumphed in Dwars door Vlaandern, Veenendaal-Veenendal and Paris-Bourges.
With his huge experience, 42-year-old Tristan makes the riders feel calm, relaxed and focused when entering the races to perform at the highest level.
Philippe Mauduit 
Info: As his colleagues in the sports director set, French Philippe Mauduit is a former pro rider and in addition he has a vast experience as a sports director.
The 43-year-old sports director retired in 1999 and took on a challenging job as sports director in Japan before he was hired as the Chinese national cycling coach. In 2004, returned to France to build up a U23 team with Bbox Bouygues Telecom and until 2009, the always sympathetic Frenchman led the professional part of the organization as a sports director.
Philippe has a college degree in performance evaluation and physical preparation and before signing with Saxo Bank-SunGard in 2011, he spent a year at Cervelo Test Team
Bradley McGee
Info: After numerous injuries during the latter part of his career Bradley McGee decided in autumn 2008 to accept the offer of becoming a sports director at Team Saxo Bank - IT Factory starting from 2009.
McGee was given the choice between continuing with the team as a rider for another year or taking on a new role as a sports director and after having suffered numerous injuries he opted for the latter.
McGee was not entirely unfamiliar with the job as a sports director as he'd already tried it once with Francaise des Jeux during Herald Sun Tour – where his team even took the overall victory.
"It was the most exhausting experience in my entire career because I wasn't prepared for all the hard work making sure everything was in place and taken care of. It'll be different once I get the hang of it I'm sure," says McGee.
McGee was a pro rider from 1998 to 2008 and apart from the final year he was with Francaise des Jeux the entire time.
He won two stages in Tour de France during his career: In 2002 he won a sprinter stage, where he beat guys like Jaan Kirsipuu, Pedro Horillo, Robbie McEwen, Erik Zabel and Stuart O'Grady on the up-hill sprint in Avranches and in 2003 he won the prologue resulting in three days in Yellow.
McGee was a true expert in prologues in those days and he took the leader's jersey in races like Tour de Normandie, Dauphiné Libéré, Tour de Romandie not to mention Giro d'Italia in 2004, where he had two days in pink after winning the prologue – he lost the jersey to sprinter Olaf Pollack during the first stage, but later regained it by sprinting his way to a second place in stage two.
17 UCI victories was the end result for McGee – most of them stage wins but he also won Route du Sud in 2004 and he finished eight in Giro d'Italia in 2004.
Edited by jt1109 on 09-02-2012 16:19
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 09-02-2012 00:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3497
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 600.00
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"As you can see by the goals the sponsor is still aiming high this season goals such as 1st in the Santos Tour Down Under are very high on the sponsors hopes and are also achieveable but goals like 1st in the Tour de France now Alberto has been suspenend will be impossible to achieve along with 1st in Liege Bastonge Liege. Though in terms of our goals in the cobbled classic races we think that there are all very do able goals and are actually hoping Nick (Nuyens)we be able to repeat his performance of last season and grab a cobbled classsic for us. Hopefully we will be on for a good season."
Bjarne Riis
Edited by jt1109 on 09-02-2012 18:05
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 09-02-2012 00:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3497
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 600.00
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The strong and cunning Belgian rider started his professional career at Quick Step in 2003 where he changed teams to first Cofidis and Rabobank before finally entering Saxo Bank-SunGard at the threshold to the 2011-season.
Nick Nuyens is a powerful classics specialist who has won several spring classics on the harsh cobblestone surface and small stage races in the windy spring of Northern Europe. At Team Saxo Bank, he is the man to put in the front during the biggest French/Belgian spring classics such as Ronde van Vlaandern which he won superbly in his first year on the team.
Besides from being a spring classic expert, he does well in shorter stage races where he benefits from his tactical skills and his fast sprint.
Chris started riding back in 1997 and joined the local cycling club in Hammel the following year. Chris quickly showed his skills and in 1999 he was selected for the Danish national team. His 2003 season was ruined by bad health and Chris considered his choice of career. Fit again, Chris joined the Danish Team Designa in 2005 and stayed there until 2007 when joining Team CSC.
The first year with Team CSC Chris finished 6th overall in Tour of Germany and showed very promising riding. In 2008, Chris demonstrated world class climbing after winning stage 7 of Dauphiné Libéré. Chris had his Tour de France debut in 2009 and he's been part of the Tour de France line-up since.
In 2010, Chris won an amazing mountain stage win in Giro d'Italia after dropping everyone on the steep climb on his way to the finish line. In general, the slim Dane is a tireless climber and has been a part of the World Championships finals through the years filling out his role as a supporting rider excellently.
In 2012 though the Dane will be asked to lead Saxo Bank for the first time in his career and continuing his record with his 4th consecutive Tour de France start.
With a background from the track, JJ Haedo is one the fastest sprinters in the peloton as he has shown on a number of occasions in his career. Since he joined the team in 2007, his powerful sprint has improved and he is often seen in grueling bunch sprints where he is dueling with the biggest sprinters in the world.
JJ's teammate and smaller brother, Lucas is obviously cut from the same tree and it's often hard to distinguish who is who in the fast sprint decisions as they both have a very elegant and gracious style of riding. With victories in the Vuelta, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of California and several one-day races, JJ is one of the most winning riders on the team.
With a few more sprinters on the team from the 2012-season, the talented Argentinean from Buenos Aires will be supported by an even stronger lead-out than earlier but make no mistake about the fact that JJ has the cunningness and the experience to do well on his own.
Jesus Hernandez is a fabulous climber and as such, he is a tremendously valuable support for his captains in mountainous terrain. Because of his skills, he is a crucial factor in the effort to do well in different stage races. The Spaniard finished 19th in the Vuelta a Espana 2009.
The 30-year-old climber started his career at Liberty-Seguros in 2004 and has played a very important role at Relax-Gam and Astana before switching to Saxo Bank-SunGard prior to the 2011 season.
Even though Hernandez might do pretty well on his own in big and small stage races, he's characterized by an immensely unselfish dedication to honor the greater good by working hard when things get rough and not least steep.
Rider Goals:
Giro D'Italia ~ Top 10
 Veulta A Espana ~ Top 10
Jonas is an excellent allrounder with a terrific finish and he's getting stronger every year. The talented Dane came to Team Saxo Bank by the end of the 2009-season leaving the Danish continental Team Capinordic where he succeeded on a number of occasions in various terrains.
Jonas has a great potential. He's a fair climber but he also has a great sense of being at the right place at the right time in the bunch sprints which has given him several victories.
There's no doubt Jonas has finished developing and his variety of abilities on the road gives him a perfect opportunity to play almost every role there is from the bone-breaking classics to the long climbs.
Rider Goals:
5 Stage Wins
Karsten Kroon from Holland initiated his professional career in 1999 at the Rabobank team. In 2006, he entered Team CSC and after a short period of time at BMC, he's back with Team Saxo Bank where he is a major force in the spring classics.
With eleven consecutive world championship participations and two Olympics in Beijing and Athens on his resume, the Dutch rider adds a huge amount of experience to Team Saxo Bank which is as good as gold for the younger riders. But apart from being the experienced rider on the team, he's also a candidate for spring classic success as he's a fighter and has the stamina, coolness and will power to be at the very front when it goes down in the Ardennes.
In addition, Karsten is known and respected as a true team player who's always loyal, supportive and simply brings out the best in his teammates.
Daniel Navrro launched his professional career in 2005 at the Spanish Liberty Seguros team where he rode in two seasons before joining Team Astana. At the entrance of the 2011 season, the lightweight Spaniard entered Saxo Bank-SunGard.
Navarro is a undoubtedly a strong climber and he has been a trustful support in grand tours and he has been an active part of two overall wins of the greatest cycling event on the calendar, the Tour de France. With his formidable climbing skills and loyalty, he is always a strong card in most stage races of the season. However, the Spaniard can win races on his own which he proved in 2010 by winning fifth stage of Critérium du Dauphine.
Rider Goals:
Giro D'Italia ~ Top 10
Veulta A Espana ~ Top 10
The 31-year-old Portuguese started his career at the Spanish Liberty-Seguros squad back in 2005 from where he joined Astana, Discovery Channel, Radioshack and finally Team Saxo Bank before launching the 2012 season.
The powerful Sergio is quite an experienced rider with loads of Gran Tour experience and combined with strength and fine tactical skills, he's one of the most sought after riders in the peloton. Throughout his career, he has mostly been a supporting rider but he can also take matters into his own hands which he proved in 2010 winning Tour de France stage ten. Besides from his climbing abilities, Sergio does a solid time trial and he's a former national champion in that specific discipline.
Undoubtedly, Sergio will improve Team Saxo Bank's strength in the mountains, on the flat sections and on the team time trials besides from being able to win on his own.
Nicki Sørensen is a key rider on Team Saxo Bank in many senses. In 2012 the experienced and ever loyal Dane starts his impressive 12th season in the Danish outfit, and therefore the strong allrounder is a natural pick as road captain in the biggest races and a go to guy for the younger riders.
Nicki Sørensen didn't start his cycling career before the age of 19, but when he first started, his career went flying. In 1999 he turned professional for Team Chicky World, then went on to Team Fakta, where he established himself as a pro rider and secured a place on the Danish national team for the 2000 Olympics.
In 2001 Nicki Sørensen joined Team CSC – World Online, as Team Saxo Bank was then known. Since then the hardworking rider has created himself the well deserved reputation as one of the greatest domestiques in the peloton.
At the same time Nicki Sørensen also showed on a number of occasions that he is a winner. In 2011 he picked up the Danish National Championship and the red and white jersey for the fourth time in his career. On the international scene the Dane claimed his biggest win to date, when he in the 2009 Tour de France soloed to victory on stage 12 to Vittel. Before then in 2005, Nicki Sørensen also won stage 18 in Vuelta a Espana.
Rider Goals:
Giro D'Italia ~ Stage Win
Denmark National Championship ~ Win
Edited by jt1109 on 09-02-2012 17:48
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 09-02-2012 00:24
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3497
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 600.00
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Team Presentation Continued
Edited by jt1109 on 09-02-2012 17:52
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 09-02-2012 00:24
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3497
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 600.00
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Race Calender:
Date | Country | Category | Race | | 19/01-24/01 | | UWT | Tour Down Under |
Date | Country | Category | Race | | 06/02-11/02 |  | 2.1 | Tour of Qatar | | 06/02-10/02 | | 2.1 | Veulta a Mallorca |
Date | Country | Category | Race | | 06/03-13/03 | | UWT | Paris - Nice | | 09/03-15/03 | | UWT | Tirreno - Adriatico |
Edited by jt1109 on 11-02-2012 00:38
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| canojuancho |
Posted on 09-02-2012 00:36
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 901
Joined: 21-07-2008
PCM$: 600.00
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A great challenge without Alberto. Come on Nuyens!!! We like to see doing very well in Cobbled and Ardennes Classics!!
Good Luck. |
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| lluuiiggii |
Posted on 09-02-2012 01:15
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8425
Joined: 30-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Seems very interesting, a nice challenge. Good luck  Btw surviving without Alberto means he'll be completely out of the team? (or maybe in the team injured until August and later you could take out all the points he scored).
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| alexanderlens |
Posted on 09-02-2012 07:18
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 982
Joined: 08-07-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Interesting, good luck! One question, are you still in the World tour?
Guess who's back?
Lets see how many friens are still around... |
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| Teddy The Creator |
Posted on 09-02-2012 07:20
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2107
Joined: 19-10-2011
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alexanderlens wrote:
Interesting, good luck! One question, are you still in the World tour?
If you read the info, you'd know. 
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 09-02-2012 07:22
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World Champion
Posts: 13662
Joined: 20-06-2011
PCM$: 300.00
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Good luck with Nuyens, Chris Anker and the others, you should be able to get good results even without Alberto
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 12-12-2025 12:05
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Bot Agent
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| CountArach |
Posted on 09-02-2012 07:36
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8205
Joined: 14-07-2008
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This could be one of the most interesting reports out there. You will have a handful of quite good riders but no one who is really able to challenge for GC at most events, or even win classics. Maybe Chris Anker could aim for Paris-Nice or another week long stage race if he hits it with good form, but generally this is going to be tough. I will be following with interest.
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| andy222c |
Posted on 09-02-2012 07:40
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Sprinter
Posts: 1523
Joined: 23-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Great idea! I hope you'll ride very agressively and win a lot of surprising stagewins. And then of course stay in the ProTour
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 09-02-2012 08:05
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Domestique
Posts: 722
Joined: 24-04-2009
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nice idea i cant wait to see the final result from october you really need some strong coobled classics and i think navarro could score in a race like catalunya with a decent fitness - good luck! you will probably need it |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 09-02-2012 09:11
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
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Good Luck with this jt |
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 09-02-2012 09:50
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7784
Joined: 08-09-2009
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I like the looks of this story, seems a promising one. It's a challenge, and I hope you'll have plenty of motivation throughout the story, without any riders to achieve what Contador did. |
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 09-02-2012 10:32
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World Champion
Posts: 10452
Joined: 19-11-2010
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Glad to have you here jt1109, from Div II to story section. Great choice of the team and a greta challenge too. Good luck
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| MrDemus |
Posted on 09-02-2012 10:43
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1065
Joined: 13-03-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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I have thought about doing this as well. Not as a story, but just as a save. Interesting project
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| alexanderlens |
Posted on 09-02-2012 15:46
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 982
Joined: 08-07-2011
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Teddy The Creator wrote:
alexanderlens wrote:
Interesting, good luck! One question, are you still in the World tour?
If you read the info, you'd know.
Yep, but if you read the news, you'd know that there is a chance that saxobank loses his WT status, so...
Guess who's back?
Lets see how many friens are still around... |
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| Rauling |
Posted on 09-02-2012 15:48
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Domestique
Posts: 437
Joined: 09-02-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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As other said I also think this could be an interesting story
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| CasperVg |
Posted on 09-02-2012 15:52
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Stagiare
Posts: 173
Joined: 26-08-2010
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It certainly won't be easy to remain in the World Tour without Contador, but that makes the story even more interesting to follow. Nice team choice and I'm looking forward to see some racing |
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