Today we caught up with the new manager of Team CSC-Orbea, Mresuperstar.
Hopefully this can be the first of many interviews brought to you by us here at cyclingnews.com on this new CT Team. With Mresuperstar busy scouting out his future squad, we were only able to get a brief interview which is posted below:
Cyclingnews.com: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer a few question for the cycling community?
Mresuperstar: No problem, I'm up for a few questions.
CN: Ok, It's only been a week since you first released your team goals; Any specific reason why you pick these goals?
Mre: Well, being that Orbea is located out of Spain, our goals should represent that. And CSC wanted to stress that a high team classification goal should also be on the list because CSC has always produced quality strong teams, not just overpowering individuals.
CN: After recently being reviewed in Smowz's Man Game Blog #1, is the transfer of either Igor Anton or David Abal a possibility for the team?
Mre: It's still very early but I can say both riders are on our target list for the upcoming transfer season. But we also can't pay a great deal of money to just a star cyclist like Anton because, like I said in the last answer, CSC wants a group of good riders rather than one great rider.
CN: One last question before you get back to work, are you willing to look else where for 'good' riders other than Portugal and Spain?
Mre: A pretty silly question. In this day and age you have to search else where for good talents. If we don't there is almost no way we get close to promotion in the next couple of years. Spain is our main focus but don't be surprised if we look towards the USA and other nearby European countries to fill our squad.
CN: Thank you for your time, and hope to do this again soon.
Edited by Mresuperstar on 28-07-2011 13:59
I would first like to welcome everyone, and thank you for attending today's brief meeting. I know there are more popular cycling teams out there, and glad you took time out of your day to come to our Head-Quarters.
The first topic I would like to address is pre-selections for CT HC Races. We have just submitted our picks, but are currently go to wait and reveal them once they are confirmed by the CT Directors. But we are willing to say that the majority of the European races were high on our list. We have to give back to the local supporters in Spain and Portugal that gave us this opportunity to rebuild CSC, and the best way to do this is by scheduling races nearby right here in Europe.
(Clapping ... More Clapping ... )
... Ok, now moving on to the other things in my agenda. Today we also received the budget, just 30 minutes ago. After talking it over with my staff members, we would also like to leave this confidently until after the transfer season is complete. Which leads me to my last item at hand upcoming transfers, before I turn it over for a few questions.
Ahh ... transfers. I will try and keep this as short as possible. After briefly looking over the budget, it is impossible to determine even right now, who we can possible afford. So we are planning for another press conference after existing teams complete their renewals so we have an idea on how much riders are going for this year. A more in depth report with specific targets will be released at that time.
(Moaning ... A few reporters get up and leave)
Before I leave I would like to give the remaining reporters an opportunity to ask questions ... Yes go ahead,
Q1: Why did Team CSC come back to cycling, and is there any reason behind the partnership with Orbea? A1: CSC came back to redeem themselves from the downfall of the 2007 season, and more importantly return to the professional scene of cycling. Over the last 5 years sales have dropped, and CSC needed to find another outlet - and why not return to cycling were they had success before. And for the second part of your question, Orbea jumped at the opportunity to supply their quality bikes for such a high cycling brand name. Next ...
Q2: There are rumors going around that Carlos Sastre could return to CSC for 1 last year before retirement, is there any truth behind this? A2: Wow, wasn't expecting that ... to be brief. Yes and No, we have contacted Sastre for future promotional staff opportunities for the team after he retires, and we have discussed a low salary option if he decides to finish his career here at CSC. One more question ...
Q3: In future years, do you see CSC dropping Orbea in the full team name, and changing it just back to Team CSC? A3: In the contract agreement made between Orbea and CSC, Orbrea will remain in the team name until promotion to the ProTour. But don't get me wrong, once we get promoted Orbea will still be our frame provider.
That's all the time I have, thanks again for stopping by. And for all the Spanish and Portuguese folks out there ... adiós and adeus.
Team CSC-Orbea are proud to announce our 12 HC races for next season. The key races that stick out are the sponsor goal races of the Clasica San Sebastian and the Volta a Portugal. On the other hand there are two races that stick out for the wrong reasons. April 20 is the first race, Profronde van Drenthe, introduces cobbles instead of climbs. And our 2nd least favourite would have to be the Circuit Franco-Belge, which is classified as 4 flat stages, and past results prove this tour is definitely for the sprinters. The other 8 races fit great within our projected team and also provide great coverage to our fans.
We are finally ready to announce our first signings for Team CSC-Orbea. Igor Antón : Spain : Team Leader Carlos Sastre : Spain : Mentor Moises Dueñas : Spain : Climber Edwin Parra Bustamante : Columbia : Climber Julián Rodas : Columbia : Climber Francisco Colorado : Columbia : Climber Mauricio Soler : Columbia : Climber Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio : Mexico : Climber Brad Armstrong : USA : Climber Ivan Kovalev : Russia : (Loan-In From Wikipedia) TT
These are our first 10 signings and will post a second report when the squad is complete. That report will include more details since this was just a quick report to show how successful CSC-Orbea has been so far during the first quarter of the transfer season.
Edited by Mresuperstar on 28-07-2011 14:04
Smowz wrote:
Jayco - Red Bull are really pleased that Julian Rodas and Edwin Parra Busta have found themselves part of a classy new team.
Team CSC-Orbea are glad to have Rodas and Edwin and thank Jayco-Red Bull for letting them have this new opportunity. We also would like to say thanks to Wikipedia for the incomming loan of Russian Ivan Kovalev for the year. And we hope to sign another Russian to make sure he feels at home.
Edited by Mresuperstar on 25-06-2011 18:39
We are now able to present the roster for Team CSC-Orbea for the 2012 season. The squad is made up of 7 nationalities, and a total of 23 riders. 2 of which are on loan from Wikipedia, and we are glad to have them part of the team for a year. We will be using a duel-leader role with Spaniard Igor Antón and the Portuguese climber Rui Costa. They will have prenty of help through the mountains with 9 great domestics. On the flat roads we are glad to have Russian sprinter Roman Maksimov who can arleady sprint with the best of them at only 24 years old. So we are planning to direct training money his way so he can become one of the best sprinters on the circuit. We also have a great group of breakaway riders with no experience with a lot of room to grow over the years. Speaking of no experience, we also have two youth riders at 20 years older, who can be key aspects in the coming years. And lastly we brought back Sastre and Basso to mentor the young riders and try for one last win before hanging up the wheels. And they wouldn't have it any other way than doing it wearing the CSC brand again. An overview of the squad can be found below:
We are embarrassed to have Russian fighter Hasan Zakharov leave the team after a financial screw up by our accountant that put us 5,000 euros over the salary cap. Let's just say today was his last day with the team. We hope Zakharov can find a new team before transfers are done in the next few days, and give him the best of luck in the future. The fee of his sacking will cut into our training budget, but it must be paid for such a inexcusable mistake. We would like to thank the generous manager Smowz of Jayco-Red Bull for pointing out our error, and all we can do now is move on and remember this for next season.
Nice team you've got there, and nice presentation as well
I see you have hired 4 Energie-Diesel former riders, which makes me look at your team with a bit of nostalgia. Hope the guys can serve your team as well as they served mine.
Good luck for the racing. I have a feeling our sides will clash in the roads as much as they clashed in the transfers.
Gustavovskiy wrote:
Nice team you've got there, and nice presentation as well
I see you have hired 4 Energie-Diesel former riders, which makes me look at your team with a bit of nostalgia. Hope the guys can serve your team as well as they served mine.
Good luck for the racing. I have a feeling our sides will clash in the roads as much as they clashed in the transfers.
Team CSC-Orbea also feels the same way, and we are looking forward to seeing you on the road as well. And if it is the same intense that carries over from the transfers we should have some great battles.
Hi, I'm Brad Armstrong and this is my cycling blog. I'm one of three Americans on the squad and I would describe myself best as a mountain helper. I've been racing professional now since 2006, when I joined the small development team of Orbea. Since then I have rode with Team Slipstream in 2008, and American Suzuki in 2009-2010. In 2011, I took a year off from cycling since nobody had interest to sign me. And here I'm in 2012 reunited with Orbea for another season.
So by now you may be wondering what this is for. Well, since a decide to sign a minimum wage contact here with CSC-Orbea, I asked if there was any extra way to make a few bucks. So they sent me here to write my own personal blog for the upcoming season. This blog is for the fans to look at the cyclist behind the CSC-Orbea logo (And for some extra euros in my wallet).
My first official blog will be posted in a few days,
Brad Armstrong Edited by Mresuperstar on 28-07-2011 14:10
Hey, it's me Brad Armstrong again, here to post my first full "Brad's Blog." Over the past few days I have been out on the roads of eastern Spain, alone with teammates Igor Antón, Carlos Sastre, Ivan Basso, Eloy Teruel, Bruno Lima, Rui Costa, and Mauricio Soler. Before the ride I setup a few cameras along the route and had Julián Rodas take some footage from the team car. And after hours of editing, I'm finally ready to present the final outcome, Enjoy!
See'ya Later ~ Brad Armstrong .... Comments Are Always Welcomed
Edited by Mresuperstar on 28-07-2011 14:11
I would like to know who are the two riders who were dropped out the back on the Col de Soller. I could be wrong but I made the features of the has beens Basso and Sastre
Tremendous effort mresuperstar... get that lazy colombian Rodas out of the car!
@Smowz: Sastre and Costa actually had the day when we went into the Col de Soller, and there were actually three riders that fell off the pace when Basso, Soler, and Antón took control. I dropped of the back to see if Rodas knew how to work my camera, but Teruel and Lima (the sprinters) couldn't keep up.
Thanks for stopping by,
~ Brad Armstrong
PS. It was Soler who had the energy at the end to attack as well.
Edited by Mresuperstar on 05-07-2011 21:33
After hours in the development room, the web designers were able to give a face lift to the headquarters this morning by adding a projected team schedule under the team goals and target races. And they have also put in some effort into the results section so it is ready when the season starts.
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