I’m back again, and I’m in Canada this time. I love this country, I’ve being skiing here occasionally, and fell in love with the resort Lake Louise when I was young. Now, I’m concentrating solely on the cycling, and this time it’s different, this time I’m doing it right.
The first big shock coming is that Dave Jones now owns the Symmetrics cycling team – I know its weird that as my assistant, I’m not only his boss, but he is mine, but I’m sure we will work it out. The great thing about this though is the freedom he’s given me. Basically, all the team’s contracts have now finished, he’s been planning this for a while now, and made sure I can now pick my own team from scratch. I’ve really got to think about this. What should I go for, a small but strong team, a specialised team, a large team? I just don’t know. I’ll be meeting Dave soon though, and we can start planning.
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
1 big leader (not a big name but good gh to be a leader) then maybe 2 good sprinters, the rest can be ok, but not great(you dont want to make this story a white wash.)
“Hello Dave,” I said as he shook my hand in greeting. “Let’s cut to the chase, we need to get this team sorted out. I need to know wh o we can get, what races we will be entering, your goals…”
“What do you take me for Allan? Of course, it’s all ready, everything is prepared. We’ve got a new training headquarters built near the Rockies for you, all your equipment has been purchased, your goals are in this document, along with a list of all possible riders you can contact, with suggestions as to the direction I want to take the team, and your budget is €774,750, having already deducted your staff wages and purchases for this month. And yes, before you argue, your budget is in euros, it’s the main currency for cycling, and it costs money to constantly exchange to pounds. Anything else?” He asked
“You seemed to have covered everything.”
“I know,” he replied. “You know how seriously I take this, I’m owner now, I’ll be very serious from now on.”
“I’m allowed to sort out the team now?”
He gave me his widest smile, “Now that, Mr Smile, is the right question.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t do that any more,” I argued whimsically. “And you said you were going to be serious now.”
“Well, most of the time,” he replied with a wry smile, then he was all business again. “There’s always room for a laugh, both you and I need to remember that, you know how precarious this situation is, I’m not rich you know.”
get McLeod...he's south african....plus he has the added benefit of being the worst rider the ProTour has ever seen
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
It took me a while, but I finally managed to nail down what I want to do. This time I can do it exactly how I want to, a fresh start, a new team. The budget is small, and Dave has already told me that ProTour promotion is not needed this year. We just need to build up the team, get more people aware of it and increase our reputation so that next season, we can begin planning for ProTour promotion. Therefore, I have a plan. I’ve decided to make this squad small, but fall of very good and talented riders. The stipulations Dave has set is that all the riders must be from English speaking countries, and that we need at least a quarter of the team as Canadian’s given we are a Canadian team. Therefore, I’ve made it a diverse squad of 12, and my first target was, of course, Kirk O’Bee. I met him this morning, and of course, given he likes me so much, he greeted me with a huge bear hug and signed on the spot before reading the contract. He didn’t even have a clue how much he was earning, he was just grinning at being reunited with me. Health net aren’t happy, but Kirky is with me, and nothing they could have done would have stopped him.
After the most important signing was out of the way, I decided to review all those riders leaving Symmetrics, and six of the Canadians to fill half my team, more than the requirement, but there was a lot of talent there. Even though Gordon Fraser didn’t ride with the team last year, I signed the veteran on a year contract, and he just seemed glad he could give cycling one more year. It’s great to have his experience, and he will be our team leader for sprinting. 5 more Canadians later, and my team was starting to take shape. I now just need 5 more riders, and they should all be fairly big signings, including the return of a friendly face
@SN - How could I start without at least 1 Brit
@Karl and issoisso - How Dare you !!!
Ok, now I’ve managed to complete the team, and it’s mainly thanks to David that I’ve got who I’ve got. First of all, there is our new team leader, Alex Holder, who is a great promise, and was quite excited but joining me. Hopefully, he’ll put Britain back on the (cycling) map. Then, there was Andrew Wyper, a young Australian, but he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about joining up, and I don’t think his attitude is great, but David reckons he could be a great talent, so I hope I can knock his arrogance out fo him, otherwise I’m going to have a moody Aussie on my hand.
Then along came another Brit, this time recommended to me by one of my old friends from the British cycling scene. I had a look at him, and he’s called Ian Stannard, and he’s already a decent time trailer, and only 19. He’s a bit weird though, very upper class and posh, but I’ll get used to him.
So, with only 2 places left, I then looked to bring in one more experienced rider to guide this team, and New Zealand was calling, as I signed up Gordon McCauley. He seems like a pratcial joker, and should be a great asset for the team to help them when things get tough, as well as giving the boys a laugh, and always putting in 100% every time. He’s the kind of guy who helps bring up great morals as well, so will guide the lads in their social development as well. Brilliant, every team should want him. We got him.
Finally, with one place left, Dave pulled off a simply superb bit of negotiations to get a great Colombian climber, Alex Ardila Cano. A growing climber at 23, he could become one of the best, and has signed a three year contract, which is great. David’s talked to him (he didn’t consult me before signing him. He didn’t need to), and I haven’t as yet, and told me he is the most closed mouth person he has ever met. You really need to pry the answers out of him. Hopefully, that means he will listen and learn well, although only time will tell.
So that’s the squad all signed up, we won’t be having a training camp this year because I opted for top of the range team equipment instead, so they’ll have to work hard in training. I’m already organising the racing calendar for January, and I’ve got to make another speech (I hate speeches) at the team presentation on the 3rd of January
Crommy wrote:The stipulations Dave has set is that all the riders must be from English speaking countries
Crommy wrote:great Colombian climber, Alex Ardila Cano
your team director must be senile....either that or he considers "Si si, yo soy Inglés" a perfectly common english expression...
Edited by issoisso on 09-07-2007 09:29
thankfully it's Canada. no The Sun "reporters" around
"Mr. Crompton, how do you respond to the allegations that you and Alex Ardila are engaged in a significant relationship? do you deny that you demanded his signing? what do you have to say to the recent reports linking you with the Japanese chocolate teapot mafia?"
www.dailycycling....
In the early hours of the morning, Symmetrics Cycling Team owner David Jones released this statement:
“It is with great anger that I announce that Andrew Wyper has been removed from the Symmetrics Team, and has received a 2 year ban from cycling. He was caught doping yesterday afternoon before a training session, and was immediately fired. The Symmetrics Team would like to make it totally clear that they are against doping, and that this case in no way reflects the policy of the team or management, and that similar actions will be taken if any other Symmetrics rider is found in similar circumstances. A full investigation has already been launched into the team in partnership by the UCI and us, and we hope that this mess can be cleared up as soon as possible.”
A surprise from nowhere, and a no nonsense approach from the Symmetrics team. Major questions are now being asked on how this rider got into doping and if any others are there. How deeply will this affect team moral, and the reputation of the team? Controversy is once again surrounding Allan Smile, who strenuously denied any doping calims when we spoke to him after the press conference:
Daily Cycling: Allan, are you at all surprised by this news
Allan Smile: Of course, I had no idea he was doping
DC: Are you connected in any way with him doping?
AS: How dare you! How dare you accuse me of doping. I’m totally against it, and always will be.
DC: But you did encourage the riders to get results no matter what?
AS: No, as I’ve already said, this year’s team is focussed on development, not results
DC: So you won’t be trying this year?
AS: No, that’s not what I said…
DC: It sounded like that was what you meant
AS: Listen, stop twisting my words.
DC: OK, off the topic of doping, two quick questions. Who will replace Andrew?
AS: It didn’t take me long to find the perfect replacement in my good friend and talented sprinter Alfredo Balloni, and he…
DC: You appear to have picked up a small following of cyclists. Why do you think that is?
AS: I have no idea
DC: My final question is how did David Jones get the money to finance the team?
AS: That is none of your business. Interview over!
DC: Well now, not much to quell the rumours about Symmetrics. What is going on there? Doping? Corruption? Even financial irregularities? We’ll be launching a full investigation into Allan Smile and his team, expect results in the coming months!
I’ve managed to draft in a replacement – none other than my sprinting prodigy Alfredo Balloni, which is a great move for us, as it gives us a bit more youth in our sprinting legs
Edited by Crommy on 11-07-2007 14:50
