END OF SEASON SUMMARY
Posted online on Cycling24.tv and broadcast on Cycling24 (channel 450 on Sky TV), direct from Allan Smile
Hello Cycling24 – 2012 fans! It’s been an absolutely brilliant year for the team, with some really great memories and unforgettable performances. I’ve really enjoyed taking the team to the top of the Continental Rankings, and can’t wait for the ProTour season to begin next year.
We saw an exiting ProTour season, with Denis Menchov taking the Giro, Jan Ullrich the Tour and Oscar Pereiro the Vuelta, as well as a great World Champion in Stuart O’Grady. 2006 Final Rankings:
ProTour:
Individual Rankings:
1 Jan Ullrich T-MOBILE TEAM – 225
2 Alexandre Vinokourov ASTANA TEAM – 206
3 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS – 197 Team Rankings:
1 T-MOBILE TEAM – 951
2 TEAM CSC – 642
3 ASTANA TEAM – 596 Continental:
Individual Rankings:
1 – Damien Nazon – 922
2 – Sergio Ribeiro BARBOT – HALCON – 790
3 – Janek Tombak JARTAZI – 7MOBILE – 750
4 – Dario Cataldo – 680
5 – Igor Astarloa TEAM BARLOWORLD – 564
6 – Gonzalo Bayarri – 540
9 – Kirk O’Bee – 319
15 – Aitor Gonzalez – 297
72 – David Belda – 119
74 – David Hill – 118
75 – Alfredo Balloni – 118
76 – Dominique Cornu – 117
89 – Alex Holder – 103
170 – Benat Intxausti – 53
190 – Brad Viera – 44
213 – Graham Taylor – 39
260 – Ryan Keels – 26 Team Rankings:
1 TEAM CYCLING24 – 2012 – 3391
2 COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA – 1702
3 JARTAZI – 7MOBILE – 1449
4 BARBOT – HALCON – 1191
5 TEAM BARLOWORLD - 1144 Wiggle.co.uk Rider of the Year: Damien Nazon
How can there be any other? He has led the Continental Rankings since the beginning until the end, and has ridden his way to a total of 18 victories, which is a phenomenal achievement by anyone’s standards. Not only that, but he has raced against some of the best sprinters in the world, and still come on top U25 Rider of the Year: Dario Cataldo
This young Italian has had a phenomenal season, a true revelation. At the start of the season, he was looking like a helper for the team leaders, but by the end of it, he was the undisputed team leader and looks like a future ProTour success already. His dominance in Colombia was little short of incredible, and his 4th place in the continental rankings doesn’t do justice the ability he had by the end of the season Next Year:
Next year we’re going to be amongst the ranks of the ProTour, but we’ve got a great bunch of new riders who should ensure we are competing up near the top. We’ll even be riding in the infamous Tour de France, but look at for a major reshuffle of just about everything in the coming weeks.
Just want to get your opinion on what you want more of next season? (f.e. more in depth race reports, more screen shots) I've already started it, but just wondered what you want.
Cycling UK Online’s Post Season Update - October 21st
It’s been a very busy transfer period, with some fairly big transfers, and here are the main ones:
Freire to Team CSC
Zapata to C. Valenciana
Ventoso to Cofidis
Weening to Davitamon
Petacchi to T-Mobile
Garcia Quesada to Euskatel
Landis to Cycling24
Plaza To Davitamon
Bertagnolli to QuickStep
Kessler to Phonak
Martin Perdiguero to Davitamon
Di Luca to Milram
Nuyens to Astana
Savoldelli to Barloworld
Hondo to Gerolsteiner
Wauters to Jartazi
Dessel to Barloworld
Gonchar to C. Valenciana
Gusev to Team CSC
Mayo to Rabobank
Botero to Discovery
O’Grady to Phonak
Gutierrez to Euskatel
Backstedt to Phonak
Haussler to Discovery
Martinez to Euskatel
However, the big press interest is in Cycling24, after manager Allan Smile let slip a big shake up was on the way: we know they haven’t told us all the riders they’ve signed, but it looks like something big is going to happen, and rumour has it that the team will change hands! A press announcement is due on November 9th.
Shock Change at Cycling24 – 2012 from Cycling UK Online
In a press announcement today, Cycling24 – 2012 acknowledged and confirmed the rumours that they had sold the successful but troubled cycling team in the past few days, to billionaire entrepreneur Richard Loughton.
However, a gasp broke amongst the media when Richard announced how he would fund the team, and that was by selling each individual part of the team , keeping 10% foe himself and investing 90% in the team. Questions blazed at him, all stating nobody would ever invest in this idea, but he then introduced a new board made up of the very people who had bought each part of the team. The board was made up of 10 members, who were as follows:
Three members from a joint DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed bid who had bought the shirt rights for over 1.5 million
Two members of Peloton.co.uk and Cycling UK Online who bought joint interview and diary rights for a large €1,000,000
Two members are made up from Wiggle.co.uk who have invested in the website/merchandising rights
And finally, in a shock twist, the final three members all come from Cycling24 and the London Olympics Committee, who decided to buy the team name rights.
The budget is now thought to be made up of around €5.5 million, and Richard Loughton described this as the perfect dream
Allan Smile then got up and announced that transfers to the team would only be announced at the team presentation in January. He also stated the HQ would move to a new location in Nice, and talked about the major shake up to the team’s coaching staff:
Former Assistant David Jones will take charge of Credit Agricole, so will be pitted against his former boss in the ProTour next year.
Chris Boardman, the TT coach has been appointed by the London Olympic Committee as a board member of the Cycling24 – 2012 team, so now kind of becomes Allan’s boss.
The new coaching staff is totally different, apart from coach Alfonso Galilea, scout David Wyandt and doctor Stewart McAllister. The new coaches are: Claudia Corti: Italian who is now head coach Jef De Bilde: Belgian who is assistant to Allan Smile Jesus Montoya: Spanish coach Jose Luis Jaimerena: Spanish coach
November - December
Well, I’ve had some long discussions with the board, my new coaches and Robert Loughton, and I’ve realised I’ve got to change. My general running of the team was just not good enough; I need to be far more professional. I also need to change my rider philosophy: I just didn’t really get to know my team last year, I only talked to them when issuing an order, when telling them what to do. I need to change.
Other changes are the election of positions by the board, which I feel will be good. I was allowed to input my own ideas, and they’ve come up with a new list of corporate staff. The only one I really care about is a great appointment of Chris Boardman as my liaison with the board, which should help me no end.
Date: 31st December 2006 To:Chris Boardman, Cycling Team Liaison, Cycling24 – 2012 Board From:Allan Smile, Team Cycling24 – 2012 Team Director Subject:R.e. End of Year Financial Report
>Here’s the end of season budget report. It was a very good year, as we >actually made money! Here’s a break down of it:
>Income:
>Pre Season Budget: €843000
>Race Bonuses: €3040400
>Expenditure:
>Salaries and Bonuses: €1920953
>Transfer Fees: €509490
>New Equipment: €428000
>Final 2006 Total: €1,024,956
> As you can see a very healthy year for the club
Thanks for the update Allan, it was a good year. We’ve formulated your next season budget, and it stands out €5,489,688, which is a bit depleted due to your HQ move to Nice. However, your balance from last year will be added to this, making a very nice €6,514,615. Announcement of goals will be given at the team presentation, and we wish for you to send a pre-season financial report to us by that time. We have the utmost confidence in you, so good luck for the next season.
Thank you very much Pre-Season Training in Malaysia
The pre-season training went well, with most of the guys looking good. Some of the youngsters look as though they could do well early on this season.
I’m afraid though that some of the guys aren’t looking as good at the moment. Floyd Landis seems to have done what I feared and faded a bit over the summer, and he realises it. He doesn’t care if he doesn’t lead the Tour this year, but he’s still one of our best riders: just not as good as I’d hoped.
Bradley McGee has also lost that little zip that he had last season, and it’s lucky I’ve only got him for a year as well. The other big disappointment is Aitor Gonzalez, who seems to have totally lost it, but hopefully he’ll be able to get something out of this year Date: 15th January 2007 To: Chris Boardman, Cycling Team Liaison, Cycling24 – 2012 Board From:Allan Smile, Team Cycling24 – 2012 Team Director Subject:Pre-season financial assessment
This season looks as though we’ll be in the black again, as at the moment, our predicted expenditure (only including salaries) is €596171 per month, which will bring us to €7154052. Whilst this takes us way over our budget, and to a deficit of over €500000, we should easily make this up through race winnings. We have riders in the squad who will ride exclusively to make money as they enter their declining years.
Edited by Crommy on 30-04-2007 20:39
Team Presentation
The lads were on show for the first time tonight in Nice, where we officially opened the HQ and unveiled the whole team. The new headquarters is brilliant, even though it only took a couple of months to build, and it should really help us to train well.
The team was out in the team jerseys which were all brand new as they were introduced to the guests, and I had to make a little speech about our main riders: Michael Rogers (27, Australian): Michael is a great rider who could easily become one of the best riders in the world in a few years time. He’ll be leading our team in the Tour de France, where he’ll go for a top 10 finish, as well as having a joint leadership in the Vuelta with Floyd Floyd Landis (31, American): This rider joins us after a great season for Phonak, and will be one of our key riders this year. He’ll be joint leading the team in the Vuelta this year Vincenzo Nibali (22, Italian): This rider was one of the revelations of the season last year, and he is the undisputed leader for us in the hilly classics. He’ll be looking to do well in the Milan – Sanremo, but could also do well in stage races Philippe Gilbert (24, Belgian): Philippe dreams of winning the Paris-Roubaix, and he will do in the future, but will have to hope for a top 10 finish this year. He’ll lead the team in the northern classics, as well as a possible leader for hilly races Daniele Bennati (26, Italian): The team’s sprinter, he can already compete with the likes of Tom Boonen, and this year he can hopefully beat them. He’ll be our team sprinter for the Giro at least Bernhard Eisel (25, Austrian): Another sprinter who’s also good on the cobbles, he’ll be trying to win in the flat Northern classics Bradley McGee (30, Australian): This Aussie is a very good time trialist, as well as being strong overall, and will be great support for our leaders and possibly getting the chance to lead himself! Dario Cataldo (21, Italian): This young rider has come on leaps and bounds in the past year, and will hope to progress even further over the coming year. He’ll be leading the team in his home country in the Giro Jose Rujano (24, Colombian): This young climber is already near the top of the game, and can go with anybody in the mountains. He’ll be looking to improve his time trial skills this year so he can aim for a Grand Tour win next year
Here’s the rest of the team:
Dominique Cornu (21, Belgian): A good time trialist who’s looking to develop his cobble ability
Alex Holder (20, British): Probably the best British rider when the slope starts to rise
Joost Posthuma (25, Dutch): A good signing from Rabobank, Joost is looking to improve his overall ability
Mark Cavendish (20, British): A young British sprinter who’s not to shabby on the time trial either
Emanuele Sella (25, Italian): A new acquisition who will be a great support when the slope starts to rise
Gonzalo Bayarri (30, Spanish): After a good last season, Gonzalo looks to do the same again
Benat Intxausti (20, Spanish): A developing rider who could make it to the top
Damien Nazon (32, French): Our hero from last year is still in great shape, though isn’t as quick out of the blocks
Aitor Gonzalez (31, Spanish): A good support rider
Brad Viera (21, American): A young American climber full of potential
David Hill (23, British): A young British sprinter
Kirk O’Bee (29, American): Our American escape artist returns to follow up last year
David Belda (23, Spanish): A solid Sapnish climber who never gives in
Ryan Keels (19, American): Another American climber who accelerates at a ridiculous speed
Alfredo Balloni (17, Italian): An already good sprinter who still has ages to develop
Ulugbek Tynyanov (19, Kazakhstan): A very promising Kazakhstan cobble rider
Graham Taylor (27, British)
Patrick Lecellier (19, French): A promising Northern classics rider
Victor Sassier (19, French): An already impressive young hill rider
Yuri Xausa (19, Canada): A real fighter from Canada
Kenny Rouse (22, British): A young Britain TT
Clarke West (21, British): A young Britain TT
The sponsor goals were then announced to the press, as well as what the board sees as the most important stages:
Top 5 in Amstel Gold Race
Stage wins and top 10 in Tour de France
Top 5 in Clasica de San Sebastian
Wear points jersey for a day in the Vuelta a Espana
They see the most important races as the Tour de France and the Clasica de San Sebastian, although they will also pay particular attention to the Vuelta, Paris-Nice and the Giro di Lombardia
cavendish should, in my opinion, be a 72 in TT's and 74sprints 77acceleration.
hopefully he's around that. (i have seen him in TT's and sprinting at many real-life races and those are the stats i think he should have)
great signings of Nibali, Bennati, Cataldo, with great future's as wellEdited by Addy291 on 05-05-2007 12:52
Sorry about the long waits recently, I've just had my oral though, so updates should be regular until my exams start proper next month
Date: 23rd January 2007
To:
From:
Subject: Tour Down Under
Hello boss, nice to take control of my first race for the team. I know Mark Cavendish wanted to ride down here, but none of our riders were in any kind of shape, so our best rider was Kirk O’Bee who came in 6th overall.
Doha International GP
My first race as manager for the season, and we had some of the best sprinters in the field, with the team led by Daniele Bennati. We decided to control the race by setting a fairly quick pace, so no breaks got away. In the sprint, Kirk O’Bee was used as a decoy, and the main riders followed him whilst Nazon pulled Daniele away. However, Sergio Marinangeli managed to get on Daniele’s wheel, and he got the right line through a sharp corner, as Daniele almost had to stop to prevent a crash. Daniele then tried to make up the last ground, but just couldn’t manage, coming 2nd by inches. We filed a complaint, but it didn’t get accepted. Two other notable performances were from Kirk O’Bee who came 6th, and Alfredo Balloni who managed 7th.
Tour Of Qatar
Stage 1
I got to stay in Qatar for this race where we had exactly the same team. We sent Joost Posthuma and Dominique Cornu into an early break, and somehow it made it all the way. However, our riders worked really hard in order to maintain the break of 4, and only Dominique podiumed in 3rd, with the peloton trailing in 40 seconds later
Stage 2
The early break looked as though it was going to make it with a 1’30 lead with 5km to go, but somehow, Daniele Bennati went so quick in the sprint, he managed to pull the pack back on level terms, so Dominique and Joost maintain their positions
CYCLING24 – 2012 MONTHLY ROUNDUP Posted online at Cycling UK Online and the Team Cycling24 – 2012 website direct from Allan Smile
Our first month for 2007 has been a fairly relaxed one. We’ve just started to prepare for the initial ProTour races, and enjoyed a great pre-season training camp in beautiful Malaysia. The team looks set to build up this year for some great results Results:
--Tour Down Under: Kirk O’Bee 6th
--Tour of Qatar (so far): Dominique Cornu 3rd in stage 1 and in GC Rankings:
ProTour Individual Rankings:
Not until March ProTour Team Rankings:
You’ll have to wait for March Doctor’s Report: An injury free month for Stewart McAllister Wiggle.co.uk Rider of the Month: Kirk O’Bee
Kirk O’Bee rode well in the Tour Down Under, staying near the top of the ranks and finishing in the top against some tough compeition Best Under 25 Rider of the Month: Dominique Cornu
This lad stayed away for the first stage of the Tour of Qatar and pulled the breakalong the most. His current podium position is well deserved Next Month:
We look to build up our fitness for the initial ProTour events, and we’ll be riding in Malaysia and California, as well as competing in some cobble races towards the end of the month.
Tour of Qatar
Stage 3
A break made it today and won by 2 minutes from the peloton, so Dominique and Joost fall to 7th and 8th. Stage 4
Today did end in a sprint, and Daniele Bennati got on the wrong chain but somehow clawed it back to finish 2nd, moving to 12th in the GC Stage 5
Damien Nazon decided he was really fit today, and told me he was going to podium in the sprint. I liked his attitude, so told the team to work for him, and he rewarded me with a second, moving to 3rd in the points classification
Tour de Langkawi
I flew out to Malaysia to join Jesus Montoya in Mayalisa, who had looked after the team for stage 1. We had Floyd Landis as team leader for this event, as he was feeling a bit depressed as he realised he just wasn’t that good as before and din’t really have a chance in the Tour, so I sent him here to win comfortably and hopefully boost his confidence Stage 3
After two days of inconsequential sprints, the race entered the mountains, and the team was in its element. Unfortunately, the break had some fairly strong riders in it, and I completely forgot about it, so it had 12 minutes at the foot of the long climb. As soon as the slope began to go up, I sent Floyd up front and away with help from Brad Viera and Alex Holder who began to frantically try and bridge up to the break. However, it just had too much time, and in the end, Floyd and Alex dropped Brad and came in 6th and 7th, over 3 minutes behind winner Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio and new GC leader Renato Silva. This isn’t what I wanted. If anything, Floyd’s in a worse mood now. Oh well, there’s still another mountain stage, he’ll just have to dominate it
Stage 5
After a rest day in the flat, the next mountain stage featured 3 gruelling climbs, and Floyd was determined not only to win, but take the GC. It was just too easy for him as he pushed Alex and Brad along really hard, and dropped them up the final climb, to solo in for an astounding victory. I gave him a pat on the back and he grinned at me, not even out of breath. We watched the clock as the riders came in: 2nd was Alex Holder looking tired 2’49, then Brad Viera who was on his handlebars 6’22 behind. We realised Floyd had done it as a group of 3 including last year’s winner Jose Serpa trailed in at 7’20, and I gave Floyd a big high five as leader Renato Silva trailed in 10th, 11’26 behind. Floyd promised to buy a bottle of champagne for everybody after the race. Alex Holder moves to 2nd, 3 minutes behind, whilst Brad Viera is only 30 seconds behind 3rd place Renato Silva, who is 9’11 behind Floyd
Stage 9
This short ITT followed some easy rides on the flat, and Floyd was in great spirits. So much so, he took the stage win, which earned him so ice cream later that evening. Brad Viera did brilliantly, as he beat Renato Silva to move up to 3rd
Stage 10
We finished in Kuala Lumpar with a 1-2-3, and many people are saying it was pointless for us to come here, but it was totally worth it as Floyd is now quite happy again, and training really well
To:
From:
Subject: Challenge Illes Balears – Vuelta a Mallorca
I’ve lost my voice after shouting at the team for the past five days, but it was worth it! Stage 1 saw us come 2nd and 3rd after Tom Boonen, after a great sprint by Hill and O’Bee, then in stage 2, the hills began, and Gonzalo Bayarri rode a great race as he came 2nd, with Bradley McGee 7th, 30 seconds after the front group of 4. Stage 3 saw the same result for us as stage 1, but we were beaten by Russell Downing (although we did beat Boonen, which I proceeded to rub in to one of our mechanics who I had a little bet with. Stage 4 was where the good results stop, as Kirk O’Bee came 30th as our best rider and is now 29th in the GC. I shouted at the team for hours that night. It worked, as in the final stage, Gonzalo Bayarri got his act together and ginishes 16th in the GC, whilst Kirk did well for 17th overall.
Not good, but the team seemed to react positively to my great motivational skills
Date: 19th February 2007
To:
From:
Subject: Volta ao Algarve
Hello again, nice work in Malaysia, Floyd was unstoppable. Stage 1 started off OK where Kirk came in 4th, but then he got his act together and came 2nd in stage 2. Stage 3 he could only manage 6th, stage 4 he podiumed again to take 3rd, then the final stage, the decider was taken by Miguel Ángel Martín Perdiguero, but Alex Holder rode brilliantly to take 2nd, second overall, the mountain jersey and the U25 jersey, so it was a fairly decent tour. Good luck in California
Tour of California
We brought a fairly strong team here, led by Floyd and Brad McGee to try and get some pride points before the start of the ProTour against the likes of Jan Ullrich Stage 1
A very short ITT looked great for our riders, and it turned out to be that way, as Floyd Landis wears yellow having won easily, 2 seconds ahead of Brad McGee who came 2nd, followed by Dominique and Joost who came in 4th and 5th. Great ride all round, we were determined that night that Floyd would stay at the front for the whole race Stage 3
In the first of the hilly stages, a fairly dangerous break set off, and we were forced to pace set on our own. The lads don’t really have much experience in that field yet, and the other teams joined in too late as Nicki Sörensen took a win, 22 seconds ahead of breakaway chum Johan Vansummeren, who led the pack by 2 minutes. Floyd is now 3rd, but Brad McGee wears green. He’ll get back the yellow, I can just sense it Stage 4
With a far longer time trial today, I spent a long time preparing the guys as I knew we could make serious in roads into the lead. We did. In fact, Floyd and Brad McGee were so quick they won the stage (Floyd 1st, Brad 2nd), and Floyd took back the yellow. Joost and Dominique came 3rd and 4th today, as an added bonus, moving to 4th and 5th overall Stage 6
This hilly stage led to a pack of 23 getting out front, but fortunately, we had the guys on the right side, and so we didn’t lose anything today, apart from the green jersey as Stefan Schumacher took the sprint today Stage 8
The final two stages had us worried, as Stefan was only 6 seconds off the lead, and could get time bonuses in the sprint, and he did. It was gutting. Floyd came dropped to 3rd, whilst Brad went ahead in 2nd due to time bonuses, with Joost and Domonique 5th and 6th. It was a good tour by Floyd, and he’ll probably now lead our Paris – Nice team
Omloop Het Volk
This race was a good indication of how good our two cobble riders, Eisel and Gilbert, were doing, and they did fairly well. They stayed in the front group until the final cobble section, where they felt tired, so I told them to slow down so they didn’t fall, and then they just slowly glided in behind the front pack. With nobody near them, they just took it easy, with Eisel 9th and Gilbert 10th. Not bad. In the front group, Leif Hoste attacked with 8km to go, and got a good gap, but a simply incredible sprint by Thor Hushovd gave him the win just on the line, with Flecha completing the podium
Kune – Brussel – Kurne
This race was a complete disaster for us. Out of a total of 6 riders, only 2 managed to finish, and Eisel and Tynyanov managed to get some nasty injuries in a mass pack fall. The rest of the team struggled, and after a couple of them picked themselves up for the second or third time in a row, I told those struggling just to abandon, so we were left with Gilbert as our only hope, and boy did he do well. He held onto Hushovd who broke free from Tom Boonen, and managed to come in 2nd, a great result. BAD NEWS: Both injured riders are out fro a couple of months, after new head doctor Angelo Lecchi had a look at them
CYCLING24 – 2012 MONTHLY ROUNDUP Posted online at Cycling UK Online and the Team Cycling24 – 2012 website direct from Allan Smile
February has been a harder month as we build up to the two opening stage races: Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. The riders have been working hard, and we’ve had some good results, but bad news after Berhard Eisel and Ulugbek Tynyanov were badly injured in a nasty fall over some cobbles, and unfortunately they’ll be unfit for there key races this year. They’re young though, so will always come back fighting next year Results:
--Tour of Qatar: Dominique Cornu 7th, Joost Posthuma 8th
--Tour de Langkawi: Floyd Landis 1st plus 2 stage wins, Alex Holder 2nd plus U25 jersey, Brad Viera 3rd
--Volta ao Algarve: Alex Holder 2nd plus U25 jersey
--Tour of Califoria: Floyd Landis 3rd plus two stage wins, Bradley McGee 2nd, Joost Posthuma 5th, Dominique Cornu 6th
--Omloop Het Volk: Bernhard Eisel 9th, Philippe Gilbert 10th
--Kurne – Brussel – Kurne: Philippe Gilbert 10th Rankings:
ProTour Individual Rankings:
Not until March ProTour Team Rankings:
You’ll have to wait for March Doctor’s Report: New doctor Angelo Lecchi has had two failr ymajor problems to deal with: both Bernhard Eisel and Ulugbek Tynyanov fell in the Kurne – Brussel – Kurne, with Bernhard fracturing his skuul, putting him out until mid April, and Ulugbek fracturing his knee cap (which is as painful as it sounds!). He’s out until the sart of May Wiggle.co.uk Rider of the Month: Floyd Landis
Floyd has had a great month in preparation of the “Race to the Sun”, with a great win in Mayalsia, and coming 3rd in California. His four stage wins were also impressive, and he’s shown he hasn’t lost it to his ciritcs Best Under 25 Rider of the Month: Alex Holder
Alex rode a great tour of Malaysia, supporting Floyd all the way whilst holding on for 2nd and a jersey. His performance in the Algarve was simply magnificent, beating some riders who are ten years his senior! Next Month:
The ProTour finally begins, and this is our focus from now on. We start with the Paris – Nice where Floyd Landis will lead the team, then move onto the Tirreno – Adriatico. Watch out for Vicenzo Nibali at the Milan – Sanremo, as he’ll be gunning for victory
very nice riding by Landis, Holder and the rest of the team really
bad news about Eisel and Tynyanov, both fractured skull and fractured knee cap sound very bad
P.S did Petacchi abandon the Giro last year because of a fractured knee cap or was that something else?
Eisel is a big loss, as this was the main part of his season. Can't seem to remember about Petacchi. 1000 views though in this forum!
ProTour Outlook 2007
Well, the ProTour is on us, and I’m really excited. Our riders are ready, apart from the two injured, and our squad is impressive, but when you look at some of the competition, we’re going to find it hard. Here’s a guide to the teams and my prediction, ranked by there position in last year:
1. T-Mobile Team
--Team Leader: Jan Ullrich
--Dangerous Riders: A. Petacchi, P. Sinkewitz, B. Kohl, S. Wesemann, A. Kloden, L. Gerdeman, K. Kirchen
--Assessment: The Tour de France winner could do it all over again this year, and has looked good in the pre-season. The real person to look out for though is Bernhard Koul, who looks as though he could be a future Jan and carry this team to glory. The only thing this team lacks is a cobble specialist who could rival Tom Boonen
--Prediction: 3rd
2. Team CSC
--Team Leaders: Ivan Basso and Fabian Cancellara
--Dangerous Riders: F. Schleck, J. Voigt, V. Gusev, C. Sastre, O. Freire, B. Julich, K. Kroon, D. Zabriskie
--Assessment: Team CSC are the strongest team this year, and they have the depth and strength of a squad who should win the ProTour, as they have riders who could win everything single race
--Prediction: 1st
3. Astana
--Team Leader: Alexandre Vinokourov
--Dangerous Riders: A. Kashechkin, A. Contador, J. Jaksche, A. Davis, L. Sanchez, N. Nuyens
--Assessment: Astana did well last year, and they have youngsters coming through who will begin to come to the fore of races. However, they lack the depth needed to win the ProTour, as they lack world class sprinters, cobble specialists and TT specialists
--Prediction: 4th
4. Phonak Hearing Systems
--Team Leader: C. Evans
--Dangerous Riders: S. O’Grady, M. Backstedt, M. Kessler
--Assessment: Phonak were led well by Floyd Landis last year, and have a good replacement in C. Evans. However, they lost a lot of riders in the summer, and will struggle to get anywhere near their 4th of last year
--Prediction: 11th
5. Rabobank
--Team Leaders: D. Menchov, M. Boogerd, J. Flecha, T. Dekker
--Dangerous Riders: W. Walker, K. Reus, M. Rasmussen, I. Mayo, M. Ardila
--Assessment: Rabobank have got a very strong team this year, with four riders who could cover everything single race. They should do well this year, and may even improve on last years 5th
--Prediction: 2nd
6. Caisse d’Epargne – Illes Balears
--Team Leader: Alejandro Valverde
--Dangerous Riders: V. Karpets, O. Pereiro, J. Gutierrez, J. Rodriguez
--Assessment: Alejandro Valverde is the key this year, and his great skill should see him do well in the Grand Tours, but his TT skill may let him down again. His team support is great, but everything lies with him whether they can improve on their sixth from last year
--Prediction: 5th
7. Gerolsteiner
--Team Leader: Stefan Schumcher
--Dangerous Riders: L. Leipheimer, M. Fothen, D. Hondo
--Assessment: Gerolsteiner are a fairly young team, and it will show this year. They will do well to break into the top 10, and a lot rests with Schumacher and his ability to stay in a break in a hilly course
--Prediction: 12th
8. Discovery Channel
--Team Leaders: Yaroslav Popovych and Leif Hoste
--Dangerous Riders: H. Haussler, G. Hincapie, S. Botero, S. Devolder, J. Brajkovic
--Assessment: Whilst having a great team, the Disco boys don’t have many leaders who can emulate anything as close as Lance Armstrong, with their only real chance of great success being in the Northern Classics, as they have three great riders in Hoste, Hincapie and Devolder.
--Prediction: 6th
9. QuickStep – Innergetic
--Team Leader: Tom Boonen
--Dangerous Riders: P. Bettini, F. Pozzato, D. Grabovskyy
--Assessment: Tom Boonen is the absolute key for the team this year, as their riders past him and Bettini are going to get few points. However, Tom is such a good cobble rider and sprinter that he can easily carry this team throughout the year
--Prediction: 7th
10. Team Milram
--Team Leader: Danilo Di Luca
--Dangerous Riders: E. Zabel
--Assessment: The loss of Petachhi to T-Mobile is going to hit Milram quite hard: they now rely solely on Zabel and new signing Di Luca in order to get some victories.
--Prediction: 15th
11. Davitamon - Lotto
--Team Leaders: Ruben Plaza, Robbie McEwen
--Dangerous Riders: M. Martin Perdiguero, P. Van Petegem, P. Weening, B. Leukemans
--Assessment: Ruben Plaza was a great singing for Davitamon, as he is a strong stage race rider who could take the ProTour by storm this year. Robbie McEwen should be as reliable as ever, and try and has a good chance at the green jersey this year in the Tour
--Prediction: 10th
12. Credit Agricole
--Team Leader: Thor Hushovd
--Dangerous Riders: P. Caucchioli, F. Belloti
--Assessment: Credit Agricole are very weak this year, and everything relies on Thor Hushovd. They will struggle to stay up, but new manager Dave Jones could be the turning point
--Prediction: 17th
13. Euskaltel – Euskadi
--Team Leader: I. Anton
--Dangerous Riders: S. Sanchez, E. Martinez, Q. Gutierrez
--Assessment: This team could be a bit of a dark horse in stage races. Anton and Sanchez are two very good riders, but could fall when put under pressure in a TT. They should be looking for success in the mountains, although Sanchez is a strong hill rider
--Prediction: 13th
14. Francaise des Jeux
--Team Leader: Thomas Lovkvist
--Dangerous Riders: R. Gesink, J. Casper
--Assessment: This team had a fairly impressive 14th last year, but will rely totally on Lovkvist and Gesink to get them there again: if they under perform, the team’s situation will be precarious
--Prediction: 14th
15. Lampre – Fondital
--Team Leaders: D. Cunego, A. Ballan
--Dangerous Riders: D. Napolitano
--Assessment: Lampre were a disappointment last year, and will hope to do better this year. Ballan will lead the team in the early part of the year, but it will be interesting to see how Cunego does this year, as his TT is still very weak
--Prediction: 8th
16. Saunier Duval – Prodir
--Team Leader: J. Marchante
--Dangerous Riders: K. Gil, D. Millar
--Assessment: The team’s hope rest on one man’s shoulders, and if he doesn’t perform, then Saunier Duval have no other rider who could kepp them in the ProTour
--Prediction: 16th
17. Bouygues Telecom
--Team Leader: P. Fedrigo
--Dangerous Riders: L. Brochard, J. Pineau
--Assessment: Brochard carried this team last year to ProTopur safety, but they don’t really have anybody this year, and will be embroiled in another relegation battle: they sorely needed new riders over the winter, and didn’t get them
--Prediction: 19th
18. Cofidis, Le Credit par Telephone
--Team Leaders: F. Ventoso, S. Chavanel
--Dangerous Riders: R. Verbrugghe, D. Moncoutie
--Assessment: Cofidis hung on to ProTour status by the skin of their teeth last year, and will struggle to do so again. Whilst they have nobody who stands out, half a dozen or so could do well
--Prediction: 18th
19. Team Cycling24 – 2012
--Team Leader: Michael Rogers
--Dangerous Riders: Floyd Landis, Philippe Gilbert, Vincenzo Nibali, Daniele Bennati, Bernhard Eisel, Dario Cataldo, Bradley McGee, Jose Rujano
--Assessment: The team that took the continental league by storm last year have been busy over the off season and have amassed an impressive team. The problem is though that most riders are too old or too young. If the riders perform well thoug, they could be surprisingly impressive
--Prediction: 9th
20. Comunidad Valenciana
--Team Leader: S. Gonchar
--Dangerous Riders: J. Zapata, D. Blanco
--Assessment: The 2nd place Continental team from last year will struggle to stay up, after the loss of their leader Ruben Plaza over the winter. They do not really have anybody who can win races, with only Gonchar there real possibility of winning anything
--Prediction: 20th
Paris-Nice Team:
Vincenzo Nibali – Team Leader
Floyd Landis – Co-Leader
Alex Holder - Helper
Benat Intxausti - Helper
Gonzalo Bayarri - Helper
Kirk O’Bee - Sprinter
Damien Nazon - Sprinter
David Belda - Helper Stage 1 – ITT
In the opening race of the ProTour, we faced some stiff competition, but we had Floyd Landis in great form. All the stage favourites like Cancellara and Dekker had gone when Floyd set off for his ITT, and he knew exactly what to do. His absolute determination up the finishing slope was a real site to behold, and he took the stage victory by 2 seconds in a perfect TT. Nibali finished 8th, 8 seconds behind which is a good position for the hilly stages
Stage 2
Stage 2 was a lovely little prelude to the hills, and a day for Floyd to hold onto his yellow by just relaxing. The early breaks were caught by a pack all pink at the front, and the sprint provided a good result for my mate Dave as Thor Hushovd took the win, whilst Kirk O’Bee missed out on ProTour points by just one place
Edited by Crommy on 17-05-2007 08:29
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