Bjarne Riis Fired from Tinkov-Saxo Team!?

[Carstenbf]

Re:

Another one down, and it was about time FFS, overpaid manager who got his position thanks only to his past CLINIC successes.
Good riddance.

Besides having build the team from scratch you mean? Can say a lot about the man, but the "overpaid manager" bit is a bit over the top imo.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I have a feeling there are 2 possibilities for Bjarne suspension.

1. When Oleg bought the team he was briefed by Bjarne on his past involvement in Team Doping. And the coming report will be much different.

2. Oleg wants to get out in front of the coming report. And has suspended Bjarne to get in front of the coming storm. And Bjarne will be back soon enough for the Tour.

I have a feeling it is #1. And Bjarne might be done.

I don't think it has anything to do with clinic-related reasons. I don't think Tinkov really cares about that.

 

[Jagartrott]

Tinkov has a Messiah complex - disease of many people that have earned a great deal of money and typically surround themselves with yes-men.

That being said, f*ck Riis.

 

[wirral]

If you have worked with the current crop of wealthy Russians, you will know they cannot be seen to be weak or even compromising when in leadership. It is their culture. They berate anybody under them constantly. It is not a Scandinavian style. The distance between the boss and the layer of senior management beneath him is much bigger than in Western Europe. These events do not surprise me.

 

[webvan]

No one's going to cry over Riis but I can't see how that's going to help the team...

 

[del1962]

If anything this whole episode has actually increased my sympathy for Riis, that is if my understanding is correct and he stood up to Tinkov's demands

 

[samhocking]

Re: Re:

The sooner this slimy Putin-loving, regime-riding, billionaire oligarch 'fan' is out the sport, the better. He'll be out the sport in 6 months time. It takes more than dirty money to create a successful cycling team!

Murdochs dirty money is better then?

No, that's exactly my point. Both are big budget teams with big names paid with dirty money, but more money doesn't make more wins. It takes more than that and Tinkoff don't have anything in place to equal Sky's marginal gains. Even if Tinkoff says 'just don't get caught' to his riders, that still isn't enough!

 

[Rollthedice]

They will meet over a few bottle of vodka, Riis will explain Oleg (again) what's the secret to go crazy on Hautacam, Stinkoff will get it at last and Contador wins all three grand tours this year. Everybody is happy.

 

[Zen Master]

Sky is on high heaven. What an idiot. Russian ex-communist capitalism is as feudal as communism was, and as corrupt. My serfs are my property and if they don't produce then I kill them. Orthodoxy at its finest.

And you are clearly
a. ***
b. Chauvinist
c. Chauvinist & ***

What has chauvinism to do with it? You obviously have no historical perspective (and not from the point of view you might be thinking) and no sense of irony. Cheers.

Tinkoff is the worst example of a "success story" and what success has enabled him to intend to do.

Correct me if I'm wrong but subject of our discussion is Oleg Tinkov!? So would you my dear little *** chauvinist be so kind as to explain me what whole Russia & Russians and Orthodoxy as a religion have with behavior of a single person?!? Is Charles Manson clear example of the American way of life or just one lunatic, tell me your honest opinion ?!?
Just one more thing... The totality of your so-called knowledge of history and historical perspective is knowledge and perspective of low educated not-the-sharpest-tool-in-the-box person.
Thank you in advance for your understanding...;o)

 

[TheQuick]

I'm looking forward to see if SaxoBank has a clause in their contract to get out if Bjarne Riis is fired, the have always said that it's Bjarne Riis they are sponsoring and not the superstars and I would expect that Oleg would be forced to pay a lot of their money back

 

[webvan]

Can't see how there could be a clause for "refunding money", a clause to not renew if such and such person is not part of the deal, possibly, yes.

 

[Cimber]

Re:

I'd say because of the upcoming report, Riis has been holding of on full blown doping programmes, which has drawn the ire of Oleg "do anything to win" Tinkov.

Apparently this is what happened: after the TA-stage where Quintana dropped Contador Tinkov was furious and wanted Riis to demote De Jongh and take the seat in the car himself to "show how good he really was". Riis refused saying he trusted his SDs. Also on a meeting later on Tinkov was yelling and screaming and Sagan stood up to him which rarely happens. All this apparently led to the suspension. So there doesnt seem to be any clinic reason behind the suspension (which would also be quite surprising given Tinkov's take on that subject).

More here in this article (in Danish)

http://sporten.tv2.dk/cykling/2015-03-2 ... -og-tinkov

 

[Miburo]

If it's true which it seems it is, tinkov is a bigger idiot than i thought he was.

Contador destroys everyone in 2014 and now he wants to go for the double and he lost against quintana in a MTF in TA. And he's going insane? Idiot. Especially cause adding pressure doesn't help, contador and riis know how to win.

 

[IndianCyclist]

All his statements and tweets amount to the fact that he does not take rational team decisions where his money is concerned. He is the dictator of the team as he is bankrolling it. I suspect that the moral of the team would be very low throughout the year unless they win big.

 

[webvan]

Now confirmed : http://www.tinkoffsaxo.com/news/tinkoff ... arne-riis/

Tinkoff Saxo statement on Bjarne Riis:

“Following the rumors and speculations published by many Danish media first and then by international cycling media later last night, Tinkoff Saxo would like to clarify that Bjarne Riis is not being actively involved in the team’s activities since last Sunday. However, he was not suspended of his active role because of lack of results nor for financial issues. The team management has full confidence in the technical and performance team, in all the riders and staff members and is currently working to establish the best way forward in the racing season. No decisions have been taken and any formal and final decision on any team member – if taken – shall be communicated at the appropriate time. Until then there will be no further comments on this matter.”

The bolded part sounds strange, probably just a way of "spinning it" though, wouldn't read too much into it.

 

[Miburo]

They don't even say why he's suspended, well since it's not for results and finance, it must be clinic right?

But the rumors contradict that and tinkov doesn't care about clinic anyways.

Not that this is really relevant but i never thought it was good idea to bring Sagan in this team, for him and for the team. Being called the best team of the world (at least by tinkov) is a curse, look at BMC a few years ago.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

After we get rid of Riis, Oleg and Contador, maybe just maybe we can say cycling turn into a new page.

...and certainly they are the only things that are bringing the sport down. Without them we can see the sunshine and clear Sky's again. Your post screams to me that you are absolutely clueless or maybe I'm missing the intended sarcasm in your post, in which case I apologize in advance.

 

[Jancouver]

So he is not suspended, he was "removed from active duty at Tinkoff-Saxo", the team have confirmed,

.. but not due to a knee-jerk reaction because of the team’s poor performance or financial issues as was previously reported. Cyclingnews understands that the reason for the suspension is due to differences between himself and team boss Oleg Tinkov.

Riis will not perform his duties as directeur sportif while he and Tinkov work out their differences.

Haha, you cant make this stuff up

 

[del1962]

Isn't removed from active duty just another way of saying suspended

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

Apparently this is what happened: after the TA-stage where Quintana dropped Contador Tinkov was furious and wanted Riis to demote De Jongh and take the seat in the car himself to "show how good he really was". Riis refused saying he trusted his SDs. Also on a meeting later on Tinkov was yelling and screaming and Sagan stood up to him which rarely happens. All this apparently led to the suspension........

More here in this article (in Danish)

http://sporten.tv2.dk/cykling/2015-03-2 ... -og-tinkov

What a Bleeding Jerk Tinkov is. Good for Riis and Sagan to stand up to him. Next if will be Sagan's turn I guess ro get pummeled. Talk about low team morale, this could be the demise of TS.

 

[oldcrank]

Denis Menchov will be available after April 9th.
Maybe Oleg wants a fellow Russian for DS, and
as he is wont to tweet:''Foreigners go to he!!.''

 

[TMP402]

Losing $930m last year will make you crazy.

 

[CyclingLocations.com]

It's a sad state of affairs. To have so much talent in one team and to manage it in such a way is borderline idiotic.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

So the human drama is interesting, and speculation about the why is intriguing, but more relevant is the sporting effect.

Was Riis such a brilliant team manager that his removal will substantially affect the team's results? Are his training and tactical nous and his inspiration and motivational skills such that the team will suffer, or can he easily be replaced?

How many of the team owe their loyalty so deeply to Riis that they cannot/will not perform to the same level under a different manager?

 

[B_Ugli]

Whatever you think of Riis, Tinkov is just one big clueless ego who wants to buy into cycling the same as Roman Abramovich did in football.

Money spent = Not a team that automatically wins everything

If it were /RadioShack/Leopard/Trek Factory then you could understand him being annoyed at lack of results but its not and he isn't.