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Cancellara needs a new team?

Jul 10, 2009
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If you ask me Cancellara does not fit into his team. Hes has the yellow jersey but you very rarely see his teammates riding with him and protecting him. I know he is not much of a GC contender but common it's the Yellow Jersey. What is the worlds best TT rider doing on a team set up for there climbers the Schleck bothers? I think he could do better on a team like Garmin - Slipstream with an up and coming GC contender in Christian Vande Velde and other good TT riders like Bradley Wiggins especially if the tour and or the Giro continue to have a TTT?
 
His teammates already did a tremendous job, in the stages before the team time trial, for the yellow of Cancellara. Then with the team time trial and so little time separating him from Armstrong, Saxo Bank decided to stop with the work and prepare for the mountain stages, of the coming days, where the Schlecks brothers are the leaders.

So I don't think Cancellara should switch team. He's in one of the best team of the world and he's one of the leaders of this team. And I think you're forgetting the work that Saxo Bank did for Cancellara in the Tour of Suisse.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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What? Are you kidding? Firstly, Vande Velde is an old hand (33 years old), not up and coming. If you want up and coming, look at Andy and Frank Schleck. Secondly, the SaxoBank team has supported Cancellara to date but there are other teams with agendas that keep them in front of the peloton. Thirdly, Cancellara is strong enough on the flats that he rarely needs support from the team. Fourthly, while it is great that he has the yellow jersey, the team needs to conserve their energy for their main objective, which is getting Andy (or maybe Frank) Schleck on the podium, preferably in the yellow jersey. Lastly, Cancellara is not on the team to win the yellow jersey. He is there as a super domestique for the GTs, and to win ITTs and the Classics. SaxoBank has more super domestiques than any other team (Voigt, O'Grady, Sorensen, Kolobnev, Arvesen, etc), Cancellara can win the ITTs by himself, and SaxoBank is probably the second strongest Classics team behind Quickstep. Why would Cancellara want to leave SaxoBank? That's just silly talk.
 
Jul 6, 2009
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srolwig said:
If you ask me Cancellara does not fit into his team. Hes has the yellow jersey but you very rarely see his teammates riding with him and protecting him. I know he is not much of a GC contender but common it's the Yellow Jersey. What is the worlds best TT rider doing on a team set up for there climbers the Schleck bothers? I think he could do better on a team like Garmin - Slipstream with an up and coming GC contender in Christian Vande Velde and other good TT riders like Bradley Wiggins especially if the tour and or the Giro continue to have a TTT?

There's more to the cycling season than the Tour de France. Saxo Bank gives Cancellara plenty of support.
 
Spartacus is not there to win the yellow jersey. He is there to support Andy Schleck. He does honor to the yellow jersey, but that does not mean the whole team should burn themselves into the pavement in the first week in it's defence.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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**Uru** said:
Spartacus is not there to win the yellow jersey. He is there to support Andy Schleck. He does honor to the yellow jersey, but that does not mean the whole team should burn themselves into the pavement in the first week in it's defence.

I'm with stupid.
 
Jun 18, 2009
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srolwig said:
If you ask me Cancellara does not fit into his team. Hes has the yellow jersey but you very rarely see his teammates riding with him and protecting him. I know he is not much of a GC contender but common it's the Yellow Jersey. What is the worlds best TT rider doing on a team set up for there climbers the Schleck bothers? I think he could do better on a team like Garmin - Slipstream with an up and coming GC contender in Christian Vande Velde and other good TT riders like Bradley Wiggins especially if the tour and or the Giro continue to have a TTT?

Huh? Protect Cancellara for what? Great rider but not a GT rider.
 
srolwig said:
If you ask me Cancellara does not fit into his team. Hes has the yellow jersey but you very rarely see his teammates riding with him and protecting him. I know he is not much of a GC contender but common it's the Yellow Jersey. What is the worlds best TT rider doing on a team set up for there climbers the Schleck bothers? I think he could do better on a team like Garmin - Slipstream with an up and coming GC contender in Christian Vande Velde and other good TT riders like Bradley Wiggins especially if the tour and or the Giro continue to have a TTT?
Yeah, move to different team where they won't wait for him either. No team is going to wait for him if he is not riding for the final GC.
I was going to say move to a French Team but now Sandy casar and Moncoutie are climbing better than him. Hec, even the winner was french.
 
elapid said:
What? Are you kidding? Firstly, Vande Velde is an old hand (33 years old), not up and coming. If you want up and coming, look at Andy and Frank Schleck. Secondly, the SaxoBank team has supported Cancellara to date but there are other teams with agendas that keep them in front of the peloton. Thirdly, Cancellara is strong enough on the flats that he rarely needs support from the team. Fourthly, while it is great that he has the yellow jersey, the team needs to conserve their energy for their main objective, which is getting Andy (or maybe Frank) Schleck on the podium, preferably in the yellow jersey. Lastly, Cancellara is not on the team to win the yellow jersey. He is there as a super domestique for the GTs, and to win ITTs and the Classics. SaxoBank has more super domestiques than any other team (Voigt, O'Grady, Sorensen, Kolobnev, Arvesen, etc), Cancellara can win the ITTs by himself, and SaxoBank is probably the second strongest Classics team behind Quickstep. Why would Cancellara want to leave SaxoBank? That's just silly talk.

Don't disagree with most of your points, but VdV, being a late bloomer who spent time off the bike with injuries, probably has at least another year or two before we start to see a decline.

His age won't break him down at the same age as other riders, as is the case with Leipheimer, who's 35 and a legitimate podium contender in just about any race.

Heck, Frank Schleck (your example) has been around for a long time too, and at 29, isn't an "up and comer" by most definitions either.
 

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