Cervelo Test Team = **** clowns

[Angliru]

Bit like asking Americans why they can't shut up?

Please don't lump us (Americans) all in with WBT. That would do us a vast disservice.

 

[Angliru]

He has already ridden the Giro and the Ardennes classics...thats a pretty heavy schedule.

Cervelo have a Vuelta invite. He could easily rest up, ride the Vuelta and come into the WC in top condition, its a hard course he could maybe get a result on. Hardly the end of the world. And then he could try to complete his hatrick of GT stages.

Cervelo don't strike me as a team to make meaningless snubs, could be for his own 'benefit' if ya know what I mean. They will have a strong squad as it is, and as mentioned before I don't know if Gerrans has the mentality to be a domestique.

Excellent points. Depending on Gerrans age, maybe they want to bring him along slowly because of the great potential they see in him. To take him to the Tour after the schedule he's already had would be a bit much for an established rider let alone an up and coming one. Sastre can do it but he's no Sastre at this point in his career.

All these posts about the Cervelo management being "idiots"/"clowns" and so on is really more than a bit over the top considering the amazing job that they've done so far this season in such a short period of time.

Its natural that Gerrans would be disappointed but with Cervelo being a Pro-Continental team its pretty hard to set in stone each rider's season long schedule. With Juan Manuel Gomez Marchante's early exit from the Giro due to injury, this likely altered Cervelo's plans as did the Vuelta invite which was
inspite of Sastre declaring early in the year that he wouldn't be taking part in in his home country's tour.

Don't Pro Continental teams have smaller rosters than the Pro Tour teams? If so, this limits the number of races they can actually take part without spreading their riders too thin. I think most Pro Continental teams see getting invited 2 grand tours as a sign that they're having a successful year and getting invited to all 3 is quite rare. Managing the roster so that you can have riders not just rolling up for the first stage at the Vuelta and rolling off the pace at the first feed zone and piling into the team car I imagine isn't an easy task (I'm exaggerating of course!).

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

The Pauwels thing was one of the worst DS decisions i have seen in a long time.
I think it's a pretty odd decision by cervelo, but maybe they have thier reasons..

 

[Parrot23]

It might be political because he's been training in Colorado with Armstrong and Leipheimer--and Armstrong may be recruiting him for the Nike thing next year.

There's something to this. See Livestrong video posted by Whiteboytrash. Levi and Lance and Simon were acting like pals (Gerrans even visiting socially with his fiancee for dinner at Lance's house).

Great training, but maybe a mistake given the Sastre factor now and the evident Armstrong/Sastre animosity from Lance being dismissive of Sastre's TDF win. Sastre might feel he potentially doesn't have a loyal teamate, esp. given Contador's similar predicament (and the latter perhaps looking to Caisse support, after helping Valverde at Dauphine).

Per story by Lucybears below: another explanation could also be that given they are going for two objectives (Hausler and Hushvod for green jersey), and Sastre wants his two Spanish climbing buddies there, Cervelo just ran out of numbers and Gerrans got squeezed out as the odd man out. Just not enough numbers.

Prob. a combo of reasons.

 

[lucybears]

"The decision for the final Tour de France Team was certainly not an easy one," explained Cervélo team manager, Thomas Campana.
"Though we are fortunate to have many excellent riders who are in good shape and ready for the Tour, in the end only nine riders per team are allowed to start."
more @
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/369805/cerv%E9lo-unveils-tour-de-france-team.html

 

[Peloton94]

Wired decision, i could understand it if he said himself that he was tired after the Giro, buy he says his disappointed! :O

 

[whiteboytrash]

Wired decision, i could understand it if he said himself that he was tired after the Giro, buy he says his disappointed! :O

Very wired.

 

[Franklin]

It seems easy to see why: Passport issues.

The Uci said as much and Gerrans is the first who is being left out. I expect a few others to be left out or to have sudden injuries/sicknesses etc.

 

[ingsve]

I think people are blowing this way out of proportion. Cervelo has plenty of guys and some need to sit out.

Looking at their roster it's quite clear they don't think Sastre will be in the immediate top of the GC so they only bring 3 guys to help him in Cuesta, Gustov and JA Gomez. Given that Gerrans got to ride the Giro then it's obvious that some others get the chance when the places are limited. Which of those 3 would you cut in favor of Gerrans?

As for the other places that's a matter of priority than anything else. Obviously they feel they have a better chance at success at sprint stages rather than in the GC.

 

[Cobber]

"I'm still digesting the news. I'm pretty disappointed," Gerrans said on Twitter.

How can disappointed be pretty ? Why can't Australians speak ?

Why do ignorant people speak too much?

From Oxford English Dictionary

pretty

• adjective (prettier, prettiest) 1 attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful. 2 informal used ironically to express displeasure: he led me a pretty dance.

• adverb informal to a moderately high degree; fairly.

• noun (pl. pretties) informal a pretty thing; a trinket.

— PHRASES be sitting pretty informal be in an advantageous position. a pretty penny informal a large sum of money.

— DERIVATIVES prettily adverb prettiness noun.

— ORIGIN Old English, "cunning, crafty", later "clever, skilful, pleasing".

 

[jaylew]

Why do ignorant people speak too much?

From Oxford English Dictionary

Besides, it a damn twitter post not an English paper. Sheesh.

 

[Cobber]

Besides, it a damn twitter post not an English paper. Sheesh.

If you are going to insult an entire nation based on their use of a language, you had better make sure that you understand the language yourself. I was just pointing out the irony. Pretty fair criticism if you ask me... and yes, I am using the word “pretty” correctly.

 

[jaylew]

If you are going to insult an entire nation based on their use of a language, you had better make sure that you understand the language yourself. I was just pointing out the irony. Pretty fair criticism if you ask me... and yes, I am using the word “pretty” correctly.

Hope you know I was agreeing with you re: WBT's post.

 

[EricBikeCO]

huh

Maybe this paves the way for Gerrans to ride for/with Lance in this magical new venture he alludes to? Gerrans spent a lot of time in Aspen with Lance and Levi a couple weeks ago.

... and while I'm typing ... I think not putting him in for the TdF is an incredibly dumb move. He obviously has got the legs to haul Sastre around; certainly more so than any of the others have shown in the season thus far.

Maybe he doesn't get to go because he isn't a pussy who will pull up when some dip-wad in the car tells him to and give away a stage win ... not that I'm naming names.

 

[karlboss]

I was disappointed to hear simon didn't get a start, couldn't believe it but when I look again at the team, considering there is a TTT
Sastre GC climbing support Gustov, Cuesta, Gomez, I don't think gerrans can climb with these guys, Flat land powerhouses lancaster and roulston, sprinters hushovd and haussler...9.
On the balance of the team I might drop a climber for gerrans, but Cuesta and Gustov are sastre's boys and gerrans can't outclimb Gomez, he's not as much use in a TTT or as a leadout as roulston or lancaster, and the sprinters are probably more reliable for stage wins.

 

[phillop]

completely agree with that last post, what would gerrans have given them that the riders picked cant? and for his stage win last year, he proved that he could beat 4 non-climbers up a hill, that only stayed away because oscar pereiro fell down a cliff, really lucky! you guys are making far to much of this

 

[blaxland]

Their looking for "mules" to drag Sastre around I think...

Thats exactley what gerrans would do for sastre

 

[blaxland]

And who is that mule that will drag Sastre better that Gerrans would have done it?
Anyway,they also showed how clowns they are during the Giro,when Pauwels was stopped in the most stupid possible way,and Cervelo practically took the stage win away from him.

well said.I agree 100%

 

[Doug Laipple]

Just wonderin' ...

just wonderin' if ... well ... you know ... international cyclists don't seem to be overly honest ... not as bad as attorneys, I guess .

Color me cynical.

 

[blaxland]

"I'm still digesting the news. I'm pretty disappointed," Gerrans said on Twitter.

How can disappointed be pretty ? Why can't Australians speak ?

Ha HA and you Americans can??

 

[Doug Laipple]

What is to keep a conniving investor from forming an ostensibly not-yet-competitive team of 7or 8 mules who supposedly are trying to help their GC man win, but are secretly working to support another team to win, in exchange for "future considerations"?

 

[lucybears]

FFS - Gerrans is not going - get over it - move on....

 

[42x16ss]

Surprising decision to leave Gerrans out of the TDF squad, it's not like he hasn't proven himself as a faithful domestique in the past. Even last year he did his fair share of work at the front for Hushovd and Renshaw.

I guess the question to ask is, if something happened to Sastre who would be the most likely person in the squad to take over as GC candidate? I'm not too familiar with the climbing domestiques in the Cervelo squad so maybe Gerrans is being saved for the Vuelta?

It's hard to see someone as easygoing and well regarded as Gerrans being left out of the Tour squad for clashing with someone and he was at CA with Hoshovd last year.
Disappointed to hear he is getting close to LA though, hope he doesn't switch to the dark side cos I like the guy, rode against him as a junior and always seemed to be a pretty decent person as well as a good rider.

Ok Lucybears is right, we are spending a lot of time on a middle tier rider, in the bigger scheme of things this isn't a huge loss

 

[fergnago]

Sure it's a shame that Simon won't be there but thats the way things panned out for him this year. very interesting to read of the "you have been buddies with LA and you might have told him our secrets' train of thought.I guess only time will have the answer to that one.

 

[The Colnago Kid]

Cervelo Test Team shenanigans

SBS cycling commentator Mike Tomalaris has some interesting insights into what has been going on behind the scenes at Cervelo, including the omission of Gerro from the Tour team http://trunc.it/kmxw