Fernando Alonso = Massive baby?

[kingjr]

How dare you! You forgot cameras on bikes!!!!

They were used as far back as the Tour of Germany in 2006 It just took until now to become popular for whatever reason

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Are there really sponsors that are waiting in line to sponsor a WT-cycling team?

I mean HTC could not get a sponsor despite hammering out victories (albeit mostly sprint victories) left and right. And they had Cav which guarantees a certain coverage seeing as he is one of the main characters in the game.

No fan of Alonso (I am more of a Räikkönen/Massa kind of guy) but isn't it good news that some new sponsors come along?

Although I agree, he should not get any preferential treatment.

this example always comes up and it's a very bad one. because stapleton had multiple sponsors wanting to fill in but stapelton wanted a bmc like constructionb with 30 million budget to become the mapei of this generation and that wasn't to happen. but he definitely had 15 million sponsors

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

an alternative to having the WT licence is having the riders that guarantee you an invitation:

buy Sepp Vanmarke or Greg Van Avermet (whoever is cheapest) out of his contract, you're sure to be invited to the cobbled classics.
buy Romain Bardet out of his contract, you're sure to be invited to the hilly spring classics organised by ASO.
buy Nairo Quintana or Michal Kwiatkowsky (whoever is cheapest) out his contract, you're sure to be invited to the tour de france.
there should be enough money left to build a team around them.

if you can create enough hype and results with this team (which shouldn't be too difficult if you've performed all the above), you'll be invited to some other world tour races, too


if he's got the money he should splash it on relatively cheap contract buy outs, and forget about the world tour licence. he would be playing by the rules and he would be revolutionising cycling by the same token

wow. what kind of view is this on cycling? this isn't football. you can't just buy riders out of their contracts. besides it's a bad example anyway just look at what happened to geox and unibet.

 

[Franklin]

you can't just buy riders out of their contracts.

Excuse me? If another team offers you a higher salary there's not much stopping you to skip teams. This is basic European labor law.

There will be some financial backlash (contractual penalties etc), but considering we are talking about buying people out of their contract that is exactly the whole point. With enough cash this is well within the realm of possibilities.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Excuse me? If another team offers you a higher salary there's not much stopping you to skip teams. This is basic European labor law.

There will be some financial backlash (contractual penalties etc), but considering we are talking about buying people out of their contract that is exactly the whole point. With enough cash this is well within the realm of possibilities.

and athletes aren't basic laborors. there are alle xceptions to this rule that's why it never happens. you have to pay a transfersum the team/owner accepts. in cycling this rarely happens

 

[Franklin]

I appreciate that you acknowledge that you were talking absolute nonsense and that not only it's a possibility, it also (rarely) happens in cycling.

I assume you will be appologizing to _NM__ who you erronously called idiotic?

 

[Akuryo]

Yes it happens, but maybe twice every year. Most riders change their teams after their contract ended. This is cycling and not soccer/football (whatever you want to call it). In cycling these kind of transfers are not the usual. That is all Ryo said, so you can't buy out the best riders you want.

And by the way, these riders are people too. They have a say for which team they want to ride. If Quintana is happy at Movistar and Kwiatkowski happy at Etixx, what then? This isn't just a manager-game, this is the real life!

 

[Angliru]

They were used as far back as the Tour of Germany in 2006 It just took until now to become popular for whatever reason

I recall Cippo having one on his bike in 2003 or 2004 Giro.

 

[No_Balls]

Lot of crying in this threadstart.

Thankfully this "moaning" could be a start for the very change UCI needs. Both parts have a point in this: UCI dont know wheter the licensed team has riders and/or the investor doesnt know wheter he will have the license. Seeing as its not only Alonso, but UAE, displeased with the process creates a healthy pressure against Cooksons office. How does the current rules works in favour for the sport to grow bigger? There are a lot to learn from this. And Alonsos entourage wont be the last investors complaining about these procedures.

It's funny how you fanboys of Cookson/Massa/Raikkonen admits as much 'UCI needs to change' but then moans when the possibility of change presents itself.

 

[hfer07]

I quite honestly don't see the Alonso team being realized any time soon, since some of the big names have already renewed/extended contracts or signed new ones with another teams, which impedes the project to have a solid foundation. I wish I'm wrong, since cycling is in need of fresh sponsors & most of all, wealthy ones like the type of what Alonso was seeking to bring on board....

 

[Luigi_Max]

Who is available, or at least without a known destination, who could be used to put together a team for next year?

 

[Akuryo]

Who is available, or at least without a known destination, who could be used to put together a team for next year?

Trentin has not resigned yet. And he is very versatile with his sprinting and cobbles combination while being able to get over some hills. He is kind of a lighter version of Sagan in every of the three aspects. In a lot of other teams he could do very well.

But I do hope he extends with OPQS/Etixx though.

 

[Arkaitz]

Who is available, or at least without a known destination, who could be used to put together a team for next year?

Chris Horner signed just for a year with Lampre, recent Vuelta a España winner and he is still young, just in his forties.

 

[Akuryo]

With a team to support him, I belive Trentin could win a lot of races. He is kind of a lighter version of Sagan in every aspect: sprinting, cobbles, hills. Not a superstar, but a solid rider who could get some points.
He, too, has not extended so far. I hope he stays with OPQS/Etixx though.

 

[cineteq]

Alonso must sign 10 riders before October 1
http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=74592 [Spanish]

 

[Coat-O]

Alonso must sign 10 riders before October 1
http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=74592 [Spanish]

Any guesses on who the first ten will be?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

A sensible option might be to look at a few Spanish riders who've got some points available, both young and old. Gustavo César, for example, for an older rider, and Carlos Barbero for a younger one, since Team Euskadi is stopping. Somebody like Samu is likely even if he's now old and way past his likely useful best, and would wind up being like Sastre at Geox.

Or he could go the 100% "I don't care" approach and sign Pourseyedi

 

[Jancouver]

Any guesses on who the first ten will be?

All the originally rumored riders already signed/renewed elsewhere. Those include:

Sagan
T.Martin
EBH

I really dont see any top riders other than Piti joining. Still some good riders available, but nothing from the "TOP" category.

 

[Kotar_Rhakoz]

Valverde
Brajkovic
Roche
Betancur
Frank Schleck
Konig
Sanchez
Moriabito
Farrar
Goss
Agnoli
Poels
Steegmans
Verona
Reynes
Valls
Bak
Amador
Javier Moreno
Szmyd
Pardilla
Gatto
Bennett
Sarmiento
Sicard

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

A sensible option might be to look at a few Spanish riders who've got some points available, both young and old. Gustavo César, for example, for an older rider, and Carlos Barbero for a younger one, since Team Euskadi is stopping. Somebody like Samu is likely even if he's now old and way past his likely useful best, and would wind up being like Sastre at Geox.

Or he could go the 100% "I don't care" approach and sign Pourseyedi

he doesn't need points he only needs riders

 

[Roude Leiw]

he doesn't need points he only needs riders

Yes, but still, i suppose that he has ambitions above just starting the races. So he needs good riders who have points. Little schleck is on the market for riders without points

 

[hrotha]

The problem is not the available riders, although as time goes by the possibilities are quickly shrinking.

The problem is that NONE of the infrastructure required seems to exist yet, and that they're talking BS about not being able to sign people right now according to the rules and all that. It strongly suggests nothing will come out of this, and furthermore, that they'll try to spin the story, blame on the UCI and try to save face for over a year of smoke and mirrors.

Frankly, right now there's no objective reason to believe this team will be a thing.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

The problem is not the available riders, although as time goes by the possibilities are quickly shrinking.

The problem is that NONE of the infrastructure required seems to exist yet, and that they're talking BS about not being able to sign people right now according to the rules and all that. It strongly suggests nothing will come out of this, and furthermore, that they'll try to spin the story, blame on the UCI and try to save face for over a year of smoke and mirrors.

Frankly, right now there's no objective reason to believe this team will be a thing.

this exatcly. wonder what alonso's friend slike contador will think of this

 

[Microchip]

If Alonso is looking for staff in a hurry, I can sign up!!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/time-running-out-for-team-alonso

I really hope he and his colleagues can get a team off the ground!!

 

[movingtarget]

Sounds like smoke and mirrors at this stage. Looks like Pro Continental when it does happen unless the cheque book gets opened and big name riders sign up. Some time in the next 5 years ?