General News Thread

[TourOfSardinia]

http://www.forzapescara.tv/altri-sp...a-speranze-per-danilo-di-luca-e-lacquaasapone

di luca hasn't signed yet with acqua e sapone because he wants to ride il giro d'italia to win it once again he will wait until a final decision on saxo bank i think to see if RCS gives the invitation to acqua e sapone.otherwise he will leave for another team invited to il giro.i have no idea which team would be,heard rumours like astana,vacansoleil,lampre,farnese and so on.

very weird situation...

got to admire his killer ambition - however unlikely it'll come off.

 

[Duartista]

Henao will ride 3 Days of West-Vlaanderen before returning to Colombia for a month's training, then coming back to do Pais Vasco, Fleche Wallone, LBL and the Giro.

Interview

 

[sulgpallur]

Maybe Di Luca will sign with Saxo until August

 

[Lanark]

Maybe i got the wrong end of the stick. I don't think the Olympics are worthless but refuse to rate it higher than the Monuments or Giro. For me the Olympic RR is just another way to hold the Worlds but only once in four years. Yeah, it's very honorable, an Olympic gold is a big achievement in any sport but it just isn't the most wanted one day race in the world. If you ask riders a simple question: 'what would you like to win the most?' i don't think many of them will pick the Olympics. Or another simple example: let's imagine that one cycling event will die tomorrow and you should make the choice between Giro, Paris-Roubaix, Ronde, San Remo, LBL, Lombardia and the Olympic RR. What would you choose?

Yeah, with some exceptions, the Olympics are usually only super-important in the smaller sports.

What hurts the prestige of the Olympics in cycling is that untill very recently, it was just an amateur event. And even then, in 1996 barely anyone cared about it, it got bigger in 2000 and 2004, the fact that such big names won in those years probably was a big boost, and in 2008, it really was a major event.

Maybe the Olympics weighs more for people who know little about cycling. I know Hennie Kuiper, who won 4 of the 5 monuments and a world championship, remarked that after his carreer he was most complimented on winning Olympic gold, despite it being an amateur event.

 

[El Pistolero]

Yeah, with some exceptions, the Olympics are usually only super-important in the smaller sports.

What hurts the prestige of the Olympics in cycling is that untill very recently, it was just an amateur event. And even then, in 1996 barely anyone cared about it, it got bigger in 2000 and 2004, the fact that such big names won in those years probably was a big boost, and in 2008, it really was a major event.

Maybe the Olympics weighs more for people who know little about cycling. I know Hennie Kuiper, who won 4 of the 5 monuments and a world championship, remarked that after his carreer he was most complimented on winning Olympic gold, despite it being an amateur event.

And it's the only thing Axel Merckx got in his career that his father failed to get.

 

[The Hitch]

Track pursuit is tomorrow?

 

[The Hitch]

Yeah, with some exceptions, the Olympics are usually only super-important in the smaller sports.

What hurts the prestige of the Olympics in cycling is that untill very recently, it was just an amateur event. And even then, in 1996 barely anyone cared about it, it got bigger in 2000 and 2004, the fact that such big names won in those years probably was a big boost, and in 2008, it really was a major event.

Maybe the Olympics weighs more for people who know little about cycling. I know Hennie Kuiper, who won 4 of the 5 monuments and a world championship, remarked that after his carreer he was most complimented on winning Olympic gold, despite it being an amateur event.

didn't the sixth best rider of all time win one of the Golds in 96?

Henao will ride 3 Days of West-Vlaanderen before returning to Colombia for a month's training, then coming back to do Pais Vasco, Fleche Wallone, LBL and the Giro.

Interview

Lol henao at west flanderen

http://www.forzapescara.tv/altri-sp...a-speranze-per-danilo-di-luca-e-lacquaasapone

di luca hasn't signed yet with acqua e sapone because he wants to ride il giro d'italia to win it once again he will wait until a final decision on saxo bank i think to see if RCS gives the invitation to acqua e sapone.otherwise he will leave for another team invited to il giro.i have no idea which team would be,heard rumours like astana,vacansoleil,lampre,farnese and so on.

very weird situation...

Net ap ?

Maybe Di Luca will sign with Saxo until August

Isn't Di luca another rider who can't score Wt points ?

 

[Michele]

Ireland`s corporation tax is 12.5% and i wonder would this have something to do with it.

Yeah its related to lower tax.

Isn't Di luca another rider who can't score Wt points ?

Some weeks ago Garzelli was rumored to be in talk with Saxo as well but some guys in here noticed that there cant be any transfer until August.

 

[will10]

Yeah its related to lower tax.




Some weeks ago Garzelli was rumored to be in talk with Saxo as well but some guys in here noticed that there cant be any transfer until August.

Yes you can't sign with one team and then change teams before August. But that link jens put up suggests Di Luca still hasn't signed with Acqua, so would be a free agent able to sign with anyone who wants him.

 

[Michele]

My bad, didnt notice the link.
Indeed they say he didnt sign at last minute cause he'd like to try to win one last Giro.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Looks like rebellin is expected to sign for christina watches.
Can anyone translate this?

http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/cykling/article1709555.ece

 

[El Pistolero]

He should have asked a favour from his good friend Gilbert to get him a spot at BMC I'd love it if Rebellin returned to the WT.

 

[jens_attacks]

anyone knows the calendar for christina watches?i mean i think miche has a better one.

 

[Fus087]

http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/cykling/article1709555.ece

Paraphrasing:
Christina Watches - Onfone (CWO) have money and willpower to strengthen their team, but they're stopped by a UCI rule saying that more than half of the riders on a Continental team have to be U28.
Right now the team has 14 riders, 7 of whom are below 28. So they have to hire another U28 rider to comply with the rules, before even thinking of hiring Rebellin and/or Vandborg.
If they'd hire Rebellin, they'd also have to sign another U28 rider, but that would give them 17 riders - only 16 are allowed on a Continental team. If they also hire Vandborg, it would even be 19 riders.
A Continental team is allowed to sign 19 riders if three of them are "specialists" belonging to the top-150 of another cycling discipline (track, cross, MTB; maybe even BMX?), and that is stated in the contract.

Claus Hembo says: "It's our own fault. We'll have to learn to read the rule book once in a while". He also says that the team apparently has reached the limit of how good a Continental team may become, and that they'll want to step up to ProContinental to be able to hire more and stronger riders.

My own opinion on this:
Bloody amateurs.
They had a very similar case last season, when they also ran into that 16-rider limit; and the hilarious thing was that they had some "specialists" among their riders, so they could have signed another rider. But they forgot to give these "specialists" the special contract required for this clause to become effective...
And they haven't reached the limit of strength in a Continental team, only the limit of how many oldies you can hire.
This whole team is even more amateuristic than Rock Racing was.

 

[Christian]

LEOPARD TREK CT team presentation going on. Apparently Skoda is a sponsor. It looks like this might be a Skoda dealership where it is taking place. You can also see Fabio Silvestre's portuguese NC jersey:

/edit: website now online.

I like Jungels' result:

1st U23 Vice-European TT Champion

 

[Libertine Seguros]

That'll be the national U23 jersey (João Cabreira has the full one), but it's nice to see Silvestre taking the next step; he had outgrown Liberty Seguros amateur team but also could have become trapped in Portugal (could this mean Leopard CT, or a combined best-of Leopard CT/Bontrager-Livestrong, developmental team in A Volta?) like many others.

I hope he does plenty of senior races so we don't have to see that national champion kit, though I must say it's a damn sight better than the Radioshack-Nissan-Trek ones.

 

[Parrulo]

That'll be the national U23 jersey (João Cabreira has the full one), but it's nice to see Silvestre taking the next step; he had outgrown Liberty Seguros amateur team but also could have become trapped in Portugal (could this mean Leopard CT, or a combined best-of Leopard CT/Bontrager-Livestrong, developmental team in A Volta?) like many others.

I hope he does plenty of senior races so we don't have to see that national champion kit, though I must say it's a damn sight better than the Radioshack-Nissan-Trek ones.

fabio silvestre is a sprinter right? can he also ride the classics?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

fabio silvestre is a sprinter right? can he also ride the classics?

Fabio can get over a few lumps and bumps, maybe not like Rojas or anything, but certainly enough to contest a few reduced sprints. He's also half decent against the clock, so depending on how he adopts to the weather differences (his best results have come in the Volta ao Alentejo, so going from that to Belgium in March is pretty extreme) he could post some half-decent results in a few of their one-day races and short stage races.

 

[Christian]

I am a little worried those guys might be pampered too much with this new team. It looks like they have it better than riders of Cofidis for example. I think I remember a dutch user said once that a possible reason for many talented dutch U23 riders never to make a breakthrough with the pros was that they had it too easy with Rabobank U23. For Luxembourg, if you look at Joachim, Kirchen and F. Schleck for example, they had to fight for everything, pack their bag and move to Italy, prove their worth before they got anything. On the other hand I get the feeling that the Luxembourgish guys besides Jungels are mostly there to make up the numbers. I don't know any of the other riders (bar Pliuschin) but some of them sound like they have promise

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

That's bs quite frankly. The new Dutch generation for instance is much much better than the old ones. We now have 3 guys who did a top 10 in the GT in the last 2 years, and they all did that before turning 25. They were all at Rabobank CT as well.

Ofcourse with such a big talent pool there will be plenty of fails in between. But without the Rabobank CT team Dutch cycling would not be where it is today.

 

[theyoungest]

Reading a recent interview with Rohan Dennis, I actually think the guys at Rabo Continental learn to be pretty self-dependent and responsible. For him it was a difference from his time in the Aussie program.

And if you look at the new wave of Dutch riders, Gesink, Mollema, Kruijswijk... these guys aren't lazy. Gesink even seems to be slightly obsessed with training and taking care of himself. And, as Dekker_T says, they all reached the top-10 of a GT before turning 25.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Of course with such a big talent pool there will be plenty of fails in between. But without the Rabobank CT team Dutch cycling would not be where it is today.

This is true. It will be interesting to see where this growing Dutch pool of talent leads us in the coming years.

You're approaching 10,000 post, btw. An elite group of the most dedicated posters.

 

[skidmark]

I am a little worried those guys might be pampered too much with this new team. It looks like they have it better than riders of Cofidis for example. I think I remember a dutch user said once that a possible reason for many talented dutch U23 riders never to make a breakthrough with the pros was that they had it too easy with Rabobank U23. For Luxembourg, if you look at Joachim, Kirchen and F. Schleck for example, they had to fight for everything, pack their bag and move to Italy, prove their worth before they got anything. On the other hand I get the feeling that the Luxembourgish guys besides Jungels are mostly there to make up the numbers. I don't know any of the other riders (bar Pliuschin) but some of them sound like they have promise

Yeah, I remember someone writing that about Danish U23s a few months ago, is that maybe what you're remembering?

 

[MartinGT]

Reading a recent interview with Rohan Dennis, I actually think the guys at Rabo Continental learn to be pretty self-dependent and responsible. For him it was a difference from his time in the Aussie program.

And if you look at the new wave of Dutch riders, Gesink, Mollema, Kruijswijk... these guys aren't lazy. Gesink even seems to be slightly obsessed with training and taking care of himself. And, as Dekker_T says, they all reached the top-10 of a GT before turning 25.

Is that the one in Pro Cycling? Good article that.

 

[issoisso]

This is true. It will be interesting to see where this growing Dutch pool of talent leads us in the coming years.

You're approaching 10,000 post, btw. An elite group of the most dedicated posters.

You heard that Rubes? As your dad says: "Get a goddamn job"

Rabobank's generations of talent are scary to be frank. Not just Dennis, but Goos, Kelderman, and the ones that are already proving themselves as big name riders.

It's mind boggling how they find so much talent. Speaks volumes about their development program.

Now if only Vermeltfoort would get a grip