Jayco al-'Ula and its GreenEdge predecessors

[sublimit]

Does Shayne Bannan and co at greenedge have **** for brains? Why the hell would you go out and get 10 sprinters to a team? Would be nice if you got a guy who can ride uphill. In races like Paris Nice, tour de suisse and many other stage races, if you don't have a guy that can climb you're team will look 2nd rate.

A lead balloon has more climbing power than Greenedge riders, well apart from possibly Cameron Meyer.

That team looks OK for the flat but will be ****ed in GT's or any race with a significant climb. Kind of a panic situation of getting some pretty lame riders in with some reasonable ones like Goss, Cooke, O'Grady, Gerrans.

 

[el chava]

Most aussies seem to be trackriders turned into sprinters/TT'ers, so it is not surprising that team beats them all in sheer dullness. I will follow Daniel Teklehaimanots career with interest, but that's it.

 

[will10]

With Goss, Langeveld, Gerrans and Albasini, they won't be embarrased, but there'll be plenty of races through the year where they will be invisible.

 

[Andy99]

Its annoying. I was looking forward to another top tier team joining the ranks, to at least spice up the competition.

With the budgets that have been implied, there really is no excuse.

 

[LukeSchmid]

Most aussies seem to be trackriders turned into sprinters/TT'ers, so it is not surprising that team beats them all in sheer dullness. I will follow Daniel Teklehaimanots career with interest, but that's it.

While it certainly is a true description of most of the riders the fact that the non-Australians signed almost all fit into a similar style of rider is very disappointing. They should have tried to use non-Australians to balance the squad not to further unbalance it. Of the non-Australians signed I see only Albasini, Langeveld and Weening with Teklehaimanot in the future as adding something to the squad. There rest seem to be good riders but are not needed in the GE squad.

 

[luckyboy]

Jeez can this team get any duller?

 

[User Guide]

While it certainly is a true description of most of the riders the fact that the non-Australians signed almost all fit into a similar style of rider is very disappointing. They should have tried to use non-Australians to balance the squad not to further unbalance it. Of the non-Australians signed I see only Albasini, Langeveld and Weening with Teklehaimanot in the future as adding something to the squad. There rest seem to be good riders but are not needed in the GE squad.

Question is what did they have left in the budget after signing the needed allocation of aussies too meet the goal of 75% or whatever it was. By setting a definative number of aussies they instantly pushed up riders bargaining power and may have set a rod for their own back going forward.Why not just say that the team will have "a very strong Australian flavour" okay they could aim for 75% but the riders wouldnt know they need 22 aussies.

ps damn someone beat me too it.... Cam Meyer will be a surprise climber sooner or later

 

[Midnightfright]

If GE were football team they would be Blackburn. There I said we everyone else was thinking.

 

[User Guide]

If GE were football team they would be Blackburn. There I said we everyone else was thinking.

Bit harsh..................... on Blackburn

 

[Tuarts]

I think Bobridge has more potential to masquarade as a climber personally. We wont be seeing him or Cam do anything until 2013.

People are right, you can't excuse this team. they're recruiting sprinters to back up the sprinters who are back up sprinters.

Also, whilst this seems to be a reverse-Beppu (rider announcing rather than someon econnected to the team), it's still not official yet.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Question is what did they have left in the budget after signing the needed allocation of aussies too meet the goal of 75% or whatever it was. By setting a definative number of aussies they instantly pushed up riders bargaining power and may have set a rod for their own back going forward.Why not just say that the team will have "a very strong Australian flavour" okay they could aim for 75% but the riders wouldnt know they need 22 aussies.

ps damn someone beat me too it.... Cam Meyer will be a surprise climber sooner or later

they are making the same mistakes that sky did imo.


regarding meyer, he could become a very good climber but I think Travis could be a better climber than Cam. I am not entirely convinced how good either of them will be until they bring some results to the table.

 

[Anonymous]

Its annoying. I was looking forward to another top tier team joining the ranks, to at least spice up the competition.

With the budgets that have been implied, there really is no excuse.

B.B.B.But....the website says

"Introducing Green Edge Cycling, an exciting new concept in international cycling. The Green Edge model will change the sport of cycling forever with an influence and contribution that extends well beyond professional cycling"

They are going to change the sport. Gone is the "True racing" of 2011, and the "Thin blue line" of 2010, this time its serious.

On a side note, when i mentioned the 75% thing a few pages I was told I was talking rubbish by the aussies and that only about 60% of the riders would be Australian, based on the list of definate transfers from Rupert Guinness or someone.

 

[Midnightfright]

they are making the same mistakes that sky did imo.


regarding meyer, he could become a very good climber but I think Travis could be a better climber than Cam. I am not entirely convinced how good either of them will be until they bring some results to the table.

Agree if anything they are taking it even further. It's no surprise that Sky started to get more succesful as they moves away from that.

 

[Anonymous]

they are making the same mistakes that sky did imo.

In what way.. Yes maybe Sky paid over the odds for Wiggins based on one Tour de France but they needed a marque rider in the same way that Greenedge wanted Goss.

But as far as the rest went, Sky had a better balance with some climbers, Cioni, Possoni, Lofkvist, Froome, Augustyn etc. On reflection, yes they needed stronger climbers and brought in Uran, and Zandio, but I think the initial Sky squad was a lot more balanced than the GE one which is basically a track team.

If GE were football team they would be Blackburn. There I said we everyone else was thinking.

I was thinking more Newcastle. Get promoted amongst lots of pomp and celebration, promise some great signings and to be challenging for wins, and in the end just buy a bunch of overpriced journeymen and kids and narrowly avoid relegation.

 

[Anonymous]

If GE were football team they would be Blackburn. There I said we everyone else was thinking.

I was thinking more Newcastle. Get promoted amongst lots of pomp and celebration, promise some great signings and to be challenging for wins, and in the end just buy a bunch of overpriced journeymen and kids and narrowly avoid relegation.

 

[Midnightfright]

In what way.. Yes maybe Sky paid over the odds for Wiggins based on one Tour de France but they needed a marque rider in the same way that Greenedge wanted Goss.

But as far as the rest went, Sky had a better balance with some climbers, Cioni, Possoni, Lofkvist, Froome, Augustyn etc. On reflection, yes they needed stronger climbers and brought in Uran, and Zandio, but I think the initial Sky squad was a lot more balanced than the GE one which is basically a track team.



I was thinking more Newcastle. Get promoted amongst lots of pomp and celebration, promise some great signings and to be challenging for wins, and in the end just buy a bunch of overpriced journeymen and kids and narrowly avoid relegation.

Well as a Newcastle fan u would never say that. Altough u are completly right in there assesment. Altough were having a good start too the season. A very un-Newcastle start to the season.

 

[briztoon]

I was thinking more Newcastle. Get promoted amongst lots of pomp and celebration, promise some great signings and to be challenging for wins, and in the end just buy a bunch of overpriced journeymen and kids and narrowly avoid relegation.

Oi! We're not owned by fat freddie anymore, find a more apt team for your analogy. We're owned by a bloody cockney charver, er I mean lahndahn market trader nowa days. Fat Ash rarely pays up for a player these days. Atleast we're not managed 'appy 'arry.

 

[auscyclefan94]

In what way.. Yes maybe Sky paid over the odds for Wiggins based on one Tour de France but they needed a marque rider in the same way that Greenedge wanted Goss.

.

All the nationalistic bull**** that came from sky (especially Brailsford) regarding how they were going to 'revolutionise' cycling and all the talk about getting certain results. I wasn't talking about the squad.

 

[Anonymous]

Well as a Newcastle fan u would never say that. Altough u are completly right in there assesment. Altough were having a good start too the season. A very un-Newcastle start to the season.

So a couple of stage wins in the Tour down Under, an overall win in Oman getting everyones hopes up, before having a terrible spring classics campaign, and slowly sliding out of sight.

Yup. Sounds like Newcastle.

 

[auscyclefan94]

So a couple of stage wins in the Tour down Under, an overall win in Oman getting everyones hopes up, before having a terrible spring classics campaign, and slowly sliding out of sight.

Yup. Sounds like Newcastle.

well if you look at greenedge's riders seasons in 2010 compared to sky's riders, greenedge would have more classics winners. Sky's best classics rider, JAF was beaten by Sebastien Langeveld and Matt Goss won MSR on a day sky failed. You have Chriss Sutton winning Kuurne Brussels Kuurne. Bravo!

 

[ingsve]

The problem with their approach beyond the fact that they will be invisible in a lot of big races in the year is that the thing they are focusing specifically on (bunch sprints) is a thing that a lot of cycling fans hate and want to see less rather than more of. They are doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

 

[Anonymous]

well if you look at greenedge's riders seasons in 2010 compared to sky's riders, greenedge would have more classics winners. Sky's best classics rider, JAF was beaten by Sebastien Langeveld and Matt Goss won MSR on a day sky failed. You have Chriss Sutton winning Kuurne Brussels Kuurne. Bravo!

So are we having a Sky v Greenedge in the classics poll, or a Sky v Greenedge v Garmin wins poll?

 

[luckyboy]

At least Newcastle have some cool players and are pretty unpredictable.

Also maybe it would be a better idea to use teams who have riders who will challenge in Spring

 

[PCutter]

So are we having a Sky v Greenedge in the classics poll, or a Sky v Greenedge v Garmin wins poll?

In fairness, GE should be allowed to get a season under their belt (as Sky have) before you add them to that poll. Then yep, bring it on. Garmin will be cactus in the classics anyway not sure JV's quote of "takes>gives" holds much water given his team announcements.

 

[PCutter]

And on the football front, GE's team is like Australia...we're upstarts but we'll probably still win the World Cup before England does