[Green Edge] Shayne Bannan, Gerry Ryan and an Aussie Pro Team for 2012?

[auscyclefan94]

Who are the 10 sprinters?
Who are the 3 cobbled riders?
Who are the 2 puncheurs?

Sprinters
Mitch Docker (Skil-Shimano)
Julian Dean (NZ/Garmin-Cervelo)
Aidis Kruopis (Landbouwkrediet)
Allan Davis (Astana)
Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad)
Robbie McEwen (Radioshack)
Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad)
Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank-SunGard)
Tomas Vaitkus (Neth/Astana)

Leadouts/Domestiques
Brett Lancaster (Garmin-Cervelo)
Stuart O’Grady (LeOpard)
Jens Mouris (Neth/Vacansoleil)
Jack Bobridge (Garmin-Cervelo)
Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo
Svein Tuft (Canada/Spidertech)
Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis)
Matt Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo)

Hilly Races
Simon Gerrans (Sky)
Simon Clarke (Astana)
Wesley Sulzberger (FDJ)
Travis Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
Pieter Weening (Neth/Rabobank)
Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
Michael Albasini (HTC)

Cobbled Races
Stuart O’Grady (LeOpard)
Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis)
Sebastian Langeveld (Neth/Rabobank)
Tomas Vaitkus (Neth/Astana)

I have been generous with some of my categorisations.

 

[LukeSchmid]

How many Ardennes top10 does Gerrans have? Clarke has a number of top10s in hilly classics this year, I think Albasini has shown something there before.

The team will be fine there, and no worse than any of the teams that sat by and watched Gilbert make fun of Frandy this year.

Albasini has twice made top 10 in FW.

 

[LukeSchmid]

Sprinters
Mitch Docker (Skil-Shimano)
Julian Dean (NZ/Garmin-Cervelo)
Aidis Kruopis (Landbouwkrediet)
Allan Davis (Astana)
Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad)
Robbie McEwen (Radioshack)
Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad)
Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank-SunGard)
Tomas Vaitkus (Neth/Astana)

Thats 9, but you don't have Beppu who ingsve has and at a real push could be discribed as a sprinter as he has sometimes contested them, but never wins.

Leadouts/Domestiques
Brett Lancaster (Garmin-Cervelo)
Stuart O’Grady (LeOpard)
Jens Mouris (Neth/Vacansoleil)
Jack Bobridge (Garmin-Cervelo)
Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo
Svein Tuft (Canada/Spidertech)
Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis)
Matt Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo)

How can you not have Julien Dean in a list of leadout men?

Hilly Races
Simon Gerrans (Sky)
Simon Clarke (Astana)
Wesley Sulzberger (FDJ)
Travis Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)
Pieter Weening (Neth/Rabobank)
Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo)

Teklehaimanot as well, he has got at least as much chance as the Meyers.

Cobbled Races
Stuart O’Grady (LeOpard)
Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis)
Sebastian Langeveld (Neth/Rabobank)
Tomas Vaitkus (Neth/Astana)

I have been generous with some of my categorisations.

No Mitch Docker, he did dinish 15th at Paris-Roubaix, Cooke as well.

 

[hatcher]

Gerrans, Clarke, Albasini. That's okay for the hilly races.

Obviously they'd like someone who could contend in the big stage races, but only if they can get a good one. There is no point getting token top 10 challengers imo. Why look for 14th on mountain stages, when you can put the extra rider into helping your sprinters/best chance of a win?

Again, I think the above 3 (plus the likes of Weening, and sometimes Cam Meyer) can do better in the big stages than they're getting credit for. Not top 10 in a GT, but better than the average climber/stage racer they could have got.

Albasini for example, overall results in stage races the last three years:

Tirreno: 14th
Bayern-Rundfahrt: 3rd
Tour de Pologne: 4th
Tour of Britain: 1st
Tour of Austria: 1st
Volta a Catalunya: 11th
Tour de Suisse: 11th

That's not bad at all. And that was riding for HTC.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Thats 9, but you don't have Beppu who ingsve has and at a real push could be discribed as a sprinter as he has sometimes contested them, but never wins.

How can you not have Julien Dean in a list of leadout men?

Teklehaimanot as well, he has got at least as much chance as the Meyers.

No Mitch Docker, he did dinish 15th at Paris-Roubaix, Cooke as well.

I agree with you regarding Dean. Probably should of put him in leadout as well. What results has Beppu got in a sprint? The Meyers have a much better chance than Teklehaimanot. It will take Teklehaimanot a few years to really develop into a rider in the pro scene. I am a little 'iffy' about Docker. His result in Roubaix came from a large breakaway. Same with Cooke.

 

[just some guy]

Cooke will be Greenedge best placed finisher for P-R if he starts fit

 

[LukeSchmid]

I agree with you regarding Dean. Probably should of put him in leadout as well. What results has Beppu got in a sprint? The Meyers have a much better chance than Teklehaimanot. It will take Teklehaimanot a few years to really develop into a rider in the pro scene. I am a little 'iffy' about Docker. His result in Roubaix came from a large breakaway. Same with Cooke.

Beppu has no real results in a sprint, as I said he never wins, but he appears to try and sprint occasionally.
You might be right about Teklehaimanot, most probably are, but he might surprise.

Edit: Cooke finished 17th in Paris - Roubaix and 21st in Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2006 and has some okay results in smaller cobbled races so this year was not his first okay finish.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Cooke will be Greenedge best placed finisher for P-R if he starts fit

Over Langeveld and/or O'Grady? Doubt it!

 

[craig1985]

I'm sorry Libertine, how is GreenEDGE who want a majority of Australian riders any different from Euskaltel Euskadi or Athletic Bilbao who both have a Basque-only policy (or in the case of Samu, rode there in the EE feeder teams as a U/23, the same applies for Athletic Bilbao if somebody who is born in a different part of Spain, but grew up in the region and joined their various junior set-ups)? They're an Australian team, I don't see how there is anything wrong in wanting to have a majority from their own country.

Not that I agree with some of their signings, I don't see what Tuft has to offer compared to Bobridge or the Meyer brothers, and look to see and get some decent riders who are looking for spots after the Radio Shack - Leopard Trek merger, Thomas Rohregger for one.

 

[just some guy]

Over Langeveld and/or O'Grady? Doubt it!

Want to bet ?

A certain returning Movistar rider as an Avatar for the rest of the 2012 season.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Want to bet ?

A certain returning Movistar rider as an Avatar for the rest of the 2012 season.

I couldn't live with myself if I had to use that picture as my avatar. Having a guy who can't stay on his bike and can't tt (Gesink) as an avatar for a month was bad enough!

 

[LukeSchmid]

Over Langeveld and/or O'Grady? Doubt it!

He beat both of them this year. Cooke did finish behind Docker and Vaitkus though.

 

[auscyclefan94]

He beat both of them this year. Cooke did finish behind Docker and Vaitkus though.

He was in the breakaway that nobody wanted to chase.

 

[Sydney21]

I agree with you regarding Dean. Probably should of put him in leadout as well. What results has Beppu got in a sprint? The Meyers have a much better chance than Teklehaimanot. It will take Teklehaimanot a few years to really develop into a rider in the pro scene. I am a little 'iffy' about Docker. His result in Roubaix came from a large breakaway. Same with Cooke.

I dont think anyone can say in a race like flanders and Roubaix that X will beat Y because so much can happen. Bear in mind Cooke would have done much better at Roubaix this year had his pedal not snapped while he was in that Break.

Docker also was 6th or so in Gent-Wevelgem and has been a protagonist in Roubaix for the last 2 seasons if my memory serves me correctly. He certainly warrants status as a cobbled rider who can also ride well in the hills too. Beppu is more a domestique than a sprinter in my eyes.

Not that I agree with some of their signings, I don't see what Tuft has to offer compared to Bobridge or the Meyer brothers, and look to see and get some decent riders who are looking for spots after the Radio Shack - Leopard Trek merger, Thomas Rohregger for one.

I tend to agree with this. Riders like Mouris and Wilson would go before Tuft for me though. I'd be looking to balance the team a bit with riders like Rohregger, Lloyd, Feillu or even guys like Crawford, Tanner, Meier, Augustyn, Norris or Parker just to add another dimension. They have signed a bunch of foreigners who have saturated the role which Aussies are well suited to. They will have a solid team for the cobbles and the sprints and the hills but i'm afraid that we will barely see them much at all in the mountain stages throughout the season.

I feel like ive posted this so many times before... like after every signing we all repeat the same whinge when we pretty much know our wishes won't be fulfilled for this year atleast.

 

[boomcie]

I really don't want to stir up emotions, but is it just me or does this look like a terrible team?

All these second and third tier sprinters are making my head spin.

Don't flame me please.

 

[hatcher]

I'm just glad someone finally said it.

 

[Midnightfright]

Want to bet ?

A certain returning Movistar rider as an Avatar for the rest of the 2012 season.

Well altough ACF was reluctant to take this bet I certainly wouldn't be. Sounds like a steal. Cooke to finish ahead of Langveld and Ogrady. No chance.

 

[just some guy]

Well altough ACF was reluctant to take this bet I certainly wouldn't be. Sounds like a steal. Cooke to finish ahead of Langveld and Ogrady. No chance.

we can work on the bet picture I know ACF has a dislike for him, but sure I will take the bet

 

[Midnightfright]

Sounds good. I will PM u some of the riders I have less of a liking for shall we say. And I can't say I know of the top of my head any riders you dislike so I not of assistance would be helpful.

 

[ingsve]

I really don't want to stir up emotions, but is it just me or does this look like a terrible team?

All these second and third tier sprinters are making my head spin.

Don't flame me please.

Well, that depends on what you mean by terrible. They'll probably be good at what they set out to be good at which is sprints. I'm sure they'll end up with lots and lots of wins in races like Qatar, Ster Elektrotour, Bayerns Rundfahrt, Tour of Denmark, and even some from Eneco Tour and Tour Down Under. That's more than some other teams manage to do. On top of that their top riders like Goss will probably be competitive in bigger races and GT stages but the bulk of their wins will be stages in 2.1 race I imagine.

 

[User Guide]

Any word of a sponsor yet?

 

[Andy99]

Any word of a sponsor yet?

My guess is that if there is one in the pipeline, it will be conditional on the achievement of WT status, hence nothing has been named to date.

 

[Anonymous]

My guess is that if there is one in the pipeline, it will be conditional on the achievement of WT status, hence nothing has been named to date.

Going to be interesting how this pans out. Yes the UCI want them to get a WT place but its not all down to them. Deloitte the auditors also have a say, and with the pegasus fiasco, and then leopard coming in with no sponsors and a year later having to merge, I can imagine that a team will need to show something more than just private funds.

 

[sublimit]

Not that I agree with some of their signings, I don't see what Tuft has to offer compared to Bobridge or the Meyer brothers, and look to see and get some decent riders who are looking for spots after the Radio Shack - Leopard Trek merger, Thomas Rohregger for one.

I've never been impressed with Tuft as he usually gets slaughtered by the top riders in the ITT's. What happening with Durbridge and Hepburn? thats the sort of rider they should be picking up.

And clearly some climbing power required.

 

[Ferminal]

I can imagine that a team will need to show something more than just private funds.

Hasn't stopped teams in the past, unless it's somewhere in the regulations it would be a bit unfair to change it after a group has put 2 years into working its way into the system as things are.