if Conti goes to quickstep, what happens to boonen?

[auscyclefan94]

Just wondering with the tdf, if conti goes QST, what happens to bonnen's sprint ambitions?

 

[L29205]

Just wondering with the tdf, if conti goes QST, what happens to bonnen's sprint ambitions?

Nothing, you only need a couple of lead out sprinters but they can be multifunctional like Hincapie. Gives them a chance to get out of the world of we need stage wins to keep a sponsor if he does sign.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Nothing, you only need a couple of lead out sprinters but they can be multifunctional like Hincapie. Gives them a chance to get out of the world of we need stage wins to keep a sponsor if he does sign.

Conti wants sole leadership.

 

[Publicus]

Conti wants sole leadership.

How realistic is it that Boonen can compete with Thor, Cav and Farrar in the sprints? Seems to me that he is a Classics man through and through, so there
wouldn't seem to be much of an issue.

 

[auscyclefan94]

How realistic is it that Boonen can compete with Thor, Cav and Farrar in the sprints? Seems to me that he is a Classics man through and through, so there
wouldn't seem to be much of an issue.

don't write off boonen in a sprint (though 90% of time farrar and cav would beat him) and he definetly could contend and win the green jersey

 

[Publicus]

don't write off boonen in a sprint (though 90% of time farrar and cav would beat him) and he definetly could contend and win the green jersey

Well let's do the math, he only has a 10% chance to bet three of the top sprinters. And what are AC's odd's to wear and win the yellow jersey? I would say it is considerably higher than 10%, perhaps approaching 50% or 66%. If you are a sponsor, wouldn't your dollars be better spent on AC? At the end of the day, wins are what sponsors are looking for and AC seems much more reliable in that regard than Boonen.

 

[craig1985]

Boonen got the better of Cavendish at Qatar, he's not a complete hack yet. But yeah, he is the best guy in the world when it comes to the cobbles.

 

[badboyberty]

Boonen may be happy to get out of having to ride the Tour and gettng to concentrate on the Classics instead. Didn't seem that he was that keen actually to be at le Tour this year. He could go hard from January through to the start of summer, maybe practice his TT at the Dauphine, then take a break till late August and then build up some form for the Worlds and the Autumn classics.

Contador can then focus on being a one trick pony in July without any pressure for the rest of the season as looking after the sponsors in Spring and Autumn will be Boonen's responsibilty.

Boonen's biggest challenge will be not partying to hard in Summer...

 

[usedtobefast]

Boonen got the better of Cavendish at Qatar, he's not a complete hack yet. But yeah, he is the best guy in the world when it comes to the cobbles.

yeah, i think he has gone through a period that should enlighten him in a lot of
ways. he won P-R in a 3 up sprint(those other guys were pretty good). then
partied too hard(again).he should have several more years at the top if he
gets his discipline back.he is a badssa on the bike when he is going right.
i would love to see him crush cav in a sprint. or msr.

 

[Publicus]

yeah, i think he has gone through a period that should enlighten him in a lot of
ways. he won P-R in a 3 up sprint(those other guys were pretty good). then
partied too hard(again).he should have several more years at the top if he
gets his discipline back.he is a badssa on the bike when he is going right.
i would love to see him crush cav in a sprint. or msr.

I think that's really the threshold question. Which Boonen are we talking about? The Badass or the Coke-head?

 

[auscyclefan94]

Well let's do the math, he only has a 10% chance to bet three of the top sprinters. And what are AC's odd's to wear and win the yellow jersey? I would say it is considerably higher than 10%, perhaps approaching 50% or 66%. If you are a sponsor, wouldn't your dollars be better spent on AC? At the end of the day, wins are what sponsors are looking for and AC seems much more reliable in that regard than Boonen.

True but it is a belgian team with belgian sponsors.

Boonen may be happy to get out of having to ride the Tour and gettng to concentrate on the Classics instead. Didn't seem that he was that keen actually to be at le Tour this year. He could go hard from January through to the start of summer, maybe practice his TT at the Dauphine, then take a break till late August and then build up some form for the Worlds and the Autumn classics.

Contador can then focus on being a one trick pony in July without any pressure for the rest of the season as looking after the sponsors in Spring and Autumn will be Boonen's responsibilty.

Boonen's biggest challenge will be not partying to hard in Summer...

Bonnen wasn't near his best at the tour this year. He had the cocaine case which would of been draining plus he crashed plus i think he had a stomach virus.

 

[Andrichuk]

Plus he got forced to go into the car lane to avoid a crash another sprint.

He by far had the worst luck out of any rider at the Tour.

 

[Glockers]

You leave boonen to the classics and take a team based around Contador, though I would suggest next year taking Allan Davis who can sprint but is better suited to grand tours. Davis won't even need a lead out train, thus he wouldn't take resources off Contador. Plus Davis isn't a hack in the mountains (remember Armstrong and Beloki chasing him down in the Pyrennes), so he could be a minor helper there on the lower Cols and Alps before the later support.

 

[ak-zaaf]

According to Quick Step Boonen in the tour is worth 3 million euros in advertising. He's going.

 

[unsheath]

activate his get out clause and move over to OPL.

 

[craig1985]

According to Quick Step Boonen in the tour is worth 3 million euros in advertising. He's going.

Are we any closer to finding out if Contador is going to QSI, or staying at Astana? What is the most likely? I don't know about anybody else, but I find it a bit concerning whether or not Contador is coming or going with regards to Astana.

 

[sida-mot]

I don't think Boonen would mind. He might feel pretty good going into a tour without any pressure other than helping his captain and try to win if he has the legs for it.

He doesn't seem that interested in stage wins at the tdf these days. I don't see him as a sprinter anymore and I doubt that he will focus on becoming one again. Didn't he say something about wanting to improve his TT ability?

 

[Anonymous]

Boonen may be happy to get out of having to ride the Tour and gettng to concentrate on the Classics instead. Didn't seem that he was that keen actually to be at le Tour this year. He could go hard from January through to the start of summer, maybe practice his TT at the Dauphine, then take a break till late August and then build up some form for the Worlds and the Autumn classics.

Contador can then focus on being a one trick pony in July without any pressure for the rest of the season as looking after the sponsors in Spring and Autumn will be Boonen's responsibilty.

I think you're right on this one. Boonen is a classics man, and can spend his season hunting down the cobble crusaders, enjoy the summer at home, and recharge for an autumn assault!!

Especially with Cav, Pettachi, Thor and Farrar fighting in next year's tour, with full (or half full) team support, I can't see Boonen even coming close to the green, unless he breaks away every stage for 3 weeks.

He talked lately of improving his TT's (as you suggested) and wasn't he even saying that he wants to head to the velodrome in London 2010?

According to Quick Step Boonen in the tour is worth 3 million euros in advertising. He's going.

Given the amounts of money being talked about contador, it would be interesting to see what Lefevre says Conti is worth for one tour appearance (and win)... I suggest more than Boonen, given how keen Lefevre seems to want to get AC

........

anyways, on a side note, I don't believe that Conti would choose Quickstep over Caisse or Garmin, but it would be interesting to see him race for them.. I also have a strange feeling he's staying at astana, but i guess we will find out soon!

 

[Cogombre]

Are we any closer to finding out if Contador is going to QSI, or staying at Astana? What is the most likely? I don't know about anybody else, but I find it a bit concerning whether or not Contador is coming or going with regards to Astana.

His brother Fran says that it's very likely that he'll stay in Astana.

Anyway, I don't see any problem with Contador and Boonen both in the Tour team, if Contador finally signs with QS. It'd be a problem only if Boonen's goal was to win the Tour, but as it isn't, I think that they could easily be in the Tour, with Boonen fighting to get a stage win, and the helping Contador if needed. With Contador in the team there wouldn't be that need of a stage win, so Boonen wouldn't have all the pressure on him. It could even be beneficial for Tom.

 

[filipo]

Plus he got forced to go into the car lane to avoid a crash another sprint.

He by far had the worst luck out of any rider at the Tour.

I think Jens Voigt might argue with you on that one.

 

[craig1985]

activate his get out clause and move over to OPL.

He doesn't have one. If he did, he would be a Caisse or QSI rider by now. Then again, there would be nothing to stop Astana putting at 35m euros for example.

 

[ggusta]

His brother Fran says that it's very likely that he'll stay in Astana.

Anyway, I don't see any problem with Contador and Boonen both in the Tour team, if Contador finally signs with QS. It'd be a problem only if Boonen's goal was to win the Tour, but as it isn't, I think that they could easily be in the Tour, with Boonen fighting to get a stage win, and the helping Contador if needed. With Contador in the team there wouldn't be that need of a stage win, so Boonen wouldn't have all the pressure on him. It could even be beneficial for Tom.

All of this talk about these amounts of money and Fran as his rep makes me worry for AC. What is Fran's expertise? I sure hope that AC gets whatever money they promise him either up front or in escrow in a major european bank (spelled H-O-N-E-S-T) bank. Trust is a concept that seems alien to Astana and its financial backers.

If I was AC, I'd be concerned about my brother setting me up for a huge disappointment through his incompetence in these complex contractual matters.

 

[hfer07]

Just wondering with the tdf, if conti goes QST, what happens to bonnen's sprint ambitions?

As far as his performance goes--his days as as "pure Sprinter" are long go.
If Berto joins QST, Boonen would be celebrating-- he needed only to worry about himself for the Classics and let the rest of the roster work their tails off for the Spaniard..

 

[Publicus]

All of this talk about these amounts of money and Fran as his rep makes me worry for AC. What is Fran's expertise? I sure hope that AC gets whatever money they promise him either up front or in escrow in a major european bank (spelled H-O-N-E-S-T) bank. Trust is a concept that seems alien to Astana and its financial backers.

If I was AC, I'd be concerned about my brother setting me up for a huge disappointment through his incompetence in these complex contractual matters.

I think he has lawyers who handle the actual papering of the transactions/agreement. Fran may be the principal business person. At least that's how it typically works in my business dealings. The business folks layout the terms and the lawyers put it into contract language.

 

[Angliru]

I read somewhere that Fran has an advanced or graduate degree in Economics but as was stated it's quite likely that Contador (Alberto) has actual legal representation. Fran is simply his representative/manager and it appears his spokesperson to the media when needed.