Its own thread; Contador to stay with Astana

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craig1985

craig1985

May 6, 2009
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luckyboy said:
To be fair, most national fed's are more lenient on their own riders (Ricco as an example)




They're getting that French guy who ran Festina after 98 now (on the UCI's advice). That probably helped curry favour.
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At least Ricco named names. That is the one thing I will give him.
 
Alpe d'Huez

Alpe d'Huez

Mar 11, 2009
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thehog said:
If he remains with Astana, as current conditions indicate, his problem will be to count on a solid team to defend him in the Tour
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So you're saying it will be similar to this year.

Hugh Januss said:
If so that can only help Vino, as Contador has learned from the best.
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So did Landis, Hamilton, Heras, Beltran...

bianchigirl said:
Do GeriShack not realise that all Contador has to do is stick to Armstrong's wheel like a limpet and then drop him like a bad smell on the climbs?
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RS seems to think it's 2002. Except Armstrong isn't Contador's biggest threat next year, by far. But you knew that.
 
thehog

thehog

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Jul 27, 2009
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Alberto returns to Madrid tomorrow, hoping to resolve remaining uncertainties about his future as soon as possible. “The first thing to know is what the UCI rules about Astana and, in the event that they keep the ProTour license, we’ll have to sit down and renegotiate my contract. But even in that case, not everything will be decided yet.”

After a week’s stay in the Caribbean, Contador says he’s spent a “wonderful holiday, that’s given me a chance to unwind and rest so I can go back to Spain fresh, because on Saturday and Sunday there are two criteriums waiting for me, in Oviedo and Alcobendas,” he concluded.
 
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bianchigirl

Mar 18, 2009
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And we all know how well Contador does when he's just back from the beach.

McBent wants to watch it - his beloved US audience might lap up the anti-Contador bias but he's doing sod all to build a credible wider audience for cycling after Armstrong. He should be bigging up the new, young stars instead of dragging the sport ever backwards and handing out PT status like confetti to teams and races that will do nothing to build that credible, long term audience.
 
The_Z_man

The_Z_man

Jul 10, 2009
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Dr. Maserati said:
Just to put this in perspective - Bbox Telecom have a sound financial footing, full roster, proper management team, absolutely no whiff of scandal or any violations of the ethical code, achieve results in line - or better - then their financial clout and get kicked to the kerb.

Astana - the KCF have the licence (the same KCF that gave Vino a 1 year sanction that the UCI had to go to CAS and get extended), did not pay their riders throughout the season, have dubious financial guarantees, have 12 riders, are hiring Martinello as DS.... and the UCI is still considering their inclusion?
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The whole situation this year has been highly suspect from the start. This is the same governing body that also is giving a team with no results last year a ProTour license this year. They kicked BBox to the curb (US spelling) for The Shack, a brand new team. Not only that, but they also gave them the license for 4 years, when anyone who knows anything about the sport can see that there's no way the team lasts that long.

Maybe Pat figured that BBox could buy The Shack's license when they bail after next year.
 
BroDeal

BroDeal

Mar 18, 2009
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The_Z_man said:
The whole situation this year has been highly suspect from the start. This is the same governing body that also is giving a team with no results last year a ProTour license this year. They kicked BBox to the curb (US spelling) for The Shack, a brand new team. Not only that, but they also gave them the license for 4 years, when anyone who knows anything about the sport can see that there's no way the team lasts that long.
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Worse is that one of the purposes of the ProTour was to decrease risk for sponsors by creating a system where teams are assured they will race the big events. The antics of this year, with teams unceremoniously thrown out of the ProTour to make room for new teams, destroys one of the ProTour's supposed benefits.
 
J

jpmcmahonjr

Jul 27, 2009
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Publicus said:
I can't believe they screwed that up. He's out...:D:D:D
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With that rule in place it would seem that any rider on the five teams is free to negotiate now. All riders on Caisse, Euskatel, Astana, Saxo and Sky.

This "could" get real interesting. It would seem Zubeldia is free to move over the Radio Shack as well now.

Lots of crazy going on here. Astana is truely amazing after all of this to allow this to happen. But, in all honesty who here is truely blown away with their decision making.
 
scribe

scribe

Jul 22, 2009
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Kiss Astana goodbye as a team.

How much you wanna bet Contador comes out to the press that he cried when he heard the news? His long personal nightmare is over (for '09).
 
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richwagmn

Jun 18, 2009
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Wow, stunning news. I really thought Astana would get renewed.

Contador to Garmin IMO. Wiggins off to sky.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
richwagmn said:
Wow, stunning news. I really thought Astana would get renewed.

Contador to Garmin IMO. Wiggins off to sky.
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I will laugh my a$$ off if Contador goes to QS and Wiggins goes to Sky just because they worked so hard to bring Contador in.
 
C

Cerberus

Aug 6, 2009
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jpmcmahonjr said:
With that rule in place it would seem that any rider on the five teams is free to negotiate now. All riders on Caisse, Euskatel, Astana, Saxo and Sky.

This "could" get real interesting. It would seem Zubeldia is free to move over the Radio Shack as well now.
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A bit interesting what happens to the other teams on the list. Clearly it's not as catastrophic as for Astana, but it could be an issue. Still I'm inclined to take the lack of chatter about that possibility to mean it won't be an issue, at least not a major one.
 
M

Mellow Velo

Mar 11, 2009
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Cerberus said:
A bit interesting what happens to the other teams on the list. Clearly it's not as catastrophic as for Astana, but it could be an issue. Still I'm inclined to take the lack of chatter about that possibility to mean it won't be an issue, at least not a major one.
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+1
As mentioned in the transfer rumours thread. Depends upon when contracts were signed. While this option is available with new contracts, (July on) it looks as if it doesn't apply to multi-year contracts that are ongoing.

I would have thought Zubeldia's move would already have been announced, if it were as straightforward as folks are speculating.
 
thehog

thehog

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Jul 27, 2009
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Alberto’s agent and brother, Fran Contador, stated that he will study the case with his lawyers. “If this clause exists, we must look at the options that it offers,” he told Spanish sports journal as.com.

Before learning of this vein of the issue, reports the Spanish paper, Fran Contador contemplated approaching Astana: “Soon we’re going to have a meeting with the Kazakh directors so that they can tell us what their project will be for next year. Then, we’ll decide what’s best for Alberto.”

Astana doesn’t appear on the first list of thirteen ProTour teams issued by the UCI yesterday. Owing to a bureaucratic problem, the team has currently not met “the necessary administrative and financial criteria.”

Caisse d’Epargne, Euskaltel, Saxo Bank and the new British team Sky are in the same position, and the UCI has given these five teams an extension until November 20 to complete documentation. Yvon Sanquer, the new manager of Astana, was at UCI headquarters yesterday and left happy: “The UCI has guaranteed me that we will be ProTour.”
 
R

RdBiker

May 26, 2009
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Thoughtforfood said:
I will laugh my a$$ off if Contador goes to QS and Wiggins goes to Sky just because they worked so hard to bring Contador in.
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And I'll laugh my as$ off if Astana loses Contador and doesn't get any compensation when last week they could've sold him for 2 million to Caisse :D
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
RdBiker said:
And I'll laugh my as$ off if Astana loses Contador and doesn't get any compensation when last week they could've sold him for 2 million to Caisse :D
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That too would be funny, but the reality is that without Contador, they are a losing bet even for the government of Kazakhstan. That 2 million won't even come close to making up any of the loss. They are probably a loser even with him on the team, but without, they shouldn't even be Pro Tour.
 
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