le Tour team thread

[Parrulo]

Where the hell is the giant stick man with the Cobble.

JV what the hell have you done better be a good reason.

indeed. VSM deserves this tour spot. he is great on the flat decent on the time trial and not that bad of a climber. he is the domestique every1 would love to have. and he won roubaix which was garmin's biggest win like ever? JV should show him some more respect imho

i really hope there is a very strong reason for this

 

[hrotha]

To be perfectly honest, Vansummeren has done zilch since Roubaix. Maybe he's just not in form and they decided it'd be best if he skipped the Tour. No drama involved, necessarily.

 

[Parrulo]

To be perfectly honest, Vansummeren has done zilch since Roubaix. Maybe he's just not in form and they decided it'd be best if he skipped the Tour. No drama involved, necessarily.

ya i think it might be that and thats ok. but if that isn't the reason and he is indeed in good form it is a bit unfair. thats what i was trying to say.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

lol at the CN article tho
Veterans joined by Danielson, Navardauskas

Yes, because Danielson is a spring chicken??

 

[William H]

lol at the CN article tho
Veterans joined by Danielson, Navardauskas

Yes, because Danielson is a spring chicken??

I think they're referring to Danielson never having ridden the Tour?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Ah yes.

But it's still weird, veterans and Danielson, who is 30+ himself...

 

[hrotha]

Ah yes.

But it's still weird, veterans and Danielson, who is 30+ himself...

He's the officer who's spent the whole war behind a desk and finally gets to take part in a mission in the closing months of the war. Genre conventions specify he gets killed.

 

[just some guy]

twitter folk is this happening to all teams ?

Brent Bookwalter
The #TDF circus begins a day early... flights for just about every rider on our team are already cancelled for tomorrow!
51 minutes ago

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

indeed. VSM deserves this tour spot. he is great on the flat decent on the time trial and not that bad of a climber. he is the domestique every1 would love to have. and he won roubaix which was garmin's biggest win like ever?

Their biggest win by miles. After that you are talking about which of the Tour of Poland, a Giro stage, Tre Valli or whatever is in second. They rack up a large number of small or medium size wins, but they have nothing even close to Roubaix.

On the face of it, Martin being left out is easier to explain. Garmin are going to be badly stretched to chase three distinct goals in the Tour, a GC top 10, sprint stages and the TTT. Martin could reasonably be seen as a luxury in those circumstances. He's not going to be of much assistance in the TTT or in working for the sprinters. He hasn't yet shown that he can be consistent in a three week race, so he might have a few off days and not be able to work for their GC men in the mountains as well as someone who has shown the ability to ride a full GT well. They weren't going to rest their GC hopes on him for the same reason. They'd essentially be bringing him along to stage hunt. He'd be a big asset to most teams, but most teams haven't already split their priorities so many ways.

Vansummeren, on the other hand, is as useful an all round domestique as you could wish for. Navardauskas is there to do the same job. He's a promising young talent, and he just won his national road race and came second in the TT so he's in form, but they can hardly be as sure that he's capable of doing endless donkey work for three weeks as they are of Vansummeren. I think that the people suggesting above that there must be a form issue are probably right.

 

[Publicus]

No, never mind abilities (unless you are reffering to 'recovery) as Riis is fine DS but I was more reffering to recovery and getting read for the giro. Other than stuffing up the gear change I hardly see Andy as mentally fragile.

btw, Nygaard is the general manager and press officer at Leopard.

Thanks for the clarification on Nygaard who occupies the same position as Riis--General Manager. As for Andy being mentally fragile, that's just my read on him, since he tends to try to puff himself up in his interviews and frankly can't be bothered to focus beyond 4 weeks a year. The fact he can't shift his bike under pressure and otherwise looks lost sometimes, is just a symptom of that larger problem. Just my opinion though. He could be tough as nails. Especially when he gets that fire in his belly.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Thanks for the clarification on Nygaard who occupies the same position as Riis--General Manager. As for Andy being mentally fragile, that's just my read on him, since he tends to try to puff himself up in his interviews and frankly can't be bothered to focus beyond 4 weeks a year. The fact he can't shift his bike under pressure and otherwise looks lost sometimes, is just a symptom of that larger problem. Just my opinion though. He could be tough as nails. Especially when he gets that fire in his belly.

Even so, Nygaard ain't a DS, Riis is.

 

[Archibald]

Even so, Nygaard ain't a DS, Riis is.

direct from the Saxo team website, the "Sporting Directors"...
http://www.saxobank-sungard.com/person_profiles.asp?p_c_id=4

funny how none look like or are named Riis

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

what is it with riders and their flights being cancelled? Now also Gesink was complaining

RGUpdate
Ho eens even, @KLM heeft het toch geregeld! Nu rennen naar de gate!

"Wait a minute, KLM seems to have organized something! Now we run to the gate!"

RGUpdate
En ja hoor, we vliegen weer met @KLM /AirFrance en het vliegtuig gaat weer eens niet! Lijkt erop dat het treinen wordt!

"And yes... we fly with KLM / Air france and the plane doesn't go again! Seems like it will be another day with the train!"

 

[craig1985]

Movistar:

David Arroyo, Andrey Amador, Rui Costa, Imanol Erviti, Iván Gutiérrez, Beñat Intxausti, Vasil Kiryienka, Fran Ventoso, and José Joaquín Rojas.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Movistar:

David Arroyo, Andrey Amador, Rui Costa, Imanol Erviti, Iván Gutiérrez, Beñat Intxausti, Vasil Kiryienka, Fran Ventoso, and José Joaquín Rojas.

The team would've looked so much better with Soler and Tondo

 

[Dedelou]

Seems to be underestimating Riis' abilities as a manager, when he is the last person who should be doubting them.

right we shall see now for sure how good AS is free from Riis

 

[Cimber]

right we shall see now for sure how good AS is free from Riis

I think ppl overestimate Riis' impact on Andy. The DS was was appointed to take care of the Schlecks was Kim Andersen, and he is still with them. Ofc Riis had an impact and meant something for Andrew but imo Kim Andersen was and is even more important

 

[Cimber]

direct from the Saxo team website, the "Sporting Directors"...
http://www.saxobank-sungard.com/person_profiles.asp?p_c_id=4

funny how none look like or are named Riis

Well your are both right. Riis is the general manager and for most races the DSs (from the link u gave) take care of things. But for some training camps and some of the major races (esp regarding the Tour but also regarding some of the biggest 1day classics) Riis does act like a DS.

So while you are right that he is not a DS taken from the website he is listed as a DS for the Tour: http://saxobanksungard.com/races.asp?r_id=2374#nu

Some I think its fair to both compare Riis to Nygaard, the general manager, as well as Kim Andersen, them main SD, as he covers both roles. He is even more than that.

EDIT: well tbh Trey Greenwood is the general manager / CEO, while Riis is the owner

http://saxobanksungard.com/person_profiles.asp?p_c_id=8
http://saxobanksungard.com/person_profiles.asp?p_c_id=3

 

[Cimber]

Riis replies to Andrew's statement about team strength.

He basically says that they (leopard) are just looking the tiniest of stuff that can boost their confidence to make them belive that they can beat Alberto. He also says that the riders that have done the giro have recovered well and will be ready. He admits that on paper SBS might not be the strongest team, but that the team is strong. He says the team is ready and that the riders well prepared, and that he knows how to use the team correctly to get the most out of them.

In another interview Riis states that while Andrew has a huge potential he should work on his weaknesses and between the lines he indicates that Andrew isnt serious enough.

the two google-translated articles:

http://translate.google.com/transla...ten.dk/cykling/riis-traen-dine-svagheder-andy

http://translate.google.com/transla.../cykling/riis-schleck-leder-efter-smaa-huller


It will be interesting to follow the Leopard vs. SBS battle, but also the Leopard vs. Rabobank battle.

 

[craig1985]

The team would've looked so much better with Soler and Tondo

True.

I reckon they could form a half decent sprint train there.