Liberty Seguros 2011 - “al estilo del Rabobank” (Ampliación)

[DAOTEC]

Jose Mendes, another important boost for Liberty
The young Portuguese Jose Mendes will race for Liberty Seguros in 2011, announced today by the team of Santa Maria da Feira: Mendes has managed three victories in 2010 with LA-Paredes Rota dos Moveis.

WINNERS From JOSE MENDES IN 2010

Stage 1 º Trofeo Agostinho
Stage 1, GP Minho (Picture)
1 st Grand Prix Liberty Seguros
2 º stage Tour of Portugal
4 th General Tour Alentejo

[http://biciciclismo.com]

 

[Libertine Seguros]

José João Mendes is one of my favourite riders. Good, hard worker, break artist. He rode for Liberty in 2009, turning pro with Benfica in '08.

Perhaps more importantly/interestingly (Mendes is a more established rider), they've done exactly as I was suggesting, and signed Liberty Seguros-Santamaria da Feira standout rider Fabio Silvestre. Silvestre is pretty quick, and can do a decent TT when it suits him too. He broke out in the Volta ao Alentejo, coming 3rd, 3rd and 4th in the key stages for 3rd overall.

The current roster of Liberty Seguros now stands at:

1 - José João Mendes (LA, ex-Liberty in 2009)
2 - Edgar Pinto (LA, ex-Liberty in 2009)
3 - Filipe Cardoso (LA, ex-Liberty in 2009)
4 - Vitor Rodrigues (Caja Rural, ex-Liberty in 2009)
5 - Rui Sousa (Barbot-Siper, ex-Liberty in 2009)
6 - Ricardo Vilela (Madeinox-Boavista, ex-Liberty in 2009)
7 - Sérgio Sousa (Madeinox-Boavista)
8 - Antonio Amorim (Barbot-Siper)
9 - Marco Coelho (neopro, from Liberty amateur/u23 team)
10 - Fabio Silvestre (neopri, from Liberty amateur/u23 team)

Also announced - Specialized will provide the bikes.

No sign of Silva, Cabreira (who's banned for most of next season, mind) or the Spaniards that DAOTEC was mentioning. At the moment they are all-Portuguese, and with the notable exception of Rui Sousa, all fairly young.

Jornalciclismo also reports that the team announced that they had now finalised their roster, implying that there will be no more signings to announce ("A Liberty Seguros anunciou hoje o fecho do plantel da equipa profissional para 2011 com a entrada de José Mendes (LA-Paredes Rota dos Móveis) e com a promoção de Fábio Silvestre") - so it looks like the speculation will remain exactly that - though they may need to pad out the roster in-season if injuries hit. But it does make the panic stations about Palmeiras, Barbot and Loulé all closing because of Liberty buying up all their riders seem a little premature, even if the losses of Bernabéu, Blanco and Zaballa will be felt.

 

[Quinan]

Yes, it is sure they are not going to sign anymore rider.

Liberty Seguros has two ideas for the roster of 2011:
1. All the riders have to be Portuguese riders.
2. The riders can not have any relation with doping.

It means that options of Spanish riders or Joao Cabreira never was in the mind of Manuel Correia (the team manager). He sign young riders and riders who worked with him in Santa Maria da Feira (not all, but a lot of them).

I think they have a young team, but a very nice group of riders. And also they are going to have a under23 team with riders as Rafa Reis, a new fantastic project of future star... following the steps of Tiago Machado, Rui Costa or Nelson Oliveira.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

no relation to doping and they sign rui sousa??

 

[Quinan]

Hi,

Sorry, but I don't remember any scandal of doping with Rui Sousa.

Could you refresh my memory?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yes, it is sure they are not going to sign anymore rider.

Liberty Seguros has two ideas for the roster of 2011:
1. All the riders have to be Portuguese riders.
2. The riders can not have any relation with doping.

It means that options of Spanish riders or Joao Cabreira never was in the mind of Manuel Correia (the team manager). He sign young riders and riders who worked with him in Santa Maria da Feira (not all, but a lot of them).

I think they have a young team, but a very nice group of riders. And also they are going to have a under23 team with riders as Rafa Reis, a new fantastic project of future star... following the steps of Tiago Machado, Rui Costa or Nelson Oliveira.

I'm disappointed Gonçalves hasn't got the call, mind. They already have the u23 team (it's where Coelho and Silvestre have come from), I presume they'll just continue to keep that going. There's a good chance that an injury or two will see them add to the roster during the season, however - with 9 riders starting the Volta, all it takes is one to get injured and the roster's pretty thin. Reis is a huge talent, but I'm happy to see him develop through the u23s for a while yet.

Looks like the initial speculation that Cândido would stay on as a rider is unfounded. This is rather excellent news since his presence as a rider would rather blunt their anti-doping aims.

 

[Parrulo]

thats indeed a very small roster.

maybe they are thinking of starting small and slowly grow into a proconti team(hopefully all portuguese)

i mist say this: man i love this team already

 

[Quinan]

Yes,I think the wish to sign Gonçalves too.

The problem for Liberty Seguros is that they have to pay the sponsoring of a lot of races in Portugal, to pay the sponsoring of the National Team, to pay the sponsoring of continental team, to pay the sponsoring of under23 team and to pay the sponsoring of biological passport of the Portuguese riders. It means they can not create a GREAT project in 2011. They have to create a nice and young project in 2011. But in December of 2011 it will finish some of these sponsoring agreement and they are going to put more money for the project of 2012.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Hi,

Sorry, but I don't remember any scandal of doping with Rui Sousa.

Could you refresh my memory?

he was with milaneza when they had team lead doping structure around them in 2002/2003 I think he also did top 15 tyhen in vuelta, the whole team was a joke with moller, francisco perez, fabian jeker, lavarinhas and others

 

[gingerwallaceafro]

I just can't take Portuguese cycling seriously at all. Rotten to the core. Of course Liberty Seguros need to be seen to take a stand if they want to take a new project forward.

My view is that no-one in Portuguese cycling knows how to win clean, that the concept is foreign. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

[Parrulo]

I just can't take Portuguese cycling seriously at all. Rotten to the core. Of course Liberty Seguros need to be seen to take a stand if they want to take a new project forward.

My view is that no-one in Portuguese cycling knows how to win clean, that the concept is foreign. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

you are indeed wrong. . .

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Portuguese cycling does indeed have a problem... but then it has no teams in either of the top two tiers and therefore nobody signed up to the bio passport (though how this makes it different from the lower level Spanish and Italian domestic racing, or racing in North America, I couldn't answer you). Testing is not as rigorous as it perhaps could be, and the relatively good salaries makes it attractive, but the insular nature of Portuguese cycling (which entails few invites beyond their own borders) means that most riders with ambition will seek to get out of it early. And so it is with the good young Portuguese talent - Costa at Movistar, Machado, Cardoso and Oliveira at Radioshack. So who's in the market for good salaries but won't mind a relatively insular scene? Answer: Portuguese talents not able to step up beyond their borders (or unwilling to take the step down in pay associated with moving to a similar-level team outside Portugal), Spanish talents not yet earmarked for a step up and after the best salary they can get, and blackmarked riders who aren't welcome at many races but are still pretty useful.

The first group is especially difficult because of the reputation Portuguese cycling has; it often means that the talent scouts do not trust riders or simply do not look at them. This new Liberty Seguros lineup with the bio-passport compliance and the focus on all-Portuguese riders (thus negating the 'all led by Spanish dopers' argument that Portuguese cycling has often faced - and not without reason, with 3 of the 5 national teams being led by Puerto named riders - Blanco at Palmeiras, Bernabéu at Barbot and Santí Pérez at Loulé - at the Volta), while it may not save the scene, is certainly a step in the right direction.

 

[Quinan]

Dear Hazuki,

It is not correct to say that Rui Sousa had problems with doping and finally say that EIGHT years ago he was in Milaneza and Milaneza had problems with OTHER riders. In this case, 90% of the professional riders have problems with the doping because all has been in professional teams with doping problems. I am not going to say that Rui Sousa is clean or not clean. I don't live with him. But he never has problems with the doping.

Finally you can check that Liberty Seguros is doing a good structure for next season and a roster with dangerous or polemic past. As Libertine Seguros said, they are working in the right direction.

 

[Fester]

I need to correct Liberty; they are instituting a passport scheme in Portuguese cycling and have been collecting samples from the riders all year long. There is a whereabouts scheme and they are looking to begin using the ADAMS system as soon as it becomes available to them.

Where in the world is there a "continental" level circuit with such rigor? Not in Britain, not in Belgium, certainly not Spain or France. Perhaps only CONI are so zealous in their pursuit.

There is place with more or less cheating. It's delusional to think otherwise. Just better or worse cheating, better or worse control. And the occasional witch hunt

 

[gingerwallaceafro]

I doubt they'll be signing Rui Costa now as he's been discovered cheating, though nothing will surprise me.

 

[Parrulo]

I doubt they'll be signing Rui Costa now as he's been discovered cheating, though nothing will surprise me.

costa was never mentioned for liberty and i highly doubt they have the money to pay him.

he was mentioned to RS, shleck team, LAMPRE and vacansolei

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I doubt they'll be signing Rui Costa now as he's been discovered cheating, though nothing will surprise me.

The worry with the knowledge of the two positives at the Portuguese ITT was that it would be Sérgio Sousa, Vitor Rodrigues or José João Mendes since they've already signed for Liberty - it would have been a punch to the face of the team's goals.

But Rui and Mario have apparently sent the supplements they used to a UCI-accredited lab and they've been shown to be contaminated, so it's quite possible that for once that defence is actually accurate. They'll still probably get a one year ban for it since they're responsible for what they put in their bodies.

 

[Fester]

The worry with the knowledge of the two positives at the Portuguese ITT was that it would be Sérgio Sousa, Vitor Rodrigues or José João Mendes since they've already signed for Liberty - it would have been a punch to the face of the team's goals.

But Rui and Mario have apparently sent the supplements they used to a UCI-accredited lab and they've been shown to be contaminated, so it's quite possible that for once that defence is actually accurate. They'll still probably get a one year ban for it since they're responsible for what they put in their bodies.

I think this is totally unfair. The substance in question is something akin to pseudo-ephedrine or caffeine. It's got some strange name I don't think anyone bar a doctor would be aware of it searching the ingredients on a supplement. Then of course it was only added to the list in '09 for '10... So even taken deliberately it may have also been a mistake.

Punishing mistakes is a bit harsh. You don't trip, fall and whack a syringe full of epo that someone has carelessly left around into you by mistake. But a contaminated supplement? That could catch anyone out.

 

[Parrulo]

ya i agree that the current policy is just too much nazi like and totally unforgivable.

the most pathetic thing about cycling this days is not how much people dope but how the system works.

*sight*

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The problem with the contaminated supplement defence is that everybody and their mother has tried it. So when it looks like it might actually be true, as with Rui and Mario if Rui's statement is to be believed (as otherwise he's opening up a whole new world of perjury), then there's the feeling of crying wolf.

Anyway, there's a thread on this in the clinic so any more on this should probably go there.

 

[canyonball]

http://jornalciclismo.com/liberty-seguros-desiste-de-patrocinar-equipa-profissional

Sad news for those who enjoy the sport in Portugal. Apparently this team won't hit the road. Lyberty Seguros won't allow it's portuguese branch to sponsor São João de Ver cycling team, due to the bad experience of the company with doping scandals: Liberty-wurth (2005) and Liberty Seguros (2009).

I find it a little odd that only now they came to think about it.

 

[Parrulo]

sad news indeed. very strange that they only went for an authorization from the main house after all riders were hired. rather irresponsible if you ask me.

i hope they can find some last minute sponsor. turismo de portugal, galp and tmn come acorss my mind as options. mostly the first one.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

And what's worse, their hiring riders that could have been bankable for the other Portuguese teams has been one of a few factors that have really hurt the domestic scene this off season. We've already lost Loulé. And with 10 riders signed and all this going on... it seems crazy that Liberty would only now think to not involve themselves. Absolutely crazy.

 

[Fester]

This particularly bad, in that the team was all go and the riders were signed and then they pull the plug. It's not correct purely because of this.

I do however understand their reasons. But they should never have started the project in the first place, this being the case.

It's certainly looking grim in Portugal. So far as I know, only two teams are set to go. With nothing guaranteed in Tavira or Loulé, nor Barbot knowing if they'll continue. That leaves Paredes and Boavista. In 2008 there eight teams.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It seems like Liberty Seguros' Portuguese arm has been keen on the project but have been overruled by their superiors on the basis of the two previous projects. I totally understand the reasons but wish they'd run it by the superiors first if this was a risk. On the bright side of what is a pretty crap piece of news, the likes of Rui Sousa and José João Mendes could help Tavira and Barbot secure sponsorship. Loulé I think are already kaput, though I've heard rumours of a split Spanish-Portuguese team forming from the remainder of Loulé and Xacobeo.

Vitor Rodrigues is planning a career outside of cycling if this project is indeed a no-go, and that would be a shame.