Lidl-Trek (no longer Radioshack-Leopard Trek)

[Christian]

Another interesting bit regarding Cancellara and the roster of RaNT is that "Bruyneel plans to sign two more helpers (for Cancellara) besides Rast" according to the Swiss article.

2 more Leopards or Shack riders on the street?

 

[Benotti69]

I think it is more like Pleasure Island from Pinocchio:

i bow to a better analogy.

 

[Benotti69]

There's an EdgarAllenPoeLand??

yeah it is located here

http://www.amgen.com/contact_us/amgen_contact.html

 

[taiwan]

Not been the greatest move, splitting from Riis, so far. They didn't get any of the big wins they wanted, Nygaard jumped ship to Greenedge, and they got swallowed by Bruyneel.

Meanwhile Riis wins the monument and the GT with a bare bones team.

- Riis comes out looking like the smarty. What's the consensus on the reason for the Schleck/Riis split anyhow?

 

[ultimobici]

I don't see it that way.

Suppose we have two teams each with 10 million in sponsorship. Team A has a title sponsor giving 6 million and a secondary sponsor contributing 4 million. Team B has five sponsors giving 2M apiece. Team B is financially more solid.

Team B can lose a sponsor and still operate at a reduced budget by not signing new rider contracts. It can attempt to stagger the ends of its sponsorship deals over several years so that no one year could cause too drastic of drop in sponsorship money. The contributions of each sponsor are small enough that it might be possible to talk another existing sponsor into filling some of the gap from a leaving sponsor. When one sponsor exits, it is much easier to find a replacement willing to put up a modest amount of money compared to what is required by the super sponsors of Team A. There are many many more companies that can afford 2M than there are companies than can afford 4M or 6M.

Team A, on the other hand, is hosed if one of its sponsors leaves. It would face a 40% or 60% drop in sponsorship. Probably the 40% but certainly the 60% is too much to handle by not taking on new rider contracts. The chance of getting the remaining sponsor to pick up the slack for the leaving sponsor is slim because the monetary figures are so large. What is more, the larger amount of money may be an incentive for sponsors to leave.

While a two sponsor structure might be fine with smaller teams, the World Tour now requires such a large financial commitment to be competitive that teams have priced themselves out of the market. The teams are as financially precarious as ever, perhaps more so because in the past teams did not face the hardship of finding a sponsor to put up 10 million euros. What happened to HTC could happen to any team.

The UCI rules did not prevent High Road from running a deficit for years. It did not prevent Radio Shack from folding. It did not prevent Riis Cycling from nearly collapsing. It looks like the only thing that the UCI rules are good for is guaranteeing that riders can eventually get the current season's pay. It's anybody's guess what happens for the next season.

Case in point would be Gianni Savio's team Androni. They have always been the **** of jokes about how many sponsors one can get onto a jersey but you never really hear about them having sponsorship problems.

 

[Cobblestoned]

I have to run it by Jobiwan but it should be fine!!

Very interesting quotes from the Swiss article:

"The news of Bruyneel's arrival was met with mixed or deprecatory reactions, so much is clear when talking with persons close to the team. There are rumours of telephone calls, where people were close to tears, of riders who are ashamed of their employer. The anger towards Becca is big, people feel traited, especially since only very few know whether they have a job for next year or not. Bruyneel is rarely seen or heard of, important members of the current Leopard-staff do not even know his cell phone number."

"Cancellara was able to avoid the public due to his preparation. This must not have been easy for him, because keeping quiet is not his style. On Monday night in Copenhaguen, one got a pretty good impression of how much he would have to say about the merger. He took several deep breaths, but did not want to say too much in front of the international press. In the end, in a small circle, he said things like "Right now, I don't care if it continues or not"; "I can only say that sometimes things move very fast in sports" or "Of course there are question marks concerning my future. The topic is not over"

http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/sport/radsport/eine_handvoll_siege_1.12576231.html

I would also be ashamed. And thats the main problem here for the riders now.
Can't offer much compassion since most of those guys let Bjarne stand in the rain.
It's about eating, and beeing eaten. Like in nature.

Anyway, it's the NZZ. Big alarm.

 

[virandociclista]

I maybe be wrong, but I think that the situation of Cancellara now is like that of Gilbert before the merge of Omega and quickstep..

“I’m sorry to discover that Omega Pharma is joining with Quick Step via the internet, I would have preferred to have been informed by my sponsors out of respect for my results and the benefits that I bring to them,” Gilbert told Le Soir, before reiterating that he alone will decide on his team for next year.

 

[Christian]

Linus Gerdemann to be part of RaNT:

The native of Münster is quoted: "We have talked, they are planning with me", by the Münsterländische Volkszeitung.

http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/2011/09/162014/gerdemann-man-plant-mit-mir.php

I believe this makes Gerdemann the first rider to confirm his presence at the new team and to have personally talked about his future with whoever is in charge

 

[MacRoadie]

There's an EdgarAllenPoeLand??

Yes, it's called Baltimore...

 

[Polish]

Linus Gerdemann to be part of RaNT:

The native of Münster is quoted: "We have talked, they are planning with me", by the Münsterländische Volkszeitung.

http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/2011/09/162014/gerdemann-man-plant-mit-mir.php

I believe this makes Gerdemann the first rider to confirm his presence at the new team and to have personally talked about his future with whoever is in charge

Who the hell is Linus Gerdemann?

Recently, German rider Linus Gerdemann said that Armstrong's return may not be in the best interest for the sport's credibility. "He's right, I am older. I raced with Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Miguel Indurain and Greg Lemond of all people. I have been around a long time and I don't know who the hell Linus Gerdemann is, but I know that when I rolled up in 1992, I started winning races. And when I roll up in 2009, I am gonna be winning races. He better hope he doesn't get in a breakaway with me because I can still ride hard," said the Texan.

//autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=features/2008/lance_armstrong_nov08

 

[Angliru]

Not been the greatest move, splitting from Riis, so far. They didn't get any of the big wins they wanted, Nygaard jumped ship to Greenedge, and they got swallowed by Bruyneel.

Meanwhile Riis wins the monument and the GT with a bare bones team.

- Riis comes out looking like the smarty. What's the consensus on the reason for the Schleck/Riis split anyhow?

Excellent fuel for another thread!

 

[Angliru]

Case in point would be Gianni Savio's team Androni. They have always been the **** of jokes about how many sponsors one can get onto a jersey but you never really hear about them having sponsorship problems.

That is the team that came to mind when I posed my question to The Hog. Their sponsors may change but the team still keeps chugging along, year after year after year.

 

[Angliru]

Yes, it's called Baltimore...

Good one!

 

[thehog]

I guess the latest news on Ferrari may come to haunt this merger. Not the smartest move by the Shlecks. But I guess they’ve not been known for their tactical genius.

 

[Forunculo]

I'm reading dane press about Riis fishing through stomach anger of Leoshack riders.

What can we expect?

 

[just some guy]

Just gets funnier.

Becca searched for tax issues- http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/beccas-home-and-offices-searched-in-luxembourg

Maybe he and JB have somethings in common that we had no idea about

 

[Cimber]

Just gets funnier.

Becca searched for tax issues- http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/beccas-home-and-offices-searched-in-luxembourg

Maybe he and JB have somethings in common that we had no idea about

According to Danish media the headquater of the cycling team was searched too.

 

[Old School]

Bottomline, this is funny.

I wonder where Fabian will end up?

 

[roadbiker]

Bottomline, this is funny.

I wonder where Fabian will end up?

Fabian's situation (if he wants to leave) is much more difficult compared to others (eg Fuglsang).
The Swiss brings along his own physio and mechanic which could be difficult for interested teams at this point because most of the staff is already fixed for 2012.

The situation at Leopard is getting spookier from day to day.

 

[Sophistic]

Fabian's situation (if he wants to leave) is much more difficult compared to others (eg Fuglsang).
The Swiss brings along his own physio and mechanic which could be difficult for interested teams at this point because most of the staff is already fixed for 2012.

The situation at Leopard is getting spookier from day to day.

the cost for mechanic and physio is so low compared to Cancellaras salary that this isnt gonna be an issue.

 

[roadbiker]

the cost for mechanic and physio is so low compared to Cancellaras salary that this isnt gonna be an issue.

Compared to the riders salay yes, but wonder if there is any team which can throw away ~150.000 Euros (gross, mech + physio).
Both of them are together at least at this level (would even rate them higher).

You can pay a young rider/domestique for this money.

 

[Benotti69]

Compared to the riders salay yes, but wonder if there is any team which can throw away ~150.000 Euros (gross, mech + physio).
Both of them are together at least at this level (would even rate them higher).

You can pay a young rider/domestique for this money.

but you wouldn't get this

2011
1st National Road Race Champion
1st Prologue Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 9 (ITT) Tour de Suisse
1st Prologue Tour de Luxembourg
1st Stage 7 (ITT) Tirreno–Adriatico
1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
1st Stage 1 TTT Vuelta a España
2nd Milan – San Remo
2nd Paris–Roubaix
3rd Ronde van Vlaanderen
3rd UCI Road World Championship Time Trial

not a bad year, not up to Canc's 2010, but better than a domestique.

 

[Race Radio]

Interesting that the Lux media is reporting on the raid and they that Becca uses "sometimes dubious practices" Perhaps he does not have the best reputation?

He and Johann are perfect for each other

 

[RdBiker]

He and Johann are perfect for each other

Hah

Truly a match made in heaven

 

[mewmewmew13]

I think Bjarne is in a pretty good position right now. He can just sit back and wait for some good riders. Fabs needs to go back 'home' to Saxo IMHO.

I found Bjarne's comment about which riders were free or not amusing..."because even the riders themselves do not know'. Sad mess for the LeOpard-RS riders though.