Now that most of the transfer saga seems to have blown over (The continuing story of Franco Pellizotti appears to be unresolved) I want you to rate the top 3 most improved teams and the top 3 most weakened teams going into next year. For obvious reasons don’t include new teams or teams that are going/went out of business. My take:
Most Improved:
1. Geox: Rather obvious pick this. With the exception of Cardoso they've hung on to most of the riders who were worth being on a big team, and have added very good riders like Menchov, Sastre, Cobo, and David Blanco. They've got some decent support riders in as well like Ardilla, Colli, and de la Fuente, and have signed some bright young talents like Duarte, Kump, and Ratto... Yes, they've not got any proven riders for the classics, and their sprinting look woeful, but at least this team looks like it will be able field some excellent GC squads. I would've given them a WorldTour licence over Quick-Step, Ag2R and perhaps Vacalsoleil as well... But it wasn't up to me. Hope the team does not end up collapsing as has been rumoured, since I think they'll be able to go places over the next few years.
2. Garmin-Cervelo: They've got the best classics team in the business now, and their already formidable sprinting squad now perhaps eclipses HTC's in depth and strength. All their roster losses seem to be compensated by better riders coming in. The only complaint is that their questionable GC line-up doesn't really improve despite the addition of le Mevel, although with the sprinting/stage-winning machine they've contructed I doubt GCs will be their top priority anyway.
3. Omega Pharma Lotto: Their big signing, Andre Greipel, is a top sprinter, which is something Lotto didn't really have. The addition of a few pieces of the HTC train like Hansen and Sieberg, should help with Greipel's transition to his new team. Greipel guarantees them at least a dozen wins next year, which will more double what they got this year. Oscar Pujol from Cervelo is another solid signing. They do incur a few losses which keep them at #3, like van Avermaet, Peraud (who would've been very useful for VdB2 in the Tour next year) and Daniel Moreno. The 'loss' of Hoste is, to me, a gain for the team.
Most Weakened:
1. Saxo Bank-Sungard: This placing assumes the fact that Contador's lawyers will not succeed in their attempts to obfuscate their way to an accuital in the clenbuterol/plastic residue case. However, I might feel inclined to 'award' them this place even if Bertie-boy gets off, since they'll still have gone from the best classics team in the business to one of the most anaemic, as well as losing some of their key road captains and support riders. The back-office brain drain should be factored in as well.
2. HTC: They lose their #2 rider in Andre Greipel, as well as some of his support riders to Lotto. They also lose important guys like Rogers and Monfort, as well as one of their bigger talents in Rasmus Guldhammer (who I'll admit hadn't exactly performed as well as people expected in his first pro year). They have brought in a potential superstar in Degenkolb, and a guy like Alex Rasmussen should fit very well into their train. But all in all, significant losses with little to compensate.
3. BBox/Europcar: Tricky pick this, but I went for Europcar in the end. They were always a plucky little team, but the delay in finding a new sponsor cost them dearly. They lose Fedrigo, Vogondy, Tschopp, Trofimov, and Bonnet, as wel as some of their domestique types. In return they get a past-it Sebastian Chavanel and Christophe Kern... They'll have to fight and ride hard to get into the TdF I warrant.
Most Improved:
1. Geox: Rather obvious pick this. With the exception of Cardoso they've hung on to most of the riders who were worth being on a big team, and have added very good riders like Menchov, Sastre, Cobo, and David Blanco. They've got some decent support riders in as well like Ardilla, Colli, and de la Fuente, and have signed some bright young talents like Duarte, Kump, and Ratto... Yes, they've not got any proven riders for the classics, and their sprinting look woeful, but at least this team looks like it will be able field some excellent GC squads. I would've given them a WorldTour licence over Quick-Step, Ag2R and perhaps Vacalsoleil as well... But it wasn't up to me. Hope the team does not end up collapsing as has been rumoured, since I think they'll be able to go places over the next few years.
2. Garmin-Cervelo: They've got the best classics team in the business now, and their already formidable sprinting squad now perhaps eclipses HTC's in depth and strength. All their roster losses seem to be compensated by better riders coming in. The only complaint is that their questionable GC line-up doesn't really improve despite the addition of le Mevel, although with the sprinting/stage-winning machine they've contructed I doubt GCs will be their top priority anyway.
3. Omega Pharma Lotto: Their big signing, Andre Greipel, is a top sprinter, which is something Lotto didn't really have. The addition of a few pieces of the HTC train like Hansen and Sieberg, should help with Greipel's transition to his new team. Greipel guarantees them at least a dozen wins next year, which will more double what they got this year. Oscar Pujol from Cervelo is another solid signing. They do incur a few losses which keep them at #3, like van Avermaet, Peraud (who would've been very useful for VdB2 in the Tour next year) and Daniel Moreno. The 'loss' of Hoste is, to me, a gain for the team.
Most Weakened:
1. Saxo Bank-Sungard: This placing assumes the fact that Contador's lawyers will not succeed in their attempts to obfuscate their way to an accuital in the clenbuterol/plastic residue case. However, I might feel inclined to 'award' them this place even if Bertie-boy gets off, since they'll still have gone from the best classics team in the business to one of the most anaemic, as well as losing some of their key road captains and support riders. The back-office brain drain should be factored in as well.
2. HTC: They lose their #2 rider in Andre Greipel, as well as some of his support riders to Lotto. They also lose important guys like Rogers and Monfort, as well as one of their bigger talents in Rasmus Guldhammer (who I'll admit hadn't exactly performed as well as people expected in his first pro year). They have brought in a potential superstar in Degenkolb, and a guy like Alex Rasmussen should fit very well into their train. But all in all, significant losses with little to compensate.
3. BBox/Europcar: Tricky pick this, but I went for Europcar in the end. They were always a plucky little team, but the delay in finding a new sponsor cost them dearly. They lose Fedrigo, Vogondy, Tschopp, Trofimov, and Bonnet, as wel as some of their domestique types. In return they get a past-it Sebastian Chavanel and Christophe Kern... They'll have to fight and ride hard to get into the TdF I warrant.
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