Pro Team Luxembourg

[Christian]

Yesterday's broadcast of the presentation got a pretty bad review from the biggest newspaper of Luxembourg, even though they are usually very, very Schleck-friendly and don't offer much controversial content.

"Since 45 minutes the same cameras show always the same rows of chairs. Sometimes there is a big picture of a rider. Those pictures are not able to convey an atmosphere, and the same counts for the palmarès of the various riders, which look a lot like PowerPoint.

(...)

The presentation is planned out and rehearsed up to the smallest detail. Pat McQuaid, the controversial president of the UCI, holds a speech and talks about 'a great day for cycling', but says nothing about the worries and scandals of the last years.

(...)

The boredom at home in front of the TV rises as quick as the water levels outside (Luxembourg is experiencing some minor flooding right now, nothing compareable to what's going on in Australia though). This has nothing to do with a dynamic, lively and surprising TV-show, or even an event compatible to be shown on live TV."

http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/2011/01/134863/team-coque.php

 

[Angliru]

I still can't take this team seriously. For starters, it's called Leopard. It doesn't even have a main sponsor. And if that wasn't enough, it seems to be just a bunch of buddies who set up their own private club so that they could hang out and have fun times together and just slack off without a nosy boss bothering them.

LOL!!! That's it in a nutshell. I really can't find myself rooting for them at all.
The jersey is growing on me but it still looks incomplete. It seems quite odd that on the front panel there is no sponsor/name that is prominent enough to be seen unless you are within a few feet. Even Gianni Savio's kits with all the sponsors on them you still have one that is prominent enough to identify. I guess with "TREK" on the sidepanels that was enough. Is the retro design supposed to be symbolic?

 

[Angliru]

Bit dodgy that McQuaid on deck to get his bag of cash personally.

Something is rotten in the state of.....

Does McQuaid make these kind of appearances at all new elite teams' initial presentation? Was he at CerveloTest Team's, Team Sky's, Geox's, Movistar's, etc...? What made being at the initial presentation of Team Leopard so important?

 

[Christian]

Does McQuaid make these kind of appearances at all new elite teams' initial presentation? Was he at CerveloTest Team's, Team Sky's, Geox's, Movistar's, etc...? What made being at the initial presentation of Team Leopard so important?

Maybe the other teams just didn't invite him? I never even saw footage of Geox's, Movistar's presentation, so he might have been but no one knows cause it wasn't such a big, public event as Team Leopard-Trek's

39 Teeth (The Inner Ring) says he was at Sky's launch last year

Plus I think his brother is some of the riders' agent. At least Will Clarke's, but he wasn't even there

 

[veganrob]

Seriously ugly kits and bikes.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

It seems amazing that an organisation can spend that much time and money getting a launch event set up, and not have any meaningful website content ready to co-incide with the publicity. Following working day well into its afternoon, and no quotes, no pics, no rider data beyond a list of names and flags... amateurish

 

[euanli]

Does McQuaid make these kind of appearances at all new elite teams' initial presentation? Was he at CerveloTest Team's, Team Sky's, Geox's, Movistar's, etc...? What made being at the initial presentation of Team Leopard so important?

He said in his speech he was backing them from the beginning. Sounds like 100% impartiality there

 

[goggalor]

Their website looks very similar to Sky's.

Compare http://www.leopardtrek.lu/ & http://www.teamsky.com/

The jersey looks fine.

 

[dolophonic]

Their whole look looks a lot like Rapha to me !!

 

[Anonymous]

Their website looks very similar to Sky's.

Compare http://www.leopardtrek.lu/ & http://www.teamsky.com/

The jersey looks fine.

its remarkably similar to the holding page sky had up prior to full launch.

There is something rapha-esqu about the whole thing. The shirts have a rapha look about them with the stripe.

 

[L'arriviste]

... review from the biggest newspaper of Luxembourg...

... Pat McQuaid, the controversial president of the UCI, holds a speech and talks about 'a great day for cycling', but says nothing about the worries and scandals of the last years.

Maximum respect to a mainstream rag like Wort for calling a spade a spade.

 

[Christian]

He said in his speech he was backing them from the beginning. Sounds like 100% impartiality there

In these times where it is pretty tough to attract sponsors ore to even finance races, why wouldn't he back an organization which is willing to pump in 20 million €?

Maximum respect to a mainstream rag like Wort for calling a spade a spade.

Well criticizing McQuaid is easy but I was more impressed with how honest they were about the boringness of the whole presentation. They also criticized the speech of the minister of sports

 

[Kwibus]

I think the kit is pretty damn nice actually. I hoped they would try some other colours though. So many black/white/blue teams allready.

 

[Christian]

First episode of "Driven":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSQTwl8x9Ys&feature=player_embedded

(Cancellara and Fränk testing the bikes)

Also, it appears there is a hiking path somewhere in the Himalaya named Leopard Trek, all the related videos are about hiking

 

[theyoungest]

In these times where it is pretty tough to attract sponsors ore to even finance races, why wouldn't he back an organization which is willing to pump in 20 million €?

McQuaid shouldn't have been there on the podium. It's as simple as that. He presides the organization that is supposed to keep an objective watch on what they're doing. Avoid all hints at partiality, especially if your Pat McQuaid and don't exactly have a flawless reputation in that regard.

 

[atorok]

McQuaid shouldn't have been there on the podium. It's as simple as that. He presides the organization that is supposed to keep an objective watch on what they're doing. Avoid all hints at partiality, especially if your Pat McQuaid and don't exactly have a flawless reputation in that regard.

McQuaid was on stage because he's a clown and a farce, that's what clown do! Like I said in a previous thread, ex pro's should be at the helm of the UCI, they know what the real problem's are and only them knows how to fix it.

 

[flatclimb]

Lund and Wagner

From Robert Wagner's twitter

 

[Christian]

Jakob Fuglsang to start with Mallorca Challenge and then possibly to go on to Oman.


FEBRUARY

7-11 Challenge Mallorca, ESP 1.1

20-21 Tour cycliste international du Haut Var, FRA 2.1

28 Les Boucles du Sud Ardèche, FRA 1.1


MARCH

7-11 Paris-Nice, FRA HIS

21 Cholet - Pays de Loire, FRA 1.1


APRIL

5-10 Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, ESP UPT

11 Klasika Primavera, ESP 1.1

18 Amstel Gold Race, NED UPT

21 Fleche Wallonne, BEL HIS

25 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, BEL HIS


MAY

16-23 Amgen Tour of California, US 2.HC


JUNE

12-20 Tour de Suisse, SUI UPT

24 Danish Nationals TT, DEN

27 Danish Nationals, DEN


JULY

3-25 Tour de France, FRA HIS

Also I believe the official rider pictures might be coming out soon:

http://www.jakobfuglsang.dk/jf/NEWS/Entries/2011/1/9_Team_Leopard-Trek.html

 

[Mambo95]

First episode of "Driven":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSQTwl8x9Ys&feature=player_embedded

(Cancellara and Fränk testing the bikes)

Also, it appears there is a hiking path somewhere in the Himalaya named Leopard Trek, all the related videos are about hiking

Maybe these guys are their real sponsors:

http://www.snowleopardtrek.com/

 

[Christian]

Maybe these guys are their real sponsors:

http://www.snowleopardtrek.com/

lol nice find, thanks. I'm hoping they'll do a survival camp in Nepal next year.

 

[Christian]

Brice Feillu - I will race, whether you like it or not

"I would really like to do two GT's this year, and I have personnally asked the team to be able to take part in the Giro, as a preparation for the Tour"

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-int..._mon_cyclisme_que_ca_plaise_ou_non-11555.html

In my opinion there will probably be no room for him on the Tour squad, but it'll be nice to see him in the Giro and maybe Vuelta.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

No room on the Tour squad for a guy who can climb and is French? If Caisse d'Epargne could find room on their Tour squads for the likes of Arnaud Coyot and Matthieu Perget, then Leopard should be able to find a spot on the squad for Brice.

 

[The Hitch]

Brice should have stayed with Vacon. But now that hes on my cq team, i hope he does Giro Vuelta as theres more points in that.

 

[Barracuda]

First episode of "Driven":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSQTwl8x9Ys&feature=player_embedded

(Cancellara and Fränk testing the bikes)

Also, it appears there is a hiking path somewhere in the Himalaya named Leopard Trek, all the related videos are about hiking

Any word on team kit replica's for us wanna be/stalking Stuey O'grady fans here in OZ ??

 

[auscyclefan94]

Brice Feillu - I will race, whether you like it or not

"I would really like to do two GT's this year, and I have personnally asked the team to be able to take part in the Giro, as a preparation for the Tour"

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-int..._mon_cyclisme_que_ca_plaise_ou_non-11555.html

In my opinion there will probably be no room for him on the Tour squad, but it'll be nice to see him in the Giro and maybe Vuelta.

who would be your team leopard-trek tdf lineup?

No room on the Tour squad for a guy who can climb and is French? If Caisse d'Epargne could find room on their Tour squads for the likes of Arnaud Coyot and Matthieu Perget, then Leopard should be able to find a spot on the squad for Brice.

A guy who can climb and has won on the climb to Arcalis (even from a breakaway) can definetly climb. He should be on the team.

A Schleck
F Schleck
Monfort
Fuglsang
cancellara
O'Grady
B Felliu
Gerdemann
Posthuma
That would be my team