Pro Team Luxembourg

[Christian]

Tweet from Andy Schleck about an hour ago:

Dammit I just realized Fabian means Fabian Wegmann and not Fabian Cancellara!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Dammit I just realized Fabian means Fabian Wegmann and not Fabian Cancellara!

There's only one Fabian in the péloton that's actually won a GT jersey

 

[Christian]

According to luxembourgish Newspaper "Le Quotidien", swiss drink brand "Maca Loca" will be a co-sponsor of the ProTeam Luxembourg. They are already sponsoring the Swiss Cycling Federation and are looking for more exposure in the sport.

They are also supposed to have bought out Cancellara from his contract with Riis. Cancellara is supposed to have signed his contract with Andersen/Nygaard on September 22, right before heading to Melbourne.

Here is the link (in French):

http://www.lequotidien.lu/les-sports/16672.html

The story was later picked up by CyclismActu:

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-equipe_lux_l_arrivee_de_cance_grace_a_maca_loca-10258.html

 

[Christian]

Craft will supply the clothing for Pro Team Luxembourg:

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-equipement_craft_habillera_l_equipe_du_luxembourg-10303.html

 

[Ney the Viking]

Craft will supply the clothing for Pro Team Luxembourg:

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-equipement_craft_habillera_l_equipe_du_luxembourg-10303.html

Well then they won't freeze thats for sure But good for them Craft makes wonderful clothing (at least for cold weather).

 

[Christian]

Andy Schleck revealed that he and his brother have signed with the Luxembourg Project for the next 4 seasons. The financial security is assured for at least 5 years. He also says there is no name yet for the Team.

"C'est un entrepreneur du Luxembourg qui a monté l'équipe. Le projet a été créé de la même façon qu'on pu l'être il y a quelques années High Road et Slipstream", confie le cadet des frères Schleck. "Nous avons plusieurs sponsors, mais le nom de l'équipe n'a pas encore été décidé. C'est un projet pour au minimum cinq ans et avec mon frère nous avons signé pour quatre."

"It's an entrepreneur from Luxembourg who set up the team. The project was created in the same way that High Road and Slipstream were created a few years ago." (...) "We have several sponsors, but the name of the team has not yet been decided. It's a project for at least five years, and my brother and I have signed for four years."

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-transfert_les_schlek_se_sont_engages_pour_4_ans-10321.html

Note: The way they spell Schle(c)k in the title

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Good to see some future commitments.

Gerdemann, Wegmann and Fuglsang officially anounced:

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-transfert_l_equipe_du_lux_annonce_3_coureurs-10174.html

Link to the official press release:

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias_cercanas-ficha.asp?id=32022

The funny thing is that Gerdemann is not very popular in Luxembourg, ever since Kim Kirchen had to drag him up the Montée de Tignes in stage 8 of the 2007 Tour de France. Kirchen was clearly stronger and could have definitely made a better result. Since Gerdemann was in the Maillot Jaune, he was ordered to wait for him and pull him up. In the final meters, Gerdemann then passed Kirchen and sprinted for the line. He eventually lost his yellow jersey for over 40 seconds to Rasmussen.

Of course it was a team order and not Gerdemann's choice, and T-Mobile must have been stoked to have a young German maillot jaune. It was mostly Gerdemann's completely pointless sprint to the line which ticked people off I guess. Kim Kirchen eventually finished 7th overall, but lost vital time on this stage to Valverde and Zubeldia, who finished 6th and 5th, respectively.

I do like Gerdemann a lot, I always remember his attempt to break away in the finale of the Flèche Wallonne 2008, and Thierry Adam's comment "Wegmann qui craque ... ah, image terrible!"

It'll be interesting to see Fuglsang as a leader in the Giro or the Vuelta! I personally hope he'll go for the Vuelta, Giro is probably too hard this year. Team Luxembourg should send a nice stage-win-team to the Vuelta with Bennati, Tossato, Weylandt and Wegmann, but without a GC hope. Then go for the Tour and try Fuglsang at the Vuelta.

i find a lot of people dislike gerdemann, I too like the guy.
I think he is a good signing.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Andy Schleck revealed that he and his brother have signed with the Luxembourg Project for the next 4 seasons. The financial security is assured for at least 5 years. He also says there is no name yet for the Team.


http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-transfert_les_schlek_se_sont_engages_pour_4_ans-10321.html

Note: The way they spell Schle(c)k in the title

If there is no name for the team yet what has happened to the sponsor(s)?

 

[Christian]

If there is no name for the team yet what has happened to the sponsor(s)?

I assume it will be a Katusha/Astana-type deal. Both of those have sponsors who appear on their jerseys but no name sponsor

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Good to see some future commitments.



i find a lot of people dislike gerdemann, I too like the guy.
I think he is a good signing.

It seems a lot of people who dislike Sinkewitz dislike him because they like Gerdemann, and vice versa. Personally, I like them both.

Gerdemann may not have turned out to be the kind of rider they thought he could, but he's pretty useful. He attacks like a Chavanel-esque lunatic, and he climbs like Cunego. He could be useful in short, hilly stage races and hillier one-day races if he could sort out his timing and expend his energy more cleverly. That '07 Tour has led to some pretty unrealistic expectations being placed upon him.

 

[Christian]

I found the original interview in Spanish, it's quite interesting and worth reading!

He speaks among other things about doping and night-controls ("ridiculous"), the Contador case and Port de Bales incident.

Here is another bit concerning the sponsoring of Team Luxembourg which was not included in the article on CyclismActu:

(I've never translated from Spanish to English before, I usually do French-Spanish so there might be some mistakes)

La decisión de sacar el equipo no es ningún caso política. No hay dinero público. Todo es capital privado, de un empresario que tiene mucho dinero y quería embarcarse en el ciclismo. Tenemos patrocinadores pequeños, pero aún no está decidido el nombre de la marca principal. El proyecto es para un mínimo de cinco años. Yo he firmado por cuatro, como mi hermano.

- "The decision to start the team was nothing political. There is no money from the State. It's all private investments, from an entrepreneur who has a lot of money and wants to get involved in cycling. We have small sponsors, but the name of the main brand is yet to be decided. The project is for at least five years. I have signed for four, like my brother."

What is interesting is this "marca pincipal" - I think it should mean "main brand", as in "main sponsor". CyclismActu translated it by "The name of the team is yet to be decided". If my translation is correct, I'd say there will be a name sponsor, and not a Katusha/Astana-type name. Any native Spanish speakers out there who can help out?

This is also interesting:

¿Será algo más que corredor, al estilo Armstrong, en ese equipo?

No, yo sólo soy ciclista. No tengo ningún porcentaje en la sociedad ni tomaré decisiones. Me limito a ser ciclista, a correr en bicicleta.

- Will you be more than just a rider in this team, like Armstrong?

No, I am only a rider. I don't hold any percentage of the company, I don't take decisions. I stick with being a cyclist and riding my bike.


Here is the link:

http://www.deia.com/2010/11/06/deportes/ciclismo/creo-en-contador

 

[lucybears]

Belgacom, Jabra
http://www.lequotidien.lu/les-sports/17044.html

 

[Christian]

Belgacom, Jabra
http://www.lequotidien.lu/les-sports/17044.html

Thanks for the link! Especially the Belgacom deal will probably bring in a lot of money. It would be funny if Belgacom ended up being the name sponsor, since it's been called "Team Luxembourg" for so long, and Belgians and Luxembourgers aren't exactly the best of friends. (Well, we don't hate each other or anything, just make fun of each other a lot)

/edit: Link in English: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6...onsors-of-Luxembourg-Pro-Cycling-Project.aspx

Joost Posthuma, Robert Wagner and Cancellara are missing in Le Quotidien's list of riders though. Cancellara has not been anounced officially, and I can't remember if Wagner has, but Posthuma has already announced it officially.

 

[El Pistolero]

Thanks for the link! Especially the Belgacom deal will probably bring in a lot of money. It would be funny if Belgacom ended up being the name sponsor, since it's been called "Team Luxembourg" for so long, and Belgians and Luxembourgers aren't exactly the best of friends. (Well, we don't hate each other or anything, just make fun of each other a lot)

/edit: Link in English: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6...onsors-of-Luxembourg-Pro-Cycling-Project.aspx

Joost Posthuma, Robert Wagner and Cancellara are missing in Le Quotidien's list of riders though. Cancellara has not been anounced officially, and I can't remember if Wagner has, but Posthuma has already announced it officially.

I never noticed anything of a Belgian hate for Luxembourg and vice versa? Perhaps in Wallonia, but not in Flanders at least.

 

[Christian]

I never noticed anything of a Belgian hate for Luxembourg and vice versa? Perhaps in Wallonia, but not in Flanders at least.

Yeah I said we don't hate each other at all, we're just the butts of each others jokes

Another thing: Either Anders Lund's name is really difficult to spell, or someone used the Copy/Paste button ...

Les 20 coureurs dont l'arrivée à été officialisée jusqu'à présent : Frank et Andy Schleck, Daniele Bennati, Will Clarke, Stefan Denifl, Brice Feillu, Jakob Fuglsang, Linus Gerdemann, Dominic Klemme, Maxime Monfort, Giacomo Nizzolo, Stuart O'Grady, Bruno Pires, Davide Viganò, Jens Voigt, Fabian Wegmann, Wouter Weylandt, Ander Luns, Tom Stamsnijder, Martin Mortensen.

Denis Bastien, Romain Haas @ http://www.lequotidien.lu/les-sports/17044.html

The 20 riders already confirmed for the team are Frank and Andy Schleck, Daniele Bennati, Will Clarke, Stefan Denifl, Brice Feillu, Jakob Fuglsang, Linus Gerdemann, Dominic Klemme, Maxime Monfort, Giacomo Nizzolo, Stuart O'Grady, Bruno Pires, Davide Viganò, Jens Voigt, Fabian Wegmann, Wouter Weylandt, Ander Luns, Tom Stamsnijder and Martin Mortensen.

Stephen Farrand @ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/belgacom-and-jabra-linked-as-sponsors-of-luxembourg-cycling-project

 

[Chef_Vodnik]

That's blatantly impossible. Le Quotidien isn't a ridiculous pseudo-newspaper that does not really care about cycling and is just riding on the newly-born hypewave in Luxemburg that only exists for 6 weeks a year during spring and summer, in the process stealing other peoples' honest work by copying it, probably without inquiring about doing so.

No, they wouldn't, because they're a serious newspaper with a solid reader ba-

Oh, wait.

 

[Christian]

That's blatantly impossible. Le Quotidien isn't a ridiculous pseudo-newspaper that does not really care about cycling and is just riding on the newly-born hypewave in Luxemburg that only exists for 6 weeks a year during spring and summer, in the process stealing other peoples' honest work by copying it, probably without inquiring about doing so.

No, they wouldn't, because they're a serious newspaper with a solid reader ba-

Oh, wait.

Do you work with cyclingnews?

 

[roundabout]

ok, i'm probably not getting the sarcasm but it seems that in this case it's our hosts that copied the list from a ridiculous pseudo-newspaper

 

[Chef_Vodnik]

Do you work with cyclingnews?

No.

ok, i'm probably not getting the sarcasm but it seems that in this case it's our hosts that copied the list from a ridiculous pseudo-newspaper

Indeed it appears to be. Joke's on me, then.

Sources cited, of course, so I've just made a huge wuss of myself.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

Belgacom[/url]

Hope they don't fall over!

 

[Christian]

I read something in an article today that I had completely forgotten: Tango, the daughter-company of Belgacom in Luxembourg, is a personal sponsor of the Schleck brothers. They have appeared in TV and magazine commercials for the company. Therefore the Belgacom deal would really make sense.

 

[Chef_Vodnik]

I read something in an article today that I had completely forgotten: Tango, the daughter-company of Belgacom in Luxembourg, is a personal sponsor of the Schleck brothers. They have appeared in TV and magazine commercials for the company. Therefore the Belgacom deal would really make sense.

You're right, that DOES make sense. Although the team would hopefully be named Tango-somethingorother instead of Belgacom-Whatever, because at least Tango's from the grand-duchy Would make for good coverage amongst the main target group as well: The youth (mainly the girls, which think the Schlecks are HAWT)

 

[Christian]

Team Luxembourg's first training camp will be held from December 6th to 12th ... in the Swiss Alps.

I have a feeling this must have something to do with Maca Loca, I can't see any other reason why they would deliberately choose a place where it will be impossible to go cycling

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6...o-hold-first-training-camp-in-Swiss-Alps.aspx

/edit: Brian Nygaard's last tweets:

Hey @cyclismactu: Team meeting in Suisse: YES. Survival camp: NO. Stop making **** up on a daily basis. More journalism pls!

Maybe cyclismactu changed their article after this, cause when I read it, it didn't say anything about survival camp.

Had a great time with my crew in CPH. Flying home with bread in my suitcase and a fashion deal for the team...

What's CPH?

And I thought you already had a fashion deal with Craft?

/edit2: CPH must be Copenhagen, he must have been there with Ken Sommer (marketing director of Team Lux)

 

[roadbiker]

The fashion deal is different to the race clothing supplier/sponsor.

 

[megateuf]

Maybe cyclismactu changed their article after this, cause when I read it, it didn't say anything about survival camp.

I confirm, they changed it. The first version of the article stated that the training camp will look like the Saxo Bank survival camp.