Roubaix invites announced

[craig1985]

Yeah TSV and Landbouwkrediet live for the Belgian races. If not, they would not exist. If any rider from Androni or Acqua finish, well good on them.

 

[djlovesyou]

That mean's there will be no place for Bert 'Saviour of the cycling world' De Waele.

Tragedy of biblical proportions.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Flecha is from the Falklands.

oh, please. The Malvinas, por favor.

 

[blackcat]

oh, please. The Malvinas, por favor.

that wont get up the Sky fanbois as they wont get the reference. They only understand Thatcher-ese.

 

[42x16ss]

Yeah, wonder what's behind that one?

Hmm. I wonder if Verbruggen has received any phone calls from the Radioshack camp to avoid AC's teammates geting quality race training on the cobbles prior to the TdF?

Several Astana riders had volunteered to race it for the training and to recon the Arenburg...

 

[Kingsley A]

that wont get up the Sky fanbois as they wont get the reference. They only understand Thatcher-ese.

OK I'll bite (against better judgement)...

If Flecha actually was from the Falklands that means Team Sky have already produced a British winner of a semi-classic!

(Unfortunately he was born in Buenos Aires. A city, which I hear, is full of wonderful people who's only failing is a bizarre belief that an island chain, hundreds of miles from their coast, is in some way Argentinian, despite having be settled, whilst unoccupied, by the British before Argentina even existed other than as a province of the Spanish Empire...)

Caspar Weinberger and François Mitterrand will forever be remembered as friends of justice, self-determination, and the UK for the cool heads and astute decisions they made in 1982.

(Sorry. I'll stop now. Any more it this will end up in a politics thread in the cafe)

 

[cyclopeon]

(Astana not invited)

Hmm. I wonder if Verbruggen has received any phone calls from the Radioshack camp to avoid AC's teammates geting quality race training on the cobbles prior to the TdF?

I was thinking along the same lines,
but maybe it's ASO that doesn't want Astana to learn the cobbles so as to make sure there is some kind of a time gap to keep things undetermined for awhile...

 

[Moondance]

oh, please. The Malvinas, por favor.

I have no love of Thatcher, but I'm always in favor of military juntas getting their asses handed to them.

 

[joeags]

ASO would want to do something to help the team that has Armstrong?? That really seems a bit crazy to me...

(Astana not invited)

I was thinking along the same lines,
but maybe it's ASO that doesn't want Astana to learn the cobbles so as to make sure there is some kind of a time gap to keep things undetermined for awhile...

 

[cyclopeon]

ASO would want to do something to help the team that has Armstrong?? That really seems a bit crazy to me...

I wasn't thinking in terms of helping any one team, rather of hindering one. Of course, it will help the French teams?

On your point, however, I thought the 09 Tour route composition and TTT were set for LA's advantage; not because ASO loved him but to increase the spectacle by feeding the LA PR wagon. But I could be wrong on that, and besides it is now history and don't much matter.

 

[Kender]

Not saying this is why Astana wasn't invited, but it could be an explaination...

ASO may want teams that will fight for the win and not use it just for training. makes for a more interesting race

 

[theswordsman]

Hopefully Arsen will weigh in here, or else I'm sure it will be on the AstanaFans site soon, but this from twitter:

KazakhNeRider

We have comments from Vino and one of Astana officals that Astana simply didn't asked ASO about Roubaix!Just didn't ask for participating!

I see two ways to read that, but the exclamation points lead me to believe that they wanted to race there, but whoever was in charge of requesting an invitation from the ASO failed to do so.

 

[SoLogy]

Footon's absence

It is my understanding that the reason for Footon-Servetto's exclusion from the race was because their team kit is so awesome. It makes riders from other teams so sad that they are not able to compete. The race sponsors were afraid that it would turn into one long victory lap for the Footon riders while the other competitors would be left weeping at the start line consoling themselves.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Hopefully Arsen will weigh in here, or else I'm sure it will be on the AstanaFans site soon, but this from twitter:



I see two ways to read that, but the exclamation points lead me to believe that they wanted to race there, but whoever was in charge of requesting an invitation from the ASO failed to do so.

Man, they have got a lot to learn!