Kazistuta said:
I've grown rather fond of the two Schlecks over the years, but actually I wouldn't mind them leaving for another team and Riis to acquire a new sponsor, since that would leave room for some interesting new names. Spartacus and Schleckalitoes have had a major dip in the Saxobank money pool, and when supporters are supposed to be delighted about a signing of Baden Cooke (with all due respect) I think it says it all about the general economic situation on the team.
Let's have Brajkovic, Bakelandts, Bonnet, Michael Matthews, Westra, Jelte Slagter, Rui Costa or other interesting names... *drooling*
I agree with you! The Schlecks and Cancellara leaving opens at least twice as many new spots on Riis' team. And say what you will of Riis, he's always proved to have a good look out for new talents, he was the one who made Basso, Cancellara, the Schlecks what they are today ... I'm excited to see whom he'll pull out of the hat. It'll probably take a couple of years for his new team to come back to the level where Saxo Bank was but I have no doubt that he can do it. A German Eurosport speaker once said that when Riis wants one of your riders, that's the one you probably shouldn't let go.
ScottinPhilly said:
Maybe I'm jumping the gun by I see this as the continuation of a trend of "national" teams being formed. The majority of high quality US talent is on 3 US sponsored teams. Sky went after the British talent. Rumors last month were about Leferve wanting to merge QS and Omega to form a Belgian super-team. We've also read rumors about AC going to a Spanish based team and Menchov being targeted by Katousha. This is either a real trend that is developing for economic and nationalist reasons or in Saxo's case the result of Riis' failure to bring a new sponsor on board and the riders not wanting to be "caught out" in what will probably be another very active transfer season.
This is definitely true in my opinion, and I don't see it as a good evolution. Of course a new team is always welcome but it shouldn't always have this nationalism mixed into it. It has much to do with publicity and economics in my opinion - just imagine being the luxembourgish sponsor when (if) Andy wins the TdF.
However in this specific case it doesn't really make all that much sense because there is such a limited number of luxembourgish riders! There are 5 right now, among which 2 are neo-pro's and one is likely never to ride again. In addition, one of the neo-pro's already has a contract for next year (but as Wiggins showed us that doesn't always mean all that much). Sure there is some talent coming up but again it's only 1 or 2 riders who might become pro, not more.
riobonito92 said:
An unfortunate precedent has been set by Sky and Radioshack. Big money, short term goals, 100% focus on the TdF - and "lesser" teams with traditions, year round racing and development programmes get shunted aside. Will it be bye-bye Lampre? or Lotto?
Agreed! All those teams, as you say, with big money and short-time goals, are doomed to fail in my opinion. That's just not how it works - you need to start out small and always develop over the years until some day you're able to compete in GTs and classics, monuments, etc. And not only in 1 GT because that's where the money is.
I really dislike these teams and I sincerely hope this new Luxembourg team does not become like Sky or RadioShack, however they probably are. A positive example would be Katusha: have a sh*tload of money but have been taking it slow and kept humble, so far no really big transfers, and now the team is ready for Menchov to come.
CrueTrue said:
I still think it's too early to completely write off Riis Cycling.
You should never write off Bjarne Riis in my opinion! Wouldn't be surprised at all if he comes up with a TdF winner in the next 5 years.
JPM London said:
I'm not so sure Fuglsang is completely sold on the Lux thing yet. He's prob waiting to see where he would get the biggest role+money for the coming season. With Schlecks away from Saxo he could be the main GT contender on the team if there are no new big signings.
Also I'm not buying the "Sastre was treated badly and nobody likes Riis" angle.
Agree ... and agree! I think Fuglsang is the biggest talent in Saxo Bank, he can be a serious GT contender in a couple of years, could definitely win Tour de Suisse or Paris-Nice for example. He is the one who profits most of the Schlecks leaving Saxo. C.A. Sorensen was supposed to be the leader at this year's Giro but couldn't really compete for the win due to injury, so maybe we'll see both of them as leaders for Riis' team next year.
Also when Sastre left he talked a whole bunch of cr*p about Riis and the Schlecks, don't know what to believe or whom to believe, but the fact of the matter is that he won the Tour de France so I don't really see why he's complaining. I don't believe that no one likes Riis, all of that speculation just comes from what Sastre said, I've never heard any other riders complaining about him.
theyoungest said:
I think Devolder would be better off there than in a team with both Cancellara and Breschel.
I think the Schlecks will either take Cancellara
or Breschel to their new team, depending on how big the budget is. I can't imagine the two of them riding in the same team together next year, Breschel is simply getting too strong to be kept back by Cancellara.