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Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread

Page 341 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Does the contract team have a responsibility to notify suitors?
My best guess is that the first step should be for the suitors to approach the team holding the contract. Contract holders are not, on the whole, looking to sell those assets, but they might occasionally get a call asking "Would you be interested in selling X?" And if they are not, X should never even hear about it.

And it might happen fairly frequently, but without, quite properly, us ever hearing about it.
 
Julien Vermote returns to pro-peloton with Visma (after they could not get Kron I suppose)
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...nd-is-immediately-available-to-us-as-a-helper
Vermote, 34 years of age, has been a World Tour pro with outfits such as Soudal - Quick-Step, Dimension Data, Cofidis and most recently Alpecin-Deceuninck (their current names). In 2023 he did not find a contract and effectively did not race at pro level. However his value did not come down, and Team Visma | Lease a Bike recognized the value.
 
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Normally Postlberger would have been a better option for Visma, instead of Vermote. Surprisingly they now signed Vermote.

Vermote and Pozzovivo nowadays have become the playthings of the WT and PCTs… That is sad.

Humans beings psychologically seek safety, and avoid uncertainty. Vermote and Pozzo now almost every offseason have to train seriously, without knowing if they will be offered a pro contract, for the year after, at all. I think that is very frustrating for these two riders.

Of course I‘m glad for Vermote. And I hope Pozzovivo will join Corratec soon.
 
Normally Postlberger would have been a better option for Visma, instead of Vermote. Surprisingly they now signed Vermote.

Vermote and Pozzovivo nowadays have become the playthings of the WT and PCTs… That is sad.

Humans beings psychologically seek safety, and avoid uncertainty. Vermote and Pozzo now almost every offseason have to train seriously, without knowing if they will be offered a pro contract, for the year after, at all. I think that is very frustrating for these two riders.

Of course I‘m glad for Vermote. And I hope Pozzovivo will join Corratec soon.
Well said.
 
The James Fouché deal has now been confirmed by Euskaltel.

The team has been less strict regarding the Basque only/riders who have spend at least two years in a Basque development team rules than was the case back in most of the PT/WT era, so it's not too surprising that a "foreigner" has now got a spot on the team. And Fouché obviously deserved to get a contract after the Notlob closure.

The romantic in me would have preferred a Basque only team, but I can also fully understand why that might not work in the future, and the number one priority should of course always be to keep the team alive, as long as the Basque identity lives on as well.
 
The James Fouché deal has now been confirmed by Euskaltel.

The team has been less strict regarding the Basque only/riders who have spend at least two years in a Basque development team rules than was the case back in most of the PT/WT era, so it's not too surprising that a "foreigner" has now got a spot on the team. And Fouché obviously deserved to get a contract after the Notlob closure.

The romantic in me would have preferred a Basque only team, but I can also fully understand why that might not work in the future, and the number one priority should of course always be to keep the team alive, as long as the Basque identity lives on as well.

Yeah there's just no way they will be top 30 (to get GT WCs) next season if they don't take in non basqua riders.
 
Unless they all sign lightweight climbers and go and dominate the Asian calender

They could also go the Tashkent/Uzbeki route and get some Basque races organised with the sole purpose of upping their points score. Maybe even get some of their unselected riders onto a Basque national team and have them ride against the main team in those races, or simply fake the results.
 
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Or the budget went haywire and they were able to sign all those Basque riders who are very obviously off-limits for them now, like Landa, Aranburu, Bilbao, Lazkano, Castroviejo, the Izagirres and Fraile.

That would be the dream. Then the MMR Academy should be made an official feeder team, Nieve and Oroz could join as DSs, and Txurruka could become the team's mascot and drive around in Igor Antón's Citroën 2CV.
 
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