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

[RedheadDane]

The only grand tours he has done are Giro 2020 and TdF 2021 and in both he had a GC ending crash on stage 3. I don't really understand where the inconsistency is.

That's just taking consistency to a whole new level!

 

[Armchair cyclist]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1436316313765490694

View: https://twitter.com/RiesMichel/status/1436316313765490694

Memo to Arkea: Please do not use the template for a death notification (black background, prominent date range, ethereally smiling face) to announce signings.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Memo to Arkea: Please do not use the template for a death notification (black background, prominent date range, ethereally smiling face) to announce signings.

Yeah, it does look quite dusturbing actually. At least it says bienvenue, so we know he's welcome in the after life.

 

[perico]

I cannot make this a link, but didn't you guys say Lopez was going to Astana? (This podcast earlier also suggested Mas was going to UAE, and that was obviously not correct) So weird photoshopping Lopez into UAE when the podcast doesn't even believe it.

View: https://youtu.be/yFixlL2tEu8

While the Lopez move hasn’t been officially confirmed, we can confirm other riders that were listed in the arrticle (Aranburu and Gorka). This all came from El Pais, who I trust a bit more than The Cycling Dane.

LOL at even the idea of Mas to UAE. He’s signed for Movistar for another year and Movistar would NEVER let him break his contract as long as he’s the #1 Spanish GC contender. That’s just bad business since Ayuso is tied up with UAE until 2025 or something. I don’t see Mas wanting to leave either.

 

[Ricco']

Maurice Ballerstedt three years with Alpecin.

 

[postmanhat]

I think what Doull means is that he'd like to go for more wins. At a weaker team he'll have more chances.

Yes. that's pretty much what I said

I was reacting to the suggestion that he'd been 'stifled' at Ineos. He just wasn't quite good enough to achieve success at a top-end WT team

 

[Pinot's goat]

En Italia aseguran que Egan Bernal podría tener nuevo equipo para el próximo año

El colombiano en el 2021 fue campeón del Giro de Italia y top-10 en la Vuelta a España

www.infobae.com

First paragraph translated:
A rumor takes force among the Italian sports press, this after the experienced journalist, cycling expert, Beppe Conti said on Rai Radio Corsa that the Egan Bernal with the INEOS Grenadiers were not the best and the Israel StarUp Nation was behind get to the talent of the Colombian.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Working for Froome again, like the old days

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Maurice Ballerstedt three years with Alpecin.

Nice signing.

 

[laarsland]

En Italia aseguran que Egan Bernal podría tener nuevo equipo para el próximo año

El colombiano en el 2021 fue campeón del Giro de Italia y top-10 en la Vuelta a España

www.infobae.com

First paragraph translated:
A rumor takes force among the Italian sports press, this after the experienced journalist, cycling expert, Beppe Conti said on Rai Radio Corsa that the Egan Bernal with the INEOS Grenadiers were not the best and the Israel StarUp Nation was behind get to the talent of the Colombian.

I would like for my wife to title me as Infobae.

Big Ballerstedt great signing. Alpecin going all in on strength in depth for domestiques for classics plus sprints backed by a cadre of stage hunters is a very clear cut strategy. Compare that to the mess of ISN for 2022…

 

[Lininho]

En Italia aseguran que Egan Bernal podría tener nuevo equipo para el próximo año

El colombiano en el 2021 fue campeón del Giro de Italia y top-10 en la Vuelta a España

www.infobae.com

First paragraph translated:
A rumor takes force among the Italian sports press, this after the experienced journalist, cycling expert, Beppe Conti said on Rai Radio Corsa that the Egan Bernal with the INEOS Grenadiers were not the best and the Israel StarUp Nation was behind get to the talent of the Colombian.

Please don't quote Beppe Conti, he's always wrong

 

[Koronin]

While the Lopez move hasn’t been officially confirmed, we can confirm other riders that were listed in the arrticle (Aranburu and Gorka). This all came from El Pais, who I trust a bit more than The Cycling Dane.

LOL at even the idea of Mas to UAE. He’s signed for Movistar for another year and Movistar would NEVER let him break his contract as long as he’s the #1 Spanish GC contender. That’s just bad business since Ayuso is tied up with UAE until 2025 or something. I don’t see Mas wanting to leave either.

Exactly. Mas is signed through next year. I wouldn't be shocked if they start working on a contract extension/new contract etc during the off season for him. They don't want him going anywhere. Not sure why he'd want to go anywhere either. He's their GT GC rider and Valverde has more or less already handed the keys to the team over to Mas.

 

[Leinster]

From a team's perspective that's more or less the same. Whether he's inconsistent in performances or he crashes all the time doesn't really matter much, because it leads to inconsistency in results.

Tbf, the air time that G consistently gets as a “TdF winner who has crashed” is probably exactly what sponsors love to see. The inevitable line of Ineos jerseys towing him back up to the bunch is a lot better publicity than the equally inevitable solo Wanty/Cofidis jersey slowly but surely being detached from a 10-15 rider groupe maillot jaune halfway up the day’s major difficulty.

 

[Salvarani]

Max Kanter, Gorka Izagirre and Alex Aranburu all going to Movistar.

Omar Fraile to Ineos

Jakob Fuglsang to Bike Exhange.

From the articles on the main site.

Astana will have a pretty big rebuild of their roster I guess...

 

[Anderis]

Kanter to Movistar is just one of these transfers you would never be able to guess. He is such an unmovistarlike signing.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Kanter to Movistar is just one of these transfers you would never be able to guess. He is such an unmovistarlike signing.

I'd have said any of the Germans that have gone to Movistar don't make sense at first. I know they've been trying to bolster their squad in one day races so we've seen the likes of Sütterlin, Cullaigh, Cortina, Jacobs, etc (of which three aren't German!), so it could be related to that. But they've also got Juri Hollman on contract till 2023 whose had a few decent results and he signed after riding as a stagiare for Katusha. Both rode Canyon at the time, so I wonder if it's both German riders have moved over with some help from a German sponsor?

 

[Mayomaniac]

Max Kanter, Gorka Izagirre and Alex Aranburu all going to Movistar.

Omar Fraile to Ineos

Jakob Fuglsang to Bike Exhange.

From the articles on the main site.

Astana will have a pretty big rebuild of their roster I guess...

Rumour has it that MAL back to Astana is a done deal and that Valerio Conti + Moscon are coming alongside Nibali. Keeping Pronskyi and Sobrero is probably also high up on the to do list.
Besides those already mentioned Ivan Ramiro Sosa and Oscar Rodriguez are also going to Movistar (seems that Aquadro is once again willing to work with them), same with Lazkano and the talented Ivan Romeo.
(main) source: https://www.tuttobiciweb.it/article/2021/09/12/1631351502/movistar-valverde-romeo-acquadro
That looks like a nice team and compensated the losses of Soler and MAL to a certain degree. Abner Gonzales and Einer Rubio to the Giro with a few other young guys and a strong team around Mas for the Tour.

 

[laarsland]

Oh the joy of watching Einer Rubio refusing to pull, attack, get reeled in, refusing to pull and then get dropped for yet another Giro.

 

[WKA311]

I'd have said any of the Germans that have gone to Movistar don't make sense at first. I know they've been trying to bolster their squad in one day races so we've seen the likes of Sütterlin, Cullaigh, Cortina, Jacobs, etc (of which three aren't German!), so it could be related to that. But they've also got Juri Hollman on contract till 2023 whose had a few decent results and he signed after riding as a stagiare for Katusha. Both rode Canyon at the time, so I wonder if it's both German riders have moved over with some help from a German sponsor?

Yes, Canyon wants a german there plus Movistars parent company has big business in Germany through O2 branch as well.

Hollmann was brought on like you indicated through the Katusha stagiaire stint. Canyon identified him there and Movistar still needed a German, specifically they wanted an U23. At that time there really wasn't any unsigned german U23s with good result/big obvious promise left on the market, so they went with Hollmann. Hollmann didn't really have great results at that time but he had good numbers and was still pretty young. So they figured he had big room for improvement. He himself said that he logically should have stayed another year in the U23 ranks for getting some results and maybe wins, but the opportunity to go WT maybe wasn't coming again, so he went for it.

From what Hollmann said since and also the team plus results indicate, I think both sides are pretty happy. He has been developing pretty good and is a reliable helper already, while still being young enough to develop further.

 

[Roku]

Hollman seems a decent project. 22-year-old with ITT and cobbles potential. Could be "the next Nils Pollitt".

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Yes, Canyon wants a german there plus Movistars parent company has big business in Germany through O2 branch as well.

O2 is a very major player in mobile phones in UK/Ireland too, but I hope they are not relying on Gabriel Cullaigh's profile to maintain that market share.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Was Milan Vader to Jumbo never actually confirmed?
French MTB star Victor Koretzky is heading to B&B Hotels

https://twitter.com/x/status/1437355523351928832

View: https://twitter.com/BBHOTELSpbKTM/status/1437355523351928832

https://twitter.com/x/status/1437370574108495872

View: https://twitter.com/BBHOTELSpbKTM/status/1437370574108495872

 

[Samu Cuenca]

According to L’Equipe Cofidis wants to keep Viviani, if he agrees to take a pay cut, which he is allegedly considering doing, because he has to anyway if he moves elsewhere.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Interesting Koretzky news, and another rider from KMC-Orbea moving (though the Vader news hasn't been confirmed, has it?) Probably the most skilled, technical rider in XC racing. I'm pretty sure he rode in the 2012 Junior CX Worlds behind MvdP. Will be fascinating to see how he goes.....

 

[Ricco']

I'm curious to see what bike will Vader use as I don't think Cervélo has any offerings for MTB right now.

Also curious to see so many riders focusing also on the road right now when the fight for the wins in XCO is more open than ever with Schurter not looking like the previous dominating man.