THIS JUST IN: Cancellara leaving Saxo Bank confirmed!!

[Walkman]

Would big george be happy or unhappy to have cancellera on his team? Wouldn't this take away all his chances of riding as a leader in the classics?

George's days are long gone, he won't win any big races whomever he rides with or without. Frankly I think he should retire, BMC are foolish to waste money on him.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

BMC are not paying Hincapie for his results, they're paying him for the exposure he brings.

 

[henryg]

Cancellara needs to be on a team where he is the only star. Having to support Fabian in yellow at the beginning of the Tour is bad for a GC contender as competitive as things are now. If you want to win the Tour you need a team with a single focus. Saxo is now Contador's squad.

I don't think Cancellara would be doing the Schlecks a favor going to their team. A classics team is the natural choice for Cancellara. One where he would not be butting heads and fighting for support with a GC contender in the Grand Tours.

 

[Christian]

He didn't. He was very diplomatic. He said that they have had some great years together.

If you read between the lines he said the Schleck team is sketchy and has no money, and Cancellara is past his zenith and can only get worse from here on anyways. He milked him for what he was worth, now others can take whatever's left if they want.

Both could be true, but still there's no need to say that in public.

 

[GroupDK]

Fabian A.s.s hurts.

Fabian Cancellara a.s.s. hurts so much..

and it wont stop hurting, it killing him softly.

i feel for him, is isnt not funny to have so big an a.s.s that hurts so much.

It all started, when Fabian heard about that Riis would make som money on him, and other teams could buy him free of his contract.

He thinks that its his own A.S.S and he should have all the money for him self.-

Cancellara is to big for any contract and specielly this year when every other rider can negotied there future, hes unhappy that his big name isnt a factor, so that why he instead make sure to make his own rumours, so he again is the mainfigure in the media.

but all in all, his a.s.s hurts so much, that it isnt funny.

He is so very angry of Riis, and that Riis is putting cancellara A.S.S up for sale, to the highest bidding sugar-daddy

I really hope that Fabian finds a nice money-daddy that can give him safety & comfort, and not riding Fabian´s A.S.S to hard.

 

[Benotti69]

Fabian A.s.s hurts.

Fabian Cancellara a.s.s. hurts so much..

and it wont stop hurting, it killing him softly.

i feel for him, is isnt not funny to have so big an a.s.s that hurts so much.

It all started, when Fabian heard about that Riis would make som money on him, and other teams could buy him free of his contract.

He thinks that its his own A.S.S and he should have all the money for him self.-

Cancellara is to big for any contract and specielly this year when every other rider can negotied there future, hes unhappy that his big name isnt a factor, so that why he instead make sure to make his own rumours, so he again is the mainfigure in the media.

but all in all, his a.s.s hurts so much, that it isnt funny.

He is so very angry of Riis, and that Riis is putting cancellara A.S.S up for sale, to the highest bidding sugar-daddy

I really hope that Fabian finds a nice money-daddy that can give him safety & comfort, and not riding Fabian´s A.S.S to hard.

aaaaahhhhh is somebody upset? poor dk......Bjarne will make it all right he'll take the pain away, he has a big bottle of kool aid for the pain

 

[erader]

Poor Contador...once he joined the team, everyone else left. Looks like a quite weak team now.

yes, just like last year when all of contador's team mates jumped ship to RS. don't underestimate riis. he and his sponsors want the big win that wasn't possible with the schleck sisters.

erader

 

[hiero2]

The last years Bjarne has not been that hands on with the team. Kim Andersen has been running things instead. It is the departure of Kim Andersen that has made it all fall apart.

I've sure been wondering what's up with this soap opera. We've had as much drama these last two years from all the byplay as we've had in the races. Cancellara has been an amazingly strong rider, and after his performance as "El Padron" at that stage in the Tour, I'm a fan. I haven't seen anything quite as admirable since Cipo. We've got this whole implosion thing going down at Saxo, and it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. This is about the only assessment I've seen that seems to fit whats happened.

Fabian is pretty big in the head and needs a daddy and comfort.

And when it was clear that Riis wouldn be his daddy next year, but first of all would be there for Contador.

Then he act like a child, and want to make a notice of him self, like we seen yesterday, where he didnt want to make the work he should and help Frank at the end of the stage as agreed, but instead did it his way and leave everybody very fast.

He is a great rider, but i guess with a mind like a child, and its his way or the highway.

anyway i hope that Fabian finds a Daddy that will comfort him and can make a man out of him..

Its a shame that such a great partnership where the Saxo & CSC team has been on top of the world, should end like this.

Wow, dude, taking it all kinda personally, aren't ya? I think you've got the roles all wrong, tho. FC doesn't seem to me the kind of guy who needs somebody to coddle him along.

Dropping out suddenly, w/o notice, and not answering the phone speaks of a great deal of difficult feelings/emotions. The one quip we get "It's best this way" supports that. So does the Riis response. Obviously a LOT has been going down in the Saxo family, and it's sounding like a messy divorce - with some otherwise mature ppl barely keeping a lid on.

I think they all need a long vacation.

 

[craig1985]

Cancellara to BMC? ACF will be stiff for a month.

And should TGBM join...

 

[Ferminal]

He's not signing with anyone. Hes planning to ride next season as an independant and still whupp everyones butts.

In the TTTs too

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

lol brilliant.

Fabians 5 monuments dream might come into conflict with Cuddles LBL wishes. If canc joins to add to the other recruits, cuddles wont lose minutes in the ttt. Unless Canc and everyone else just does the TOC while Cuddles is in Italy. Pretty much what cost him last time.

I doubt cuddles will be at the giro.

 

[peloton]

Will Riis take his motor away now?

 

[Maxiton]

I haven't even read this thread yet. Got home from work, fired up the computer and saw this headline. God, how could you let a rider like Cancellera get away? Riis is, imo, a neurotic idiot. I've thought this ever since he displayed his less-than-thoughtful, passive-aggressive style in "Overcoming" (great film, btw), wherein you could see him needlessly alienating Sastre and others. For all his vaunted team building camps, Riis could accomplish much more by simply taking a look at himself. A long, hard, deep look.

Meanwhile, though, it will be interesting to see where Cancellera ends up. He has many great years ahead of him (despite what Riis is trying, somewhat desperately, to imply).

 

[Bicicleta]

Biciciclsmos says he's BMC bound

http://biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=30630

Ahora la gran duda es saber dónde va a correr el fenómeno suizo. Se ha hablado de varias opciones entre las que destacaba la posibilidad de correr junto a los hermanos Schleck en el nuevo equipo luxemburgués, pero fuentes cercanas al BMC de Cadel Evans han dicho a BICICICLISMO que quien tiene firmado el nuevo contrato de Cancellara es el equipo de Andy Riis, magnate suizo propietario, entre otras muchas empresas, de la empresa de bicicletas que patrocina su propio equipo.

Sources close to BMC told Biciciclismo that Fabian has already signed a contract with Andy Riis's team.

 

[luckyboy]

Nobody knows if SBS will get the 3 million for him, do they?

 

[happychappy]

Will Riis take his motor away now?

Oh you!

 

[theswordsman]

Nobody knows if SBS will get the 3 million for him, do they?

From what I've read, I'm not even sure if it was a buy-out.

Fabian and I have had some fantastic years together, but that is over now. We have agreed that it would be best if we part ways," he said

That doesn't sound like a guy who was just handed a check for three million. And with Cancellara bailing in the middle of Friday's stage for no reason, leaving town without talking to anyone, and not answering his cell phone, I believe a lot of this is Riis's idea.

It's not known yet which offer Cancellara will accept. In this economy, it would be something if all three (known) teams had tentatively agreed to pony up three million plus salary. So it seems that if there was a contract buy-out, it would have been Cancellara's own money.

 

[khardung la]

I have the feeling that the Cancellara we have seen this year would not be of much help to Contador ( aside from a TTT, where he would help quite a bit).

Cancellara has his own agenda, which is good for any team...that is not authentically focused in winning the TdF. Cancellara will try to win again some classics, he will not need such a strong team for that. Riis will try to win the TdF with Contador, he needs 8 guys 100% commited to Contador.

That said I think Riis may be "socially impaired", the guy is a mess regarding personal relationships and team management. It was bad with Sastre, then the Schlecks, now Cancellara...

 

[HL2037]

If you read between the lines he said the Schleck team is sketchy and has no money, and Cancellara is past his zenith and can only get worse from here on anyways. He milked him for what he was worth, now others can take whatever's left if they want.

Both could be true, but still there's no need to say that in public.

I didn't read it, is saw it on tv when Bjarne was interviewed post stage by Danish TV" in danish. I can assure you that he was very calm and composed and there was no anger between the lines or in his voice.

He did not say anything about team Lux at all, and he wouldn't comment on where Fabian is going, said that FB should tell that himself.

 

[HL2037]

There seems to be confusion about what Bjarne actually said and how he said it. I have translated the direct quotes from the live interview on TV2 Denmark after saturday's stage the best I could (better than googletranslate anyways).

Here is the quote in danish from sporten.tv2.dk:

- Jeg vil sige det sådan, at Fabian og jeg har lavet en aftale om, at han kan blive løst for sin kontrakt. Det vil sige, at han ikke er at finde på vores hold til næste år
...
- Fabian og jeg har haft nogle fantastiske år samme, men det skal være **** nu. Vi er enige om, at det er bedst, at vores veje skilles. Og vi ser frem til nogle nye mål.
...
- Fabian kan ikke erstattes. Sådan er det. Men der skal være vilje og lyst til at køre på vores cykelhold
...
- Det må være Fabian selv der skal komme ud med, hvor hans fremtid ligger

http://sporten.tv2.dk/cykling/article.php/id-33669740:cancellara-er-færdig-hos-riis.html

Here is my translation:

-I will put it like this: Fabian and I have made an agreement that he can get out of his contract. That means that he won't be in our team next year.
...
- Fabian and I have had some fantastic years together, but it has to end now. We have agreed that it is best to go our separate ways. And we are looking forwards to new goals.
...
- Fabian can't be replaced. That's the way it is. But there has to be a will and a desire to ride in our team
...
- It should be Fabian himself who tells where his future lies.

 

[craig1985]

Thanks for the translation.

 

[theswordsman]

Here is my translation:

Thank you.

 

[Christian]

There seems to be confusion about what Bjarne actually said and how he said it. I have translated the direct quotes from the live interview on TV2 Denmark after saturday's stage the best I could (better than googletranslate anyways).

Here is the quote in danish from sporten.tv2.dk:

Oh OK I think we are referring to different sources. I was talking about this article on CN:http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/riis-on-cancellara-i-got-the-best-out-of-him

Riis on Cancellara: “I got the best out of him”

Bjarne Riis (...) has hinted the world time trial champion and multiple classics winner may never be as successful as he was during his five years with CSC and Saxo Bank.

“Fabian is special and it’s impossible to replace him but he’s moved on and that’s how it is. I got the best out of him. But now it’s over.

This was unnecessary IMO and it sounds like "I milked him for what he was worth, he can only go downwards from here on".

However Riis questioned the viability of the Luxembourg project being created by his former staff members Brian Nygaard and Kim Andersen and captained by Andy and Frank Schleck.

“I don’t honestly know who he is going to ride for, he didn’t tell me. It could be the Luxembourg team but it's strange how they are doing things. Nobody knows anything about the team, they haven’t said who will sponsor and fund the team.”

What he says here is basically true, but it is underlying that it's a sketchy, not trustworthy team. Andersen & Co. are responsible for creating that image by being so secretive about everything, but again, I feel that this was a bit uncalled for.

 

[HL2037]

Oh OK I think we are referring to different sources. I was talking about this article on CN:http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/riis-on-cancellara-i-got-the-best-out-of-him

Ah, that explains it, didn't see that.

This was unnecessary IMO and it sounds like "I milked him for what he was worth, he can only go downwards from here on".

What he says here is basically true, but it is underlying that it's a sketchy, not trustworthy team. Andersen & Co. are responsible for creating that image by being so secretive about everything, but again, I feel that this was a bit uncalled for.

I do think you are reading things into this. Looking at the time the article was posted, Riis must have talked to CN directly after the TV interview. He has also used almost exactly the same words. And on TV he didn't come across as trying to slander neither Cancellara nor Schlecks.

Things are getting lost or appearing in translation. It's about tone of voice and expressions too. The way I understood it, the reporter asked Riis if Fabian was going to Luxembourg, and he answered that he doesn't know because nobody knows.

 

[python]

the other day i spoke with a danish friend of mine who follows cycling very closely. he turned out to be right predicting that cancellara will leave riis. he told me his information was based on the opinion of a rider who still rides for riis.

imo bjarne’s decision to let fabian go is a wise one. if a rider of cancellara’s statue is held back against his will, it would surely poison the re-built team’s morale. otoh, and i said this before, riis the strong-willed disciplinarian may bring sparks with berto down the road. i hope not as i like them both as in individuals and as a sporting combination.

canc to lux my prediction.