Tour of Oman

[Libertine Seguros]

To be fair though, with those it's just a case of work Kirchen (if fit) over 2 on 1 then whichever brother's turn it is takes the win. It's barely more sporting than Marc de Maar's Netherlands Antilles national titles.

On the team... it's a Schleck vanity project. If it was really a Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project, about the future of Luxembourg cycling, then you'd think they'd give people like Jempy Drucker and Pit Schlechter a chance, even if they only entered them into smallish races. I mean, there's only 25 riders on Leopard Trek's roster, and the Schleck brothers are the only Luxembourgers. No Didier? No Gastauer? I mean, they bought everybody ELSE out of the Saxo contracts, why not the Luxembourgers?

Surely developing people like Drucker and Schlechter for a Luxembourg team is of more value to a team setting itself up as yet another ersatz national team than giving a ride to journeymen like Bruno Pires and Martin Pedersen?

 

[Kwibus]

I love it how you consistently type Leopard Trek like this: LEOPARD TREK.
Does TREK force you to do this?

 

[maltiv]

I wonder whether LEOPARD TREK and Radioshack will merge à la Garmin-Cervélo at the end of the season, exactly due to the personal contacts of Lance. I doubt the company Radioshack will continue their sponsorship, but in my opinion it would be a good thing for LEOPARD TREK, as it was also a very good thing for Garmin.

God forbid, then we'll probably have to refer to them as LEAPARD TREK RADIOSHACK

 

[ingsve]

Please stop capitalizing Leopard Trek, it's silly.

+1

Yes, the correct way to write it is team-leopard-trek. Also acceptable is leopard-schleck.

 

[Anonymous]

Frank Schleck is basically a Luxembourgian Andreas Kloden with thrush.

Contender.. nah.

 

[mulletCobra]

(LeOpArD!!-_-tReK!!)

 

[sublimit]

Lepper(D)-Trek.

 

[Kazistuta]

I think you guys are getting a bit out of hand now, let's not poke more than we need to.

The joke was good - CHECK

Leopard Trek wouldn't exist today without 2*Schleck - CHECK

Both brothers are great riders, Schlecklet more talented though - CHECK

As Libertine states, it's kinda weird that Leopard Trek didn't sign any other Luxembourg riders - CHECK

We won't know for several years if Leopard Trek will continue, when they don't have the support of the Schleck Bros - CHECK

 

[Christian]

you'd think they'd give people like Jempy Drucker and Pit Schlechter a chance, even if they only entered them into smallish races. (...) No Didier? No Gastauer?

Impressive as always Libertine ...

Indeed I was surprised when they didn't take on Jempy Drucker, and he himself was pretty mad. Apparently Kim Andersen told him to get some nice results at the end of the season and then there'd be a contract in it for him ... then he got 5th at Nokere-Korse but that wasn't enough. I was happy to see Verandas Willems take him on, and I could well imagine him going to LEOPARD TREK in the future (he currently has a 1 year contract with 1 more year optional with Verandas Willems).

However I think Drucker was the only non-professional Luxembourgian who had what it took to step up. Pit Schlechter is not at that level yet, and he is also still very young. It is fair to reproach LEOPARD TREK that they didn't sign Drucker, but Schlechter is simply not good enough (yet). That's maybe why they went for the more experienced Pedersen. Also Drucker is a sprinter and Pires a climber, so one can't really compare them.

As for Didier and Gastauer: they both still had contracts.
I am sure Fränk and Andy would have loved to have Didier on their team, they are good friends and rode many races together last year. In addition to that, Didier is a remarkable domestique IMO. But they didn't sign him because he still had a contract, and since they are honourable people they respected that. The same counts for Gastauer, and I am 100% sure both will be at LEOPARD TREK next season.

Former USPS and Astana rider Benoît Joachim was also a little mopy about not being included. Before the presentation, he dissed Adriano Baffi as a mediocre DS, and that "someone from Luxembourg could easily replace him". I think he hoped that there was a job in it for him. But to be honest he is a bit of an interesting character, and he does not exactly show an extreme passion for the sport. He did not ride the Stuttgart Worlds because he didn't get paid enough (that I could understand), after Astana he joined CCI Differdingen despite having better offers, and ended up racing once during the whole season, after that he tried to get his political career under way but failed to be elected.

I love it how you consistently type Leopard Trek like this: LEOPARD TREK.
Does TREK force you to do this?

It's called getting it right

 

[The Hitch]

I liked the magazine sections between the racing on the Eurosport coverage of Oman.

Facinating. I wish more races had it, and i hope it does help the tourism.

Today was about turtles. Apparently from a nest of 1000 only 2 or 3 are expected to survive the first few hours as they have so many predators and harsh conditions.

How sad

 

[maltiv]

After watching the 30 minute highlights from the ITT, Gesink's win wasn't such a huge surprise after all. The whole course was basically either uphill or easy descent with no sort of technical aspects.

 

[The Hitch]

After watching the 30 minute highlights from the ITT, Gesink's win wasn't such a huge surprise after all. The whole course was basically either uphill or easy descent with no sort of technical aspects.

+ in such situations we often see the guys fighting for gc doing the best.

People are far less likely to go all out, fight the pain for merely a stage victory than someone for the overall. Its surprising that Gesink beat EBH (and ebh looked really slow in the highlights churning that big gear) but a lot of the others wouldn't have been going full out the way he was.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Ofcourse it isn't a big suprise. It's a suprise he won, but doing well in such a TT is not new. Like I always said.

 

[The Hitch]

Oman wants the 2015 world championships.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110220/sp_wl_afp/cyclingomaworld

I was going to find the Spanish version of the story, paste a google translate, translation of it into the quotation box, bold the rest of the post and then add some smileys, but i figured this would be better.

 

[ingsve]

Oman wants the 2015 world championships.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110220/sp_wl_afp/cyclingomaworld

I was going to find the Spanish version of the story, paste a google translate, translation of it into the quotation box, bold the rest of the post and then add some smileys, but i figured this would be better.

Well, isn't the 2015 Worlds suppose to go to Colombia. I think that was the unofficial plan at least.

 

[The Hitch]

Well, isn't the 2015 Worlds suppose to go to Colombia. I think that was the unofficial plan at least.

I heard Canada, (from Carlton Kirby, who said it was official, but hes obviously wrong on that *** with most things) and Pat Mcquaids brother is backing some city in West Virginia (country roads). I would love for it to go to Colombia though.

As i said before though, it should alternate between europe and rest of the world on a yearly bases. All even numbers in europe all odd numbers somewhere else. Giving non european countries a wc every 5 years is wrong.

 

[simo1733]

+1

Yes, the correct way to write it is team-leopard-trek. Also acceptable is leopard-schleck.

Teem Lay-oh-pard Schleck-a-Treck.

 

[auscyclefan94]

After watching the 30 minute highlights from the ITT, Gesink's win wasn't such a huge surprise after all. The whole course was basically either uphill or easy descent with no sort of technical aspects.

Yes you are probbaly right but because it is a time trial it is still surprising.