Transfers and Rumours 2011 > 2012

[AussieGoddess]

Are you and acf the same person?

LOL - definitely not. I am much more polite

Cadel isnt my favourite - but he is Aussie, so is up there. (I know, the whole nationalist thing isnt the done thing ... but its a good thing for Australian cycling, and I was pretty happy for Tina Arena to sing Advance Australia Fair on the Champs Elysee, so was genuinely happy that he won)

Gilbert on the other hand .... I am a fan of, so am happy he is going to the team he wanted, and will be happy at. I am also a huge Thor Hushovd fan, so them together is all good for me

 

[jobiwan]

+ A million.

Looks like we all have to look to Piti now.

Or you could root for the Schlecks!!

 

[Andy99]

LOL - definitely not. I am much more polite

Cadel isnt my favourite - but he is Aussie, so is up there. (I know, the whole nationalist thing isnt the done thing ... but its a good thing for Australian cycling, and I was pretty happy for Tina Arena to sing Advance Australia Fair on the Champs Elysee, so was genuinely happy that he won)

Gilbert on the other hand .... I am a fan of, so am happy he is going to the team he wanted, and will be happy at. I am also a huge Thor Hushovd fan, so them together is all good for me

Good stuff! There was no harm in just checking.

Sounds like next season should make interesting following for you then..

 

[Andy99]

Wonder what the chances are of Adam Blythe following Phil to BMC?

As far as I know they are big pals, with Phil personally requsting Adam's presence as a domestique in a number of races - notably the spring classics this year...

 

[luckyboy]

Would've preferred Gilbert to go to OP-QST, but nevermind.

Also, can we get a list + links of which riders are retiring at the end of the season please? I haven't really kept track of this for the confirmed transfers thread.

 

[Sum_of_Marc]

Wonder what the chances are of Adam Blythe following Phil to BMC?

As far as I know they are big pals, with Phil personally requsting Adam's presence as a domestique in a number of races - notably the spring classics this year...

Blythe was said to have signed for BMC a month or two ago

 

[Havetts]

Or you could root for the Schlecks!!

We're going to have to root for Piti it is.

 

[Andy99]

Blythe was said to have signed for BMC a month or two ago

Ok cheers. Must have missed that.

 

[dlwssonic]

LOL...People thinking you are an aussie is quite amusing.

I am not so sure about this transfer. For some reason I just don't see it turning out well.

Taylor Phinney has posted an amusing tweet

"I'm happy to announce that Cristiano Ronaldo has also signed for BMC thru 2014! But seriously, stoked to have Gilbert and Thor on board!"

It kinda gets irritating when people label me an aussie and saying stuff about aussie fans right after my post. They think all Cadel fans are aussie.
Im sure it will go ok next year, cadel is a team player. Gilbert will be a guranteed success for BMC if he can keep half of his spring form

 

[Lexman]

VDB signed for four years with Lotto, he confirmed it at a press conference this afternoon before the start of The Vuelta


source

 

[benpounder]

Damn Don't like this news, with Evans being one of the only ones who could beat Gilbert in the Classics.

and where do they keep finding all that money

I think Thor is the real loser. He must be second guessing his hissy-fit that got him off Garmin.

 

[ingsve]

I think Thor is the real loser. He must be second guessing his hissy-fit that got him off Garmin.

I'm sure Thor was 100% aware that Gilbert was also joining BMC and that it was their wish to find a team to ride together on.

 

[Nielsa]

We know Gilbert isn't targeting Paris-Roubaix and he doesn't really seem to care much about M-SR either. Vice-versa, Hushovd doesn't target the Ardennes or Lombardia etc etc.

Also, what ingsve said. Gilbert and Hushovd are real life buddies over in Monaco.

 

[l.Harm]

link or it didn't happen

no srsly I don't remember

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?p=633536&highlight=Gilbert+Boonen#post633536

 

[Lexman]

We know Gilbert isn't targeting Paris-Roubaix and he doesn't really seem to care much about M-SR either. Vice-versa, Hushovd doesn't target the Ardennes or Lombardia etc etc.

Also, what ingsve said. Gilbert and Hushovd are real life buddies over in Monaco.

Gilbert wants to win all classics and MSR is on his list for a long time...

 

[Mellow Velo]

I think Thor is the real loser. He must be second guessing his hissy-fit that got him off Garmin.

I don't see it as a problem.

Cobbles classics BMC have Thor, George, Ballan etc
Hilly classics Phil Gil, GvA etc.
Cadel has a free hand to either join the hilly classics club or simple run a "light" Tour programme.
I have a feeling they may well want him to ride California, next year, given he's the TDF champ.

The other teams on the other hand.........now, they do have a problem.

I do agree with those who think that cycling fans may have a problem, in terms of the quality of racing we get as a result this "superteam" setup.

 

[pastronef]

I don't see it as a problem.

Cobbles classics BMC have Thor, George, Ballan etc
.

will they really keep Ballan and his doping problems for next year too?

 

[jobiwan]

We're going to have to root for Piti it is.

It was worth a try!!

 

[virandociclista]

Gilbert and Thor are real friends. They live near and train together almost every day. They are happy to be in the same team. The win of one is like the other win too. It's what happen between real friends.

So, Gilbert and Thor now are making plains like:

Gilbert will help Thor win MSR, Paris-Roubaix and Flaanders. Or maybe Gilbert win like devolder+boonen in 2008,2009 flaanders.

Thor will help Gilbert win in the Ardennes.

Now I'm more excited to see what will happen in the classics next year than in the Tour!

My favourites classic guys are in the same team!

 

[virandociclista]

What new riders Saxo Bank are adding for help Contador next year?

I'm a big fan of Contador and I don't understand why he not have a great and strong team. Every time that AC change team he need to begin a create a new team from nothing.

 

[hrotha]

Gilbert wants to win MSR and RVV too. Unless Hushovd only cares about Roubaix, this isn't going to work.

 

[Fetisoff]

What new riders Saxo Bank are adding for help Contador next year?

I'm a big fan of Contador and I don't understand why he not have a great and strong team. Every time that AC change team he need to begin a create a new team from nothing.

Well, he did have his Spanish amigos over from Astana. They were just invisible in the tour, because they were too tired from the Giro, and obviously they can't recover like he can

 

[El Pistolero]

Gilbert wants to win MSR and RVV too. Unless Hushovd only cares about Roubaix, this isn't going to work.

Why do people think Thor can win the RvV? He has always sucked there.

Pozzato, Boonen and Bettini never had any problems at Milan-San Remo. On the contrary...

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Damn Don't like this news, with Evans being one of the only ones who could beat Gilbert in the Classics.

and where do they keep finding all that money

Well, with US economy crumbling I had expected some changes in US-based teams. The demise of HTC did not surprise. But while BMC is US-based on paper, they have all that Swiss money to back them. And team BMC have half dozen or so Swiss riders that the Swiss-based bike company and sponsor I'm sure would like to continue sponsoring. I mean, BMC's interest as a cycling sponsor is likely to be multi-pronged: advertising for their bikes, they love cycling, they love their countrymen on the team.

Anyway, this is a forum expolsion with lots of interesting takes here. Here's one: Maybe Phil one day, like in the next couple years, sees himself as a GC contender for the big GTs. The way he is slaying the field, he might be thinking "ok, I've accomplished this and that, and I would like a new big challenge". Not that he's bored doing what he's been doing, but maybe he feels there is not much left to prove in that area. Maybe he would love to accomplish something more. If I was him, that's what I would be thinking. Turning his interest in a few years to the GTs could fit pretty well with Cadel nearing the end of his career, or maybe sooner.

 

[virandociclista]

Well, he did have his Spanish amigos over from Astana. They were just invisible in the tour, because they were too tired from the Giro, and obviously they can't recover like he can

I did see AC friends in the giro, maybe tiralong .... AC biggest mistake was to join JB/discovery in 2007... if he had been joined caisse in 2007 his life was much more easy... poor champion.