Anderis said:
Zinoviev Letter said:
Larry Warbasse (IAM) effectively announced that he's moving to Aqua Blue. It's just about possible that his "looking forward to next year" picture of a shamrock indicated a left field move to join An Post if he's lost his mind.
Ahh, that would be disappointing for me since I really wanted him to join Cannondale. Signing guys like Vanmarcke, Carthy and Phinney is good, but that's not really enough to balance the amount of unspectacular, but solid riders who left. There were rumours linking Warbasse and Van Asbroeck with Cannondale, but if they don't come true, I can't see how they are not going to suffer shortened support in many races next year. There are very little riders of that calibre left on the market. And WT calendar will likely be expanded significantly next year.
I don't really understand why Warbasse was apparently struggling to find a new contract. He's a rider that could be very useful to most teams.
I agree that he'd have been a good addition to Cannondale. According to PCS there are now 24 Cannondale-Drapac riders announced. With the expanded season they really do need more than that, so it will be interesting to see who they've got. Their "headline" signings, Carthy, Vanmarcke, Phinney have been so obviously good that I hadn't really noticed that they haven't really brought in additional support until you mentioned it. The riders they do have look pretty good - there are very few of the 24 who I wouldn't have kept in their shoes - but that balance could shift if the last names are duds.
On a positive note, I think that Mullen will be like an additional signing next year.