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Teams & Riders Transfers and Rumours 2019 > 2020

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Hmmmm, I wonder what the protocols are for riders changing agents in that case. If they're stuck with limited choices they might want to use another agent so they don't get stuck. Anyone know? One example of this - it seems De La Cruz was on his way to Movi according to previous rumors, and now he's stuck without a team (so far), he'll likely get signed but will it be somewhere that suits him?

Yeah, if I was a rider I would be annoyed. On the other hand, this agent in particular seems to be getting his clients some good contracts. So they might be happy with him until now. Maybe that will run out with more teams refusing to deal with said agent though.

De La Cruz would have been a good signing and fit for Movistar, on paper. So that is too bad, if he ends up somewhere else.

Would like Bilbao at Movistar too. Dont know if he has the same agent.
 
From the Movistar thread
Seems to be a Unzué vs Acquadro war

Unzué said he won't take any Acquadro riders on his team.

Acquadro responds with: "Unzué is going to suffer from it. I'm taking some of the best young Spaniards, the ones he wants, and they're going somewhere else, like Óscar Rodríguez, Carlos Rodríguez, Alex Aranburu, Sergio Samitier..."

Acquadro also said that he/Carapaz didn't tell Unzué that he was riding the Dutch criterium where he got injured...


https://elpais.com/deportes/2019/08/24/actualidad/1566674751_856479.html
Carlos Rodriguez is with Acquadro, guess that gives even more fuel to the rumors of him signing for Ineos :(
I've got everything crossed hoping the rumors turn out to be false.
 
For years it felt like there were only about ten professional British riders, but all ten were high quality riders. I wondered if I'd rather be British and have only three riders to support at GTs, but they were all likely to win a stage or the race overall, or be Italian/French/Spanish and have 40 riders to support, but few were likely to have any success. Now the generation that must have been inspired by Sir Bradley is coming through and the Brits are no longer limited to a few riders.

There is 21 british riders on the World Tour by the latest count :)

The brits have a lot to thank Brailsford for - the conversion of British Cyclings track project started in the late 90s (when GB was not a force on the track either), to becoming a force in road cycling, was largely his brainchild - and execution.
 
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Orla Chennaoui tweeted that there may be a big row going on behind the scenes at Bora, with the team trying to force Bennett to stay. What exactly the situation is isn’t clear and neither rider nor team are saying anything. Supposedly there’s no contract in place, but there must be some kind of claimed promise or option or something or the team would have no leverage.

Lefevere has mentioned a few weeks ago that Bora were being “difficult”
 
If true it sounds like a weird situation. Bennett has been a model pro about the pecking order issues in Bora, keeping his head down and winning rather than whining in the press. But surely the team can’t expect to force arguably the current fastest guy in the world, certainly one of the best three or four, into a third sprinters role again without big morale problems in the team. So it’s hard to know what their actual aim is. I can’t see how they can offer him a better calendar without alienating Sagan (which they absolutely can’t afford to do) or Ackermann (which they don’t want to do). But I also can’t see why they would want a furious star on their books in their carefully managed no-drama team. Maybe they are looking for a pay off or just don’t want him at DQS? Or maybe they don’t care if he sulks as long as he wins fifteen races.
 
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Interesting: Movistar is refusing to work with Giuseppe Acquadro. I know some other teams have refused to work with him before (like DQS and Trek after the Sosa debacle) but this is pretty striking since they’ve attracted lots of riders through him in the past. That now makes numerous top teams that put him on the blacklist, leaving Ineos (especially) and Astana as key clients. But you can certainly say it dwindles down options for riders in his portfolio. Acquadro has said earlier in the season that he will not let “any of his riders” sign for Movistar.

There are also rumors (one of the sources being l’Equipe) suggesting that Acquadro asked Brailsford directly to let De La Cruz start in the Vuelta allowing him to showcase himself (he’s out of a contract).

Baffling how an agent like that has control or tries to control riders/teams..

I wouldn’t be opposed to a figure like that disappearing from the cycling scene.

I had read the same. This guy seems to be going over the top and making threats. He attacked Unzue in the media, and that whole Sosa situation left a foul taste in my mouth. He's a piece of crap that has a lot of Spanish speaking riders under contract.
 
Orla Chennaoui tweeted that there may be a big row going on behind the scenes at Bora, with the team trying to force Bennett to stay. What exactly the situation is isn’t clear and neither rider nor team are saying anything. Supposedly there’s no contract in place, but there must be some kind of claimed promise or option or something or the team would have no leverage.

Lefevere has mentioned a few weeks ago that Bora were being “difficult”

Can they do that? It's not a matter of refusing to let him terminate a contract early, but a matter of refusing to let him not sign an extension.
 
I can only assume that there’s some now disputed prior verbal agreement or an ambiguous option in his old contract or something similarly messy involved. Otherwise I don’t see how the team can cause problems with a transfer.
Could it be as arbitrary as “you can’t ride a Specialized bike for anyone else”? Which would effectively ban him from signing for DQS. Though I can’t see how Spesh would benefit in any way from that.

More likely, are there maybe bonuses Sam is owed from this year’s wins that Bora are claiming they don’t have to pay if he switches teams? Or that don’t come due until 2020 and later?
 
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My guess is it’s messier than that and Bora think they have something enforceable for next year. If you recall, Lefevere way back when Bennett to DQS was first mentioned as a possibility said that he’d already extended with Bora. I now suspect that Bora claimed that to him at the time to warn him off.
A couple of days ago Bennet clearly said that he has no contract for next year.
 
Yeah, if I was a rider I would be annoyed. On the other hand, this agent in particular seems to be getting his clients some good contracts. So they might be happy with him until now. Maybe that will run out with more teams refusing to deal with said agent though.

De La Cruz would have been a good signing and fit for Movistar, on paper. So that is too bad, if he ends up somewhere else.

Would like Bilbao at Movistar too. Dont know if he has the same agent.

Apparently he's also an Acquadro client, this is a big thing in football. Clubs/teams develop relationships with agents and in turn the agent steers their clients towards that team.
 
Trek announced the signing of two young climbing talents from their development team Kometa, Michel Ries and Juan Pedro Lopez.
Ries was a trainee with Trek last year, he got two 2nd places in the recent Tour de l'Avenir and won a stage in the Giro Valle d'Aosta. On pro level he got a 9th place at the Tour of Sicily.
Lopez is currently a trainee for Trek. He also won a stage in Aosta, and earlier this year finished 6th in the Tour of Hungary.
 
I like what CCC is doing. Focusing on central/eastern europe, getting decent climbing domestiques in place. What is missing now is slightly more support for GVA, but maybe Wisniewski will keep developing and Sajnok makes a jump. Hopefully next year they manage to land a good sprinter and one GC guy.
 
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A couple of days ago Bennet clearly said that he has no contract for next year.
Well clearly he has offers, and he said “I would’ve thought we’d have signed by now.”

It’s possible Bora have some clause in the contract about movement and where he’s allowed go next year, or one-sided extensions, but good luck getting that to stand up in an employment court.

I’m sure as ZL says that it’s more complicated than anything we’ve suggested, but at the same time I’m equally sure it ultimately comes down to Denk and Bennett disagreeing over who owes the other how much money before they part ways.
 
Well clearly he has offers, and he said “I would’ve thought we’d have signed by now.”

It’s possible Bora have some clause in the contract about movement and where he’s allowed go next year, or one-sided extensions, but good luck getting that to stand up in an employment court.

I’m sure as ZL says that it’s more complicated than anything we’ve suggested, but at the same time I’m equally sure it ultimately comes down to Denk and Bennett disagreeing over who owes the other how much money before they part ways.

No I dont think its money .Most teams would pay for him ..Bora definitely want to keep him by hook or by crook..My guess is there are using some legal clause not to release him

So why do that ...well as Brian Smith said ...they do not want him to join the competition next year even if they get a disgruntled employee

The world of cycling contracts and agents is a cut throat business
 
As for Acquadro ..well he may get his clients top dollar but for how long
He is making it very hard for other teams to hang on their talent or get talent as he inflates the market

And you can be sure that any Spanish rider signed with him who want to ride with Movistar will have a fight on their hands as he will have them tied up so tightly
.As an agent he will make money no matter what
 

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