Transfers "Rumours & Reality" and Young Guns

[issoisso]

Being reported that Davide Vigano has signed for Sky. Any Good? What type of rider is he?

A sprinter who could maybe be fast if he ever got out of the saddle....which he doesn't. ever. even when sprinting. He just pedals "normally" really hard.

 

[Bala Verde]

A sprinter who could maybe be fast if he ever got out of the saddle....which he doesn't. ever. even when sprinting. He just pedals "normally" really hard.

Interesting technique. Is there not a special discipline on the track for these guys. The 'non-standing sprint' or something?

 

[issoisso]

Is there not a special discipline on the track for these guys. The 'non-standing sprint' or something?

Are you serious?

 

[Bala Verde]

Are you serious?

No.

I was only trying to help him with his career. Although I think the competition would be marginal as I have never seen a sprinter who doesn't get out of the saddle...

 

[issoisso]

Speaking of average sprinters, Paride Grillo comes out of retirement to sign with A-Style

 

[Anonymous]

russ downling interviewed on bbc when asked about the tour de france "we are just waiting for the pro tour licence to be granted which we think it will be"

so thats team skys PT licence then..?

 

[taiwan]

Tom Zirbel goes to Garmin from Bissel. Sorry if it's been posted.

 

[craig1985]

Frenchman Romain Sicard who is having a fine Tour de l'Avenir will turn pro next year for Euskaltel-Euskadi.

 

[ingsve]

Being reported that Davide Vigano has signed for Sky. Any Good? What type of rider is he?

So, who do we think will be the designated bunch sprinter for Sky? Vigano? Henderson? Even EBH? Or are there other alternatives among the already announced people? Or could there be someone else about to be announced?

 

[Anonymous]

So, who do we think will be the designated bunch sprinter for Sky? Vigano? Henderson? Even EBH? Or are there other alternatives among the already announced people? Or could there be someone else about to be announced?

Technically Downing can sprint, but i think in the one sprint he contested in ToI it showed that there is a massive gulf between dominating domestically and repeating in on a world stage.. that said, theres 1 sprinter in the world dominating anyway, so russ has as much chance as boonen, ferrar and the rest of them..

I dont think team sky is going to be much of a sprint wins team anyway.. DB dont mess about, hes after classics, tour podiums, and then if they can get riders in breakaways possible stage wins, dont think leadout trains and sprinting are much on his agenda..

Obviously DB has no road experience, this is a new thing for him, but he has the right people around him, if he can repeat even half of the transformation he made to the track team, from nohopers to world beaters (and more youth coming through every week, more junior world champs again this year), they will do ok for wins..

be interesting for british fans if we get any more tv coverage, we are already pretty spoilt, the only downside being eurosports blatent refusal to operate anything vaguely resembling an on time schedule.. weve got used to recording 1hr either side of programs now.. :/

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Frenchman Romain Sicard who is having a fine Tour de l'Avenir will turn pro next year for Euskaltel-Euskadi.

I thought they only signed basque riders ?

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Technically Downing can sprint, but i think in the one sprint he contested in ToI it showed that there is a massive gulf between dominating domestically and repeating in on a world stage.. that said, theres 1 sprinter in the world dominating anyway, so russ has as much chance as boonen, ferrar and the rest of them..

I dont think team sky is going to be much of a sprint wins team anyway.. DB dont mess about, hes after classics, tour podiums, and then if they can get riders in breakaways possible stage wins, dont think leadout trains and sprinting are much on his agenda..

at this point they would be lucky to get a guy in the top 20 ay the tour They need a GC rider.

 

[Bala Verde]

I thought they only signed basque riders ?

I thought Sicard was a french Basque? He does come from their Orbea feeder team...

 

[craig1985]

Sicard is from Bayonne

 

[issoisso]

It's the second time we're discussing his "basqueness" on this topic

Just go back a few dozen pages and look for the posts around the time Euskaltel announced his signing and you'll get your answer

 

[samb01]

Go back upthread and read all the praise and amazement for Brailsford's standards.

Not the issue.

While you're at it, tell me about the in-house antidoping measures Cervelo has.

Non sequitur.

 

[filipo]

Not the issue.

Non sequitur.

Dominus vobiscum.

It is the issue. My point, again, is that Brailsford is going on about how clean his team will be. People in this thread and others seem to believe him, seem to think that his standards for hiring riders will be the absolute highest. What I'm saying is that by hiring Flecha, by hiring guys from teams with quite obvious team-wide doping programs, he's operating under the status quo. That is the issue, that is my complaint. What is so hard to understand? You don't think riders from Discovery and Barloworld are tainted. I do.

As for my Cervelo comment -- you asked why don't I suspect Cervelo riders because "after all Riis team rode Cervelos". Your implication is that I'm too quick to link tenuous doping connections. But the connection of Cervelo with doping has nothing to do with Riis -- it has to do with the fact that they have no internal program, and they've had a couple of come-from-nowhere riders shine brightly this year, which I find suspicious.

At any rate, you sound like an optimist. I am not.

 

[Mickey75]

Now I might be being thick but isn't this topic "Transfers 'Rumours & Reality' and Young Guns".

Some quick suggestions:
1) Start a thread on Dave Brailsfords Doping Policy
2) Start another thread called Teams and Riders that MIGHT have Doped.
3) Another thread called Teams and Riders that MIGHT have doped and here is some evidence or article to PROVE IT.

My guess is that Thread 2 would get used a lot but Thread 3 would probably be empty as most of the allegations thrown about in this thread seem to be completely without evidence to back them up or have some of you got the riders that keep getting mentioned Doping Passports under your beds.

 

[badboyberty]

After witnessing another amazing bit of I-can't-believe-we-call-this-teamwork I'm wondering if anyone has heard anything solid about Cadel getting a new teamfor 2010? Silence finally seemed to have someone in the right place at the right time and what happens, FdG takes big turns at the front of doomed escape group while his team leader tries to make a minute up by himself...?

I don't know if the problem is the riders or the DS's but something is not right in Silence-land.

 

[Bala Verde]

Anyway, back to transfer news:

Ongarato (LPR) to Vacansoleil. He'll be used as a launching pad for sprinters like Feillu and Bozic.

From Vacansoleil's official website:

Vacansoleil Pro Cycling team is blij en trots de komst van Alberto Ongarato aan te kunnen kondigen.

De ervaren Italiaan zal een contract tekenen voor de jaren 2010 en 2011.

De 34-jarige Ongarato zal vooral ingezet worden in de voorbereiding op de massasprints. Met de sprinters Borut Bozic en Romain Feillu hoopt Vacansoleil volgend jaar wederom mee te kunnen spelen om de overwinning in de grote wedstrijden. Ongarato toont al jaren aan in staat te zijn sprinters perfect te kunnen afzetten voor een massasprint.

 

[issoisso]

Good signing. But Feillu isn't a sprinter. He gets involved in bunch kicks sometimes when a lot of sprinters have been dropped.

Good signing
If you want to set up a train, he's about the best teacher you can get

 

[Bala Verde]

Does anyone know anything about young Eritrean (yes use google map) TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel?

Previous results
2009. Sélection de l'Erythrée/Equipe Mixte
5e du Championnat d'Afrique CLM
6e une étape du Tour de l'Avenir (Gerardmer)
8e du Championnat d'Afrique

2008. Sélection d'Erythrée
5e du Tour de côte d'Ivoire de la Paix
2e une étape du Tour du Maroc

 

[ingsve]

Good signing. But Feillu isn't a sprinter. He gets involved in bunch kicks sometimes when a lot of sprinters have been dropped.

Good signing
If you want to set up a train, he's about the best teacher you can get

Just because he can't compete consitently with the best guys out there in the Tour etc doesn't mean he's not a sprinter. He's gotten most of his best results in bunch sprints in lesser races.

 

[craig1985]

Dimitri Champion joins AG2r.

 

[samb01]

But the connection of Cervelo with doping has nothing to do with Riis -- it has to do with the fact that they have no internal program, and they've had a couple of come-from-nowhere riders shine brightly this year, which I find suspicious.

Has the continuous underperformance of Marchante caught your eye? Of course it hasn't. The idea of attempting to falsify your own hypothesis almost certainly doesn't occur to you.

There are plenty of cheaters out there, but the 'analysis' you're bringing to the table are absolutely worthless.

I will respond no further on this topic.