The GCW said:With Astana's financial woes getting worse and Armstrong stating He wants to become a team owner, is it just coincidence that these 2 things are happening at the same time?
Will Astana Financial Collapse Lead To Armstrong Owning The Team?
$2 million?ukpaul said:Do you think Armstong will foot the UCI bill?
Look no further than Astana themselves. After Liberty Seguros folded, Astana quickly stepped in with the money to keep the team afloat.Can a new team get a UCI licence that quickly and enter Pro Tour Events?
$2 million?
Well, he could simply hand over his giro appearance fee and clear the debt.
However, that's a lot of personal cash and therefore depends upon what LA aspire to, team wise.
Far cheaper to let them die and start a smaller, Continental outfit.
No bio passport costs, smaller roster etc.
Much more managible.
Comes down to what reliable sponsorship commitments he has lined up.
Alpe d'Huez said:In 2003 Crest went from being in a bad financial situation, to bankrupting the owners and nearly bankrupting the entire parent sponsor, Bianchi stepped in and took over.
dimspace said:ok.. firstly.. the pro tour licence is not an issue, its held by JB not astana
secondly, the 2 million isnt a debt, its an amount they have to keep untouched in the bank at all times to guarantee money available for the team so the team is not running with zero bankroll... so whoever coughs up two million is not paying a debt..
Mellow Velo said:Can you post a link that states that JB holds the licence?
I'm pretty sure that is not the case.
New team
The new Astana management initially tried to buy the ProTour licence of the former Liberty Seguros-Würth team, held by Manolo Saiz. However, Saiz was reluctant to sell, so Astana applied for a licence in their own right. Initially, the new team was based in Switzerland under the holding company of Zeus Sarl and managed by former Tour de Suisse organiser Marc Biver. Vinokourov was the team's debut leader.
The UCI ProTour license commission first informed Astana that they would not be granted a ProTour License for the 2007 season. Following UCI's decision not to grant a ProTour license, the organizers of the three Grand Tours informed Astana Team that they would be included, regardless of ProTour license status. On December 20, 2006 the UCI License Commission relented and awarded Astana Team a 4-year ProTour license.
JB's PT licence went when Disco folded and replacement sponsor wasn't forthcoming.
As for the $2 mill, If someone has to supply a new bond, they still have to stump up this cash before they can get underway, no?
Sounds very much like a debt to me.
Of course, they can all hang around, waiting for a legal resolution.....
Vino has now spoken.
I can't help but feel there have be clandestine meetings for months, regarding his early return. The UCI don't want to budge, so the Kazakh's pull the plug.
PuncturedTyre said:worth refreshing memories with this article on "team astana"
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/dec07/dec13news2