More transfer news, squads announcing their full rosters, some riders dreaming of a better year and others still searching for contracts - it must be off season time! Even better than that though it's EuroTrash Thursday time!
Tour Winner To Quickstep?
Okay, so you read the title and you thought straight away that it was just another story about Alberto Contador possibly being Quickstep bound, right? Well in fact no, this time I'm talking about another Spanish winner of the Tour in Oscar Pereiro.
Oscar had been hoping to finish his career next year with his 'local' team, Xacobeo-Galicia but now that deal has fallen through and he is instead being courted by Quickstep. Quickstep would like Oscar for his strengths, his experience etc etc but also as another carrot to help the possible Contador move. A strong Spanish domestique in Quickstep colours could make the Belgian team more attractive for Contador if and when he ever gets released from Astana that is!
As for Pereiro, negotiations are apparently going well with Quickstep although nothing has been signed at this stage. According to reports in the Spanish media, if Alberto is released from Astana then Quickstep sponsors will give the green light to hiring Pereiro...... until then though - no contract. What this all means is that there are now two Spanish, former winners of the Tour de France impatiently awaiting the fate of Astana!
Xacobeo-Galicia Downsizing
Still on Spanish happenings the small team Xacebo-Galicia that Pereiro was hoping to join will next year become a smaller team as they simply don't have the money to keep all their riders - nor sign the rider that they wanted in Pereiro.
In fact management has had to make the tough decision of releasing 8 riders from the squad recently which included one of their best riders on the squad - David Herrero. Ok, not exactly a household name but let's face facts - aside from Ezequiel Mosquera & David Garcia how many Xacebo riders can you actually name? Herrero was a solid rider but his price was simply too much for the small team after performing very well in the Vuelta in numerous escapes and eventually finishing 28th overall. No word on a replacement squad yet for him but I'm sure he will find something.
As for the rest of the squad.......Well, I'm not sure if you can call three riders a 'squad'?? That's right there are only 3 riders officially signed up for 2010 at this stage with Ezequiel Mosquera, David Garcia and Gustavo Cesar Veloso all having valid contracts. The management has said that more riders will be signed soon but that there will be a maximum of 16 riders signed for next year - which is 3 less than this year. According to team management talks are advanced with 10 riders but there are still 'many' possibilities on the market at the moment. We all know that uncontracted riders are becoming more and more desperate as each day passes at this time of the year so as a manager this is the best time to pick up the bargains - something that Xacebo seems to be searching for!
Back To School!
It's back to school time for 25 ProTour and Pro Continental director sportifs next week as they attend the UCI academy directeur sportif programme at the UCI's headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland.
The new course will be compulsory for all 'would be' director sportifs before being allowed to have their director's license granted by the UCI. In fact all current director sportifs must also take the course if they want to continue working as Directors. The courses must be taken and passed by directors before 2013 for Protour teams and 2015 for Professional Continental teams. So that means even extremely experienced men like Quickstep's Patrick Lefevere and Radioshack's Johan Bruyneel will be sitting down at their student's desks soon to study....
BMC Signs Another US Champ
Team BMC continues to boost their ranks for next year with the news this week that they have signed another current US champion in the form of John Murphy (OUCH) who is the current crit champ. Not that he will be racing many criteriums with BMC's ambitious 2010 program that is! After signing current US Pro champ, George Hincapie, last year's World Champ Alessandro Ballan and classic's hardman Karsten Kroon Team BMC is very much concentrating on the classics next year. With wildcard invitations their goal, a strong start to the season in the Spring classics could easily translate to invitations to the Grand Tours.
Murphy has ridden the last few years stateside with Healthnet and then OUCH so his classics knowledge isn't quite up to big George's standard - but he does have some European experience after riding with the US U-23 squad in Belgium for two years. I'm sure management didn't hire him as a classic's winner though - a helper role should be what his job is all about next year. With a mostly European based program for next year though the risk is high that we will not see much of either George or John racing stateside in their champion's jerseys next year. Tour of California, yes we should see George in his - but criteriums? No. Sorry John - that jersey of yours should stay nice and clean next year but what's a jersey anyway when you have the classics to race!
Young Revelation Continues With Saxo Bank
Ok, so he's not THE revelation of the year for me (that goes to Johnny Hoogerland) but one big revelation of the year was young Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang. In his 2nd year with Bjarne Riis' squad Fulsgang impressed in almost all the races he entered with a great attacking spirit and some excellent climbing prowess that saw him take 4 wins this year. His biggest win was probably the overall title in the Tour of Slovenia but it was his attacking style and never say die attitude in all the big races that he entered that impressed me.
Bjarne Riis was obviously impressed also as he has secured the 24 year old's services through to 2013 - an impressive contract indeed for a young rider. In fact Riis is grooming Fulsgang for GrandTour success and has promised the youngster a start in next year's Tour de France where he will ride in support of Riis' current GrandTour prodigy, Andy Schleck.
Team Type 1 Names Its Squad
Team Type 1's 3rd year in the pro peloton is already planning to be a big one with most of its riders returning for a new and expanded race schedule next year with plans to literally take on the world! Ok, world beaters perhaps not, but Team type 1 has proved themselves as a strong, solid squad this year winning 55 races and finishing 4th in the NRC classification. Next year they are looking at racing across the world with a schedule that includes races in North and South America, as well as Europe, Asia and Africa.
They have lost a few riders from the squad, notably ex Aussie champ and ex Francaise des Jeux rider, Matt Wilson but have gained in international experience with the addition of Thomas Rabou, Alexey Shmidt, Thomas Soladay, Scott Stewart, Martijn Verschoor and Type 1 diabetic, Javier Megias. Megias takes the total of Type 1 diabetics on the team to 4 as they continue to promote their diabetes awareness campaign throughout the world.
2010 team; Fabio Calabria, Michael Creed, Will Dugan, Joe Eldridge, Davide Frattini, Ken Hanson, Daniel Holt, Aldo Ino Ilesic, Chris Jones, Valeriy Kobzarenko, Shawn Milne, Javier Megias, Thomas Rabou, Alexey Shmidt, Thomas Soladay, Scott Stewart, Martijn Verschoor.
Santiago Botero Back On The Straight And Narrow?
Anyone remember Santiago Botero? Yes, ex Kelme, ex Telekom, ex Phonak, ex World Time Trial Champion and allegedly ex Fuentes client........ so what's he done this year? Well next to nothing actually. He's been racing in his native Colombia but according to the man himself he was overweight and out of shape this year and quite simply not in form.
Certain spectators and commentators in Colombia this year labelled him 'too old & too fat' but Santiago is determined not to be remembered in this way and instead of retiring at the end of 2009 (like he announced at the start of 2009) he will instead complete at least one more season. Yes, Santiago is now dedicated to at least one more season where he plans to shine on the South American scene - notably in his native Tour Of Colombia where he will go with the goals of stage wins and/or the General Classification.
As for retirement......well, that's anyone's guess. I myself have reported on Botero's retirement twice already although he has announced his retirement a total of 4 times throughout his career! In fact Santiago himself acknowledged this fact recently and he has now announced that he won't make any more retirement announcements!!
Schumacher Slammed
In good news for anti-doping fans (which I hope is all of us??) was news yesterday afternoon that Stefan Schumacher's appeal against the analysis process used in his positive EPO - CERA tests was rejected by France's high court.
Schumacher had been arguing that the tests were not yet approved and therefore illegal at the time of the tests but the court ruled against that stating, 'The AFLD correctly performed their job' and that, ' the test results are indeed legal'.
Pedro Horillo To Make A Comeback?
A few months ago no one thought it was possible but now Spanish Rabobank climber, Pedro Horillo is seriously thinking of coming back to bike racing. Seriously injured in an horrific crash during the Giro this year most doctor's were amazed that he even survived the accident - but now he's entertaining the thought of racing again!
The road to full recovery is a very long one though for Pedro and there is certainly no guarantee that he will ever reach the level where competition would be possible. Rabobank have stuck with their Spaniard through his long hospitalisation and recovery process though and have given Pedro a contract again for 2010 - this despite the fact that him racing again is still only a 'possibility'. The contract is current though and Pedro has even recently posed for the 2010 Rabobank team photos. Good luck in the recovery Pedro - I hope to see you back racing again next year.
Euskatel-Euskadi Completes Their Squad
Fuji Servetto's Basque rider, Benat Intxausti is the latest rider to jump ship from the now Footon-Servetto team as he has signed for Euskatel which has now officially completed their roster. Intxausti was a shining star at the Vuelta for Fuji this year regularly on the attack and being a Basque rider Euskatel was an obvious choice.....
Euskatel' squad for next year has a total of 24 riders - all Basque of course - if you can include the new U/23 World Road Race Champion Romain Sicard as Basque that is!? Sicard who was riding for France at the championships is technically French, but he is from the Basque region in France, speaks Basque and for all intents and purposes is 'Basque'. Saying that though I'm not sure that he will really fit in that well with the other Basque's in the team with a name as simple to spell as Romain Sicard! Except for the team leaders Samuel Sanchez and Igor Anton, the Euskatel team is always a journalist's nightmare for typo errors. Sometimes when I'm typing these names I ask myself, 'How many x's, v's, z's and other consonants can they put in the one name?'
Euskatel's 2010 squad - hopefully without typos! : Igor Antón, Javier Aramendia, Jorge Azanza, Sergio de Lis, Koldo Fernández de Larrea, Samuel Sanchez, Aitor Galdos, Aitor Hernández, Iñaki Isasi, Egoi Martínez, Mikel Nieve, Juanjo Oroz, Alan Pérez, Rubén Pérez, Amets Txurruka, Pablo Urtasun, Ivan Velasco, Gorka Verdugo, Romain Sicard, Jonathan Castroviejo, Miguel Minguez, Daniel Sesma, Beñat Intxausti, Gorka Izagirre
New AthletiCamps Training Center!
Our friends over at Athleticamps have just opened a new training center in Flosom, CA and instead of me telling you all about it, I might leave this one to Bruce, the owner,
When AthletiCamps held it's first "training camp project" in fall 2001, the goal was to offer a high performance cycling camp that demonstrated the benefits of training in the Foothills of Northern California. It's been 8 years since that first camp, and in that time, AthletiCamps has assisted countless athletes in achieving a wide range of cycling and triathlon goals.
We are very proud to announce that AthletiCamps is continuing its own development with the opening of the AthletiCamps Training Center in Folsom, CA. Located adjacent to the new Folsom Bike and Grind and Sacramento Bike Trail, our goal will be to provide a one-stop location for all your cycling needs, including: a place to get your coffee, start your training rides, and provide all of your coaching and training resources. Oh yeah, there's going to be a great selection of bikes, accessories, and a high quality service department too.
Having a training center will allow AthletiCamps a means to improve upon our current services of individual coaching, performance testing, and camps while simultaneously offering new services to benefit all levels of cyclists and triathletes.
Here is a sample of the additional services we will be providing:
• Bike Fitting - Proper fitting is essential to improving performance, comfort, and enjoyment on the bike.
• Nutrition Coaching and Consultation - One- on- one nutritional coaching and planning will be available to help you learn how to optimally fuel yourself for your rides, plus lead a healthier lifestyle.
• Bike Racing Tactics Club - The importance of tactics in bike racing cannot be overstated. The club will meet, review a professional race DVD and discuss the race's tactics.
• Book Club - Join a reading group that discusses specific books dedicated to both training and fictional stories. This will serve as a springboard for discussions about training, our love of cycling, and a way to meet people with similar goals in the sport.
We are very excited about our new location and look forward to your visit! We want to give a special thanks all the athletes through the years that have believed in our program and made this move possible. As coaches, we learn from you and look forward to more success in the future!
Stay tuned for more specific details about our November grand opening date and promotions!
Address
7610 Auburn-Folsom Rd.Suite 130
Folsom, CA. 95630
Chris Selden is an Aussie living in France who has lived the life of a bike rider racing around the world but now prefers to enjoy his bike racing, watching from the side of the road sipping a cold drink or from the press room with a café!
I’m just digging out from a few days at the BMC training camp, and while I won’t be reporting on doing Jaeger-bombs and Redbulls with Cadel & George, ... More....
When the now defunct Belgian newspaper Het Volk first organized Omloop Het Volk in 1945 to capitalize on the growing popularity of bicycling racing ... More....
When you get an invite from the nation’s premier component maker to join a metric century in wine country that is fully catered, you grab the clean ... More....
Six Day racing comes to Berlin for the 99th time on Thursday, 28th January, 2010 with the great tradition of winter track racing in Germany in a ... More....
One more day, one more sprint! Sky had the goods to finish the week Down Under the same way they started: 1-2. The rest of the favorites were hot on ... More....
American Classic spent the last couple of years reworking their line up and the 420 Aeros are the latest to leave the bench. Take a look at the new ... More....
A couple years in the making, Pez head up to see arguably the top custom builder on the planet. We hit Serotta's NY shop, take a peek at their ... More....
You’ve still got today and all of tomorrow to ‘git ‘er done! Your holiday shopping that is… and armed with the complete set of 4 gift guides ... More....
If the stocking's not full - somebody's not doing their job. Good thing we're here to help with a big ol' bag full of the kind of stuff we'd love to ... More....
Winter riding is almost upon us - except for you lucky Aussies - and that means less riding outdoors. But with an indoor trainer and a Netflix ... More....
Many ergogenic aids, both legal and illegal, have been touted as the magic bullet that will improve cycling performance. What about something that ... More....
Having goals is one of the important first steps in achieving your dreams. They can be small goals or they can be big goals, but without them you’ll ... More....
Is cycling your religion, or at least one of them? If so, you’re not alone. Many people define themselves as “spiritual,” even if they don’t practice ... More....
Post-Giro Roadside: I love Scotland; but there’s no Gazzetta in the morning, most of the coffee tastes like John Wayne brewed it beside the ... More....
Sunday July 20th 1969; that’s 40 years ago now but I remember it clearly as the day that I first became aware of professional bicycle racing – I was ... More....
Roadside Recap: As we make our merry way through the rounds of the PEZ Looks Back, Ed is up for his retrospective on the Tour that was. As the ... More....
Coming on four years ago, Saul Raisin was one of THE big things in US pro cycling. Top 40 in a hard Tour de Suisse and mountain king at the Tour de ... More....
The last time we spoke to Garmin's Steve Cozza was after the 2008 Paris - Tours; where he produced another solid performance from a consistent and ... More....
Just about to start his second season with Cervélo - thanks to strong Classic rides and his first Grand Tour finish, in the Giro - Englishman, Dan ... More....
In October, nine-time Tour de France rider Frankie Andreu announced that he would be Director Sportif of the Ohio-based KENDA Pro Cycling p/b ... More....
With so many (too many?) others looking back to best-of-2009 or decade highlights, why not look ahead? A new decade beckons, after all, so who better ... More....
We first talked with Lostende Bike Tours owner and avid cyclist Allan Reeves about his Pyrenees Cycling Challenge, from the Atlantic to the ... More....
So, riding in Texas is mostly flat, with only tumbleweeds and armadillos to avoid right? Well, not exactly. You see, Austin is situated in what’s ... More....
I’m just digging out from a few days at the BMC training camp, and while I won’t be reporting on doing Jaeger-bombs and Redbulls with Cadel & George, ... More....
When the now defunct Belgian newspaper Het Volk first organized Omloop Het Volk in 1945 to capitalize on the growing popularity of bicycling racing ... More....
When you get an invite from the nation’s premier component maker to join a metric century in wine country that is fully catered, you grab the clean ... More....
Race report: Alejandro Valverde stayed upright to seal his Vuelta victory – the first Grand Tour win of his career. On such a short stage, ... More....
Race Report: Today David Millar won his 5th stage in all his Vuelta’s, he was given one of the swords that Toledo is famous for along with the ... More....
Updated! Hallelujah, they're racing in Qatar, and I just got back from celebrating with every other New Orleanian on Bourbon Street. There's ... More....
It was a dark Sunday morning in Italy when the news services announced that Franco Ballerini, ex-professional, former dual Paris-Roubaix winner and ... More....
The maracas shake, 'Cara mia, mine !' blasts from the PA. Bang! The little cannon fires and the hall fills with smoke. Yes, this is the right place, ... More....
When the K-Mart Classic of West Virginia stormed through the state in the mid-90s, it opened awareness as to just how great the bike riding is in ... More....
Roadside St. 14 When you start each new Giro you understand you’re a year older. You feel a stranger to the village approach and for a moment ... More....
As the final Madison got underway the arena was packed to the rafters, all the talk of Six Days in crisis forgotten for now. The finale was ... More....
Professional cycling has, over the years, attracted only a few documentary film makers. A few, such as Jorgen Leth’s “A Sunday in Hell,” have even ... More....
Chris Selden is an Aussie living in France who has lived the life of a bike rider racing around the world but now prefers to enjoy his bike racing, watching from the side of the road sipping a cold drink or from the press room with a café!
![](javascript:showpic("http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/amclass/amc420alarge.jpg",900,698);)
![](javascript:showpic("http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/serotta/meilarge.jpg",2000,1244);)
