Backstedt to Slipstream

scwxx77

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Backstedt_signs_for_Slipstream_article_135364.html

Not a surprise really, he seemed pretty miffed when he was talking on Eurosport about not being picked for the tour by Liquigas.

drenkrom

That team will be a force to be reckoned with if they ever enter a team time trial. It's refreshing to see a team expand like that in these times where the end of the sport is predicted every week by some pundit.

Ste_S

Good move for him I think. Hope he can stay injury free and have a good run at Paris - Roubaix with a bit more luck next year than he had this year.

On a side note, has anyone tried his Magnus Maximus coffee ?

skavanagh.bikeradar

Anyone know what type of team Slipstream will be next year? Based on their recent signings it's a classics team with breakaway potential in flat Grand Tour stages and maybe in Millar a short stage race contender. But what are the rest of the team like - the existing riders that have been flogging away this year and last?

LangerDan

For 2008, they won't be a ProTour team and so are dependent on wildcard entries for the GTs. Its more likely that they'll focus on the sort of events you see Barloworld or Agritubel entering - some of the second tier spring classics, 1-2 week stage races. They may do enough to get a wildcard but it would be daft to base their whole season on it. The tours of California and Georgia will probably also figure.

drenkrom

From what I gather, they'll be keeping their North American racing program pretty much as it is now. That means they'll be doing the tours of California and Georgia as well as the smaller ones and the myriad of crits that bless (?) the US circuit. They want to expand their European racing program through the recent signings, which should nab them a few wildcards. If I organized a spring classic, I'd want Big Mag in it.

At the moment they are a team of predominantly young riders with a lot of potential. They have a good time trialist in Danny Pate and Brad Huff can really turn on the gas in finale. They are a team of attackers, always animating the initial kilometers of races. They rarely nab a sprint win in US races, but that could change with the man with the coolest national champ jersey ever, Julian Dean, on their team next year. They should remain a fighting team, attacking early rather than defending their position. Having seen them race often on our Continental circuit over here, I'm very excited with the expansion. They don't rack up that many wins, but they fight for it. Ian MacGregor's win in Quebec City was gutsiness incarnate. A very inspiring team.

leguape

I don't think they'll have any trouble getting wildcards. Why do you tihnk Vaughters was over lobbying ASO during the Tour? Backstedt is pretty sure they'll get Paris-Roubaix and Tour invites form what he's said about signing.

Frankly if you look at what they represent then any promoter who knocks them back for a wildcard will look like a mug and, solely by association, be seen as not wanting to encourage teams with a "clean" reputation. For an American team they'll be looking for invites to the ASO events because they know that they're the ones that will count back home in terms of coverage on Versus or cycling.tv etc.

LangerDan

leguape wrote:

I don't think they'll have any trouble getting wildcards. Why do you tihnk Vaughters was over lobbying ASO during the Tour? Backstedt is pretty sure they'll get Paris-Roubaix and Tour invites form what he's said about signing.

Frankly if you look at what they represent then any promoter who knocks them back for a wildcard will look like a mug and, solely by association, be seen as not wanting to encourage teams with a "clean" reputation. .

By the same token, if ASO chose Slipstream instead of a French squad, what sort of message does that send out to the French cycling public.? Remember that despite the big names (many of whom have not been performing at their peak for a while) a , Slipstream is probably fighting for the Barloworld/Agritubel/Unibet-level slots rather than Astana-level ones.

Having seen far too many "new dawns" in the fight against drug use in cycling over the past decade, I really, realy hope that this approach will work for Slipstream but I think I'll wait to see how effectively, fairly and transparently they deal with their first "irregularity".

mrushton

David Millar actually has a financial stake in SlipStream so he'll want to see them do well both in terms of sponsorship and results. they would be a great team for BMC to sponsor after the 'disappointments' with their last two teams

iainf72

mrushton wrote:

David Millar actually has a financial stake in SlipStream so he'll want to see them do well both in terms of sponsorship and results. they would be a great team for BMC to sponsor after the 'disappointments' with their last two teams

BMC have their own American team, so that would be highly unlikely.

Kléber

They have a high chance of getting a wildcard entry from ASO. With Bruyneel struggling to find a new sponsor, they could be the only American team around and ASO is always keen for foreign teams to participate, as long as there are enough French in the race! Plus the ethical methods are bound to please.

They know very well that they way to win a wildcard is to impress ASO in their early season events: they need to be active and on the attack in Paris-Nice, to be strong in the Criterium International and even to get their domestiques in the early breakaway in Paris-Roubaix.

iainf72

So does that mean JV won't be signing Floyd if he gets cleared in his USADA case?

:P

iainf72

And before anyone accuses me of being a nutter.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... /jan21news

LangerDan

iainf72 wrote:

And before anyone accuses me of being a nutter.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... /jan21news

Far from it! - Another link is one Dr. Allen Lim. Lim worked for as a sports physiologist for Vaughters on the TIAA-CREF squad - the precursor to Slipstream and still part of the Slipstream family. During his tenure with TIAA-CREF in 2005/6, Lim was allow work with one other non-team rider as a training adviser- a certain Floyd Landis. Lim was still a guest speaker at Landis' training camps at the start of this year and was also scheduled to appear for Landis at the recent USADA but now appears to make no reference to his work with Landis in either his own website or his Slipstream potted biog.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Having a quick scan of that link Iain it looks like any discussions were based on Landis proving his innocence first. That seems to be taking a long time to happen if it ever comes back innocent.

timoid.

Sorry, but Maggie is one of the most overrated riders in the peloton. He had a great victory in 2004 in PR, but that's about it.

He seems a really likeable guy, but I just don't get why he's rated so highly.

calvjones

Timoid. wrote:

Sorry, but Maggie is one of the most overrated riders in the peloton. He had a great victory in 2004 in PR, but that's about it.

He seems a really likeable guy, but I just don't get why he's rated so highly.

Timoid....it's because he's Welsh!

And his coffee is indeed lovely

And his PR record is not to be sniffed at with the crappy injury luck he''s had.

drenkrom

"but if he can't prove his innocence, then it's not really worth discussing any further"

I think that sank the Floyd ship. I can't imagine an American team signing Landis after the press they got during the disciplinary hearings with the Lemond telephone calls.

rdaviesb

skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:

Having a quick scan of that link Iain it looks like any discussions were based on Landis proving his innocence first. That seems to be taking a long time to happen if it ever comes back innocent.

So not a hope in hell then. Good. I don't want to see Landis racing again.

andrewgturnbull

rdaviesb wrote:

skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:

Having a quick scan of that link Iain it looks like any discussions were based on Landis proving his innocence first. That seems to be taking a long time to happen if it ever comes back innocent.

So not a hope in hell then. Good. I don't want to see Landis racing again.

Hi there.

OJ proved his innocence, so why not Floyd? Truth (well an American Lawyer's version of it) can be stranger than fiction!

Cheers, Andy

drenkrom

nobody used the N-word in the Landis case.

Moose11

When on earth is the final verdict due on the Landis case? didnt the trial happen a good few months ago now?

iainf72

Moose11 wrote:

When on earth is the final verdict due on the Landis case? didnt the trial happen a good few months ago now?

Not sure. The hearing hasn't been officially closed yet, and they will give a vedict within 10 days of closing the hearing.

There is a huge volume of information to digest.

I guess they'll be working through - Yes, the lab screwed up, a few times. Do those screw ups mean we can't trust the results?

What got lost in the Lemond bit is that one of Landis' expert witnesses ran rings around the USADA to the point it was embarrassing.

We shall see. But it's not in the USADA's interest to lose - Imagine how it would look for them?

Moose11

And if you had to say right now what way can you see it going? What exactly do you mean 'ran rings around the USADA'? Was he just so prepared that he cut them down or ??

iainf72

Moose11 wrote:

And if you had to say right now what way can you see it going? What exactly do you mean 'ran rings around the USADA'? Was he just so prepared that he cut them down or ??

Basically he knew a lot more than they did - Kind of what you'd expect from an expert witness. The guy in question was Dr. Meier-Augenstein

It'll go 2-1, but which way is anyones guess.

The USADA have never lost. But where Landis was clever was he pointed out how weighted against the athlete it is.

Apparantly he's killing their budget, which is quite funny in a bizarre way.

Moose11

Do you want him cleared?

I dunno what way it'll go.. Cleared or not, I'm not sure he'll ever race again eitherway. If he is cleared though, surely he will then go about sueing someone for serious lost earnings?