BMC get some big race invites

iainf72
iainf72 Posts: 15,784
edited February 2008 in Pro race
http://velonews.com/article/72930

Are they really just Phonak Mark II? It's the same money funding them, same DS etc etc. Obviously ASO have no fundamental problem with Andy Rihs or John L. either.
Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.

Comments

  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    iainf72 wrote:
    http://velonews.com/article/72930

    Are they really just Phonak Mark II? It's the same money funding them, same DS etc etc. Obviously ASO have no fundamental problem with Andy Rihs or John L. either.

    John Lelangue is an ex-ASO employee and given that BMC got invited to Qatar, the split wasn't acrimonious. Andy Rihs is closer to a Doug Ellis / Bob Stapleton (in it for the love of the sport) rather than a Saiz / Bruyneel Svengali-like figure. Probably both a little too naieve / inexperienced and I suspect much given to suffering from having the wool pulled over their rose-tinted Oakleys (if I may mix metaphors) in the old incarnation.

    Not exactly a Slipstream but probably not part of the Axis of Evil either.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • drenkrom
    drenkrom Posts: 1,062
    They were extremely active and aggressive in the ToC, and I'm glad to see it payed off. This is how smaller teams should be admitted to bigger races, not through some unknown and inexplicable process like NGC Medical-OTC at the Giro.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Aren't they one of the teams using ACE to do independent testing?

    Some of their tactics at the ToC were a bit weird though. In the first two road stages they sent lone riders on utterly useless solo breakaways, and started loading them up with bottles to distribute when the bunch was still 8 minutes back... very odd.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    drenkrom wrote:
    They were extremely active and aggressive in the ToC, and I'm glad to see it payed off. This is how smaller teams should be admitted to bigger races, not through some unknown and inexplicable process like NGC Medical-OTC at the Giro.

    To be fair, NGC have been pretty active so far this year. And remember, in 07 Tinkoff were an unknown as well with a few big-dodgy-names who eventually didn't take part in the Giro.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • drenkrom
    drenkrom Posts: 1,062
    By this time last year, Tinkoff had made quite a bang with Ignatiev. He won the traditional Italian season opener. I have yet to see the NGC-OTC off the front of any race I've seen this year. It may have something to do with them not being in any race I've seen this year. Or it may be that I'm still not over the non-invitation of a double stage winner from last year who's devoted every season of his career to the Giro.

    Anyways, good on BMC,

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