Riders for Team Sky

RichN95.

Millar, Wiggins, Thomas and Cummings, according to Shane Sutton on BBC website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/8117127.stm

Millar suprises me, I thought he part owned Garmin.

dave_1

would be amazed if Millar went there...but he surely has his eye on his longer term future beyond racing, in management of teams?

GroupOfOne MkII

None of that really surprises me, Thomas & Cummings are dead certs, particularly as if Barloworld keep missing out on (or only narrowly squeezing into) the GTs then I could see them stop, while I'd never be surprised to see Wiggins jump ship. Presumably his contract with Garmin as some sort of clause in it to allow him to leave, much like his Columbia one (or was that a 1-year contract?).

Also don't forget that Dave M's sister is working with BC, so that will help persuade him to move over.

ARob

good news re a GB based team .. but doesn't this mean even the limited free to view coverage on itv4 will soon be lost to sky..

GemmaAtkinson1

doubt millar will go. doesnt he own slipstream sports that runs garmin slipstream? however i guess with sky behind it they could be in for big pay days, but i doubt wiggo and millar will go.

ACMadone

The question is though who are they going recruit that could win the TDF which is their main long term objective.

iainf72

ACMadone wrote:

The question is though who are they going recruit that could win the TDF which is their main long term objective.

Well, they state they want to have a British winner but there's nobody around at the moment who could challenge for that.

Millar going could be surprising, but then again, maybe not. How many team pies does George Hincapie have fingers in?

phreak

How many British riders will be on the roster do you think? Will the likes of Hammond, Hunt and Swift move over too perhaps?

iainf72

It's going to be a fair British contingent and a pile of Italians.

Captain Fagor

Well, whoever they are, lets hope they're faster than the muppets who turned up at the Spud Riley a few weekends ago in Team Sky kit.

takethehighroad

ACMadone wrote:

The question is though who are they going recruit that could win the TDF which is their main long term objective.

The Kennaugh's, Stannard's and Bellis' of this world who they're nurturing.

BC are not idiots, they know how to achieve something once they set their minds to it, as was proved by the haul in Beijing and Varese.

It's a good point that Barloworld are not far from going under, which meansx there will be several "British Empire" riders free quite soon with GT experience.

stagehopper

I'd have thought Froome and Augustyn would be extremely obvious targets given age profiles and results so far.

phreak

I wonder if Wegelius would be an option or whether that bridge was burnt? He's riding well this year.

graeme_s-2

phreak wrote:

I wonder if Wegelius would be an option or whether that bridge was burnt? He's riding well this year.

In the past Brailsford has said they'll take any British riders, including those who've fallen out with BC in the past. Whether the riders will feel the same way or not is another matter.

graeme_s-2

ARob wrote:

good news re a GB based team .. but doesn't this mean even the limited free to view coverage on itv4 will soon be lost to sky..

I've asked this question every time this has come up, and nobody has even attempted to supply an answer. Why would Sky pay out one sack of money to get their logo on some jerseys, and then pay another sack of money to make sure that only their existing customers see those logos? Surely it's in their interests to have those logos seen by as many potential customers as possible.

Pokerface

Graeme_S wrote:

ARob wrote:

good news re a GB based team .. but doesn't this mean even the limited free to view coverage on itv4 will soon be lost to sky..

I've asked this question every time this has come up, and nobody has even attempted to supply an answer. Why would Sky pay out one sack of money to get their logo on some jerseys, and then pay another sack of money to make sure that only their existing customers see those logos? Surely it's in their interests to have those logos seen by as many potential customers as possible.

Sky isn't just a UK company AFAIK. But I digress...

Sky realize the draw that cycling has, especially in the UK at the moment. And especially for something like the Tour. So if they were to purchase the rights to show it exclusively - they would be 'forcing' cycling fans who want to watch the Tour to get Sky to do so. That part of the business will be separate from the sponsorship division that is concerned with getting the Sky name out there in general.

Believe it or not - Sky's sponsorship of a Pro team is not solely based on getting more Sky customers. (And the Tour is shown on channels like Eurosport also).

But to go back to the original question - I don't think ITV4 will stop their coverage and Sky will not gain a monopoly of all cycling coverage in the UK. I know they loved it when, during the last track World Championships, the BBC commentators had to keep saying the Sky name over and over and over....

GroupOfOne MkII

ARob wrote:

good news re a GB based team .. but doesn't this mean even the limited free to view coverage on itv4 will soon be lost to sky..

And every time this comes up we have the same answer. ITV have a contract to show the TdF until 2012 (or it might even be 2013, I can't remember). Beyond that, who knows, but for the meantime we're safe from Murdoch.

intothe12

I presume Sky will spend half their time pot hunting in mickey mouse premier calendar races in the UK,and then a have a proper team of pro's that race full time in Europe?

leguape

ARob wrote:

good news re a GB based team .. but doesn't this mean even the limited free to view coverage on itv4 will soon be lost to sky..

Simply not true, TDF race broadcast rights are sold through the EBU agreement which says that they have to be available on Free-to-air channels. So unless Sky are going to turn Sky 3 over to cycling or Sky Sports News, it ain't going to happen. They do want race rights from what I've heard but that's quite a big hurdle to clear before they can get them.

As for Millar, I'd always understood that he didn't so much have an ownership interest in Garmin as had been given a percentage share of the business in lieu of salary when he signed with them because they wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford him.

Rodrego Hernandez

Captain Fagor wrote:

Well, whoever they are, lets hope they're faster than the muppets who turned up at the Spud Riley a few weekends ago in Team Sky kit.

True, hard to believe that Sky are encouraging their employees to participate in events like that when they are just going to get called muppets by twats like you. I just hope they don't read comments like yours.

Pokerface

intothe12 wrote:

I presume Sky will spend half their time pot hunting in mickey mouse premier calendar races in the UK,and then a have a proper team of pro's that race full time in Europe?

Ermmmn.... no.


They are going to be a proper Pro team and I doubt you will see them race in the UK unless in the Tour of Britain.

Unless they have some sort of development team also.

Wall Crusher

Converting the successful model developed for the track team to the road will not be as straight forward as BC seem to think. I just hope it does not end in disaster like previous attempts at a UK based team.

I guess there will be a willing take up from from our top UK based riders and most of the Brits based on the mainland, but Cav and Millar? As the only two Brits with proven credibility they will surely want to see the team achieve something first.

Pokerface

Wall Crusher wrote:

Converting the successful model developed for the track team to the road will not be as straight forward as BC seem to think. I just hope it does not end in disaster like previous attempts at a UK based team.

I guess there will be a willing take up from from our top UK based riders and most of the Brits based on the mainland, but Cav and Millar? As the only two Brits with proven credibility they will surely want to see the team achieve something first.

Cav's under contract for several years to come anyway. Plus - unless Sky turn into a TOP TOP TOP team, Cav won't go there. he knows a lot of his success is based on the fact he has a great team around him and the best lead out train in the business right now.

phreak

Dunno, guys like Hunt and Swift would make decent lead out men. Both did ok in the sprints during the Giro.

Pokerface

phreak wrote:

Dunno, guys like Hunt and Swift would make decent lead out men. Both did ok in the sprints during the Giro.

Hunt's getting on in years. Don't know how much longer he'll be racing and Swift will want to be the number one sprinter I think as he gets better.

But hey - anything is possible I guess.

stagehopper

Swift's only on a one year contract at Katusha I think so he's an obvious candidate with Cav at Colombia for at least one more year. Be more interesting to see who they attract from overseas - they have deep pockets and long arms.

inseine

Having a top sprinter will help to get some good publicity quickly, but building the team around them isn't going to win you the Tour.

andyp

stagehopper wrote:

Swift's only on a one year contract at Katusha I think so he's an obvious candidate with Cav at Colombia for at least one more year. Be more interesting to see who they attract from overseas - they have deep pockets and long arms.

Don't UCI rules state that a neo-pro has to be given a two year contract? The intention being that it stops teams taking on new pros then riding them into the ground for a year before discarding them.

stagehopper

andyp wrote:

stagehopper wrote:

Swift's only on a one year contract at Katusha I think so he's an obvious candidate with Cav at Colombia for at least one more year. Be more interesting to see who they attract from overseas - they have deep pockets and long arms.

Don't UCI rules state that a neo-pro has to be given a two year contract? The intention being that it stops teams taking on new pros then riding them into the ground for a year before discarding them.

You're right - could have sworn I read it was for 1 year but have now found Guardian article saying it was for two years.

GroupOfOne MkII

Well with the way Katusha are going with riders you never know! So I wouldn't rule him out just yet.

dave_1

intothe12 wrote:

I presume Sky will spend half their time pot hunting in mickey mouse premier calendar races in the UK,and then a have a proper team of pro's that race full time in Europe?

obviously you won them all in the past so can dismiss them as such...