Contador to Quick.Step in 2011?

iainf72

Well, according to Q.S it's a done deal

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2870/ ... cling+News)

But I suppose with the number of sponsors reducing practically daily there might not be much of a choice left.

andyp

It's a good move for the sport. I look forward to seeing the damage Contador can do by dancing on the pedals up the Koppenberg.

It adds an element of intrigue to this year's Tour, will we see Quick Step assisting Contador on the cobbled stage? They'll want him to be the reigning Tour champion when he joins them after all.

teagar

I think Quick-Step will be in a position to win the stage, so they're unlikely to help Contador.

What's more likely is that they'll be seen to be courting riders who are useful for a GC battle, rather than anymore one-dayers.

blazing_saddles

Not sure that this isn't a marriage that would end in a messy divorce.
I get the feeling that Contador might experience deja vu, in terms of tension within the squad.
So many riders targetting April, not July.

zippypablo

Which means he'll be the main man come July. Couple of reinforcements for the mountains will be required though.

iainf72

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Not sure that this isn't a marriage that would end in a messy divorce.
I get the feeling that Contador might experience deja vu, in terms of tension within the squad.
So many riders targetting April, not July.

I don't know - If they allowed him to bring a couple of helpers he'd in good shape. Main man for grand tours, strong team for the flat / wind.

It is a valid point about the cobbles in the Tour - Contador seems to have enough friends who would be willing to give him a hand. If Q.S are courting him and don't have a man for overall this year it would be common sense to make sure you help him through the terrain the team are good on. Andy S will have Chinny and o'Grady, Evans would have Ballan and Hincapie, Sastre / Hushovd & Hammond (possibly)

Kléber

They'll need to rejig the squad a bit. Those able to help Contador in the high mountains, well they're the sort of rider who could win a race like the Tour of Romandie or the Giro di Trentino. We're not talking useful climbers, if they are to be of benefit to Contador then they have to be pretty special.

But Contador is a very interesting rider. He almost guarantees you a win in July. So knowing this a sponsor in for three years can bet the ranch on him winning, say, two out of three years. This means a lot of money can go with him.

ms_tree

Blimey! We've barely started 2010 and you're already talking about next year. Wishing your life away, iain?

VerwoodAsh

Would Specialized sanction it though? They have only just dropped QS this year and would most likely want any new team AC went to to use thier bikes.

I would have though a new spanish team is more likely still - using some of the remains of Caisse but with Santandar or simialr as a main sponsor.

Kléber

Specialized dropped QS in order to spend all their money on Contador. Wherever Contador goes, he will bring some sponsors and team mates with him.

pedro118118

Wouldn't see it as a problem, myself. QS could run two programmes based around the one-day classics and the stage races. QS have some good climbers - Garate, Sildreeyers, Devolder, Chavanel etc. Seems like a good move to me.

teagar

pedro118118 wrote:

Wouldn't see it as a problem, myself. QS could run two programmes based around the one-day classics and the stage races. QS have some good climbers - Garate, Sildreeyers, Devolder, Chavanel etc. Seems like a good move to me.

Garate went do Rabo didn't he? Devolder ends up in the back (of the team car) everytime the tour goes uphill, and Chavenel isn't good enough in the long climbs to help.

Contador might like it because QS and Lefevre have the muscle to take people on. These people will be taken on to help him and no-one else - rather than joining, say, BMC or Cervelo and having to compete with other GC contenders.

I can't think of another team, save perhaps Columbia, who have other fish to fry, who is big enough to take on a couple of excellent domestiques and be willing to waste themselves pounding on the flats.

Boonen's said himself he could do without being the sole #1.

Bhima

What happened to the Contador-led spanish team being planned by that F1 dude?

teagar

Bhima wrote:

What happened to the Contador-led spanish team being planned by that F1 dude?

Alonso? Who'd have thought, F1 bankrolling cycling....