2012 Transfers - Fact and Rumour

Doobz

Alejandro Valverde has signed with Movistar

cogidubnus

Doobz wrote:

Alejandro Valverde has signed with Movistar

I'll be in the minority but I'm pleased to see him back

Turfle

I'm glad he's getting a second chance (as if there was any doubt he would), but much like with VIno + Millar, I doubt I'll be able to get the same enjoyment from him second time round.

Also, EBH looks like extending through the 2014 season with Sky.

Kléber

Valverde's still talking about "injustice" and "not testing positive" so it makes it hard to get behind him.

Talking of dopers, Danilo Di Luca's set to move to Acqua e Sapone.

cogidubnus

I just like Valverde's style so assuming he comes back clean I'm fine with it. Even with Vino's past I've enjoyed watching him the last couple of years

yourpaceormine

Stannard, Swift, Kenneaugh (apologies fior spelling) all resigned with Sky

andyp

Freire confirmed with Katusha.

LeicesterLad

andyp wrote:

Freire confirmed with Katusha.

:roll: sad times.

rebs

Gutted Freire has joined the mob

Doobz

Cogidubnus wrote:

I just like Valverde's style so assuming he comes back clean I'm fine with it. Even with Vino's past I've enjoyed watching him the last couple of years

he has some high ambitions.. Look forward to it

http://www.nusport.nl/wielrennen/264638 ... innen.html

LONDON - In a little over two months is the doping suspension of Alejandro Valverde off. The 31-year-old Spaniard is his comeback not gone smoothly.


© AP
"I have two goals in mind, both difficult to achieve," let the Vuelta winner of 2009 succeeded in Velo Nation. "I want the road race at the World Championships and the Tour de France win."
Valverde before his suspension maintained a love-hate relationship with the Tour. "I have only two disconnected, but it finished sixth and eighth. Winning is something else, but I can certainly fight. "
Tuesday Valverde followed with great interest the presentation of the course. "My tastes are a little too much time trial kilometers. It is a round for Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggins. "
Movistar
It is not known for the formation Valverde will ride. The door to Team Movistar, the new sponsor for his old team Caisse d'Epargne, is wide open.
"But I have other offers. I need people to Movistar however grateful for everything they have done for me. It is not yet final, but the discussions are at an advanced stage. "

Doobz

rebs wrote:

Gutted Freire has joined the mob

Katushteiner

Lots of chatter on the airwaves about Hans-Michael Holczer going to Katusha. “How can a guy responsible at Gerolsteiner for Rebellin, Kohl, Schumacher and Levi (the latter according to statements in his own book at least) come back to cycling?” That sort of stuff.

I see it a little differently. Holczer has been trying to get back into the sport since Gerolsteiner collapsed at the end of 2008. Of all the ways that could happen, him going to Katusha is probably not so bad, isn’t it?

Sure, Holczer was asleep at the wheel at Gerolsteiner when it came to the positive tests they scored in 2008, and according to his book did nothing when he was made aware of “suspicious values” from Levi. He famously remarked that an internal testing program was not necessary because he trusted his riders. But I personally don’t think he had any bad intentions (note: this is based on absolutely nothing but gut feel).
At any rate, does a swap from Tchmil to Holczer really change the balance at Katusha dramatically?
The cycling world wasn’t relying on Katusha to solve the doping issue anyway. The most memorable anti-doping moves from the team have been a completely unenforceable 5-year-salary penalty amendment to their rider contracts and the shipping of Kolobnev to the doping goulag without any form of process. I don’t think either are a meaningful contribution.
It keeps things nice and tidy for fans. White helmet and black helmet teams so to speak. There was never much reason to like Katusha, now there still isn’t. I mean, has anybody every seen the words “Katusha fan” being used without them referring to the air-conditioning unit in their team bus?
To me, black helmet riders and staff going to black helmet teams is a good thing, it’s a form of containment. It’s much more problematic to have white helmet riders and staff go to black helmet teams, which unfortunately happens a lot too. After all, especially for many riders there aren’t many options when picking a team, so they end up in an environment that is a terrible match with their own values.
This problem is as old as cycling itself. Remember Willy Voet’s book about the Festina affair? To me the remarkable part was not that half the team did everything the cycling Gods had forbidden, but that the other half didn’t.

http://gerard.cc/2011/10/20/katushteiner/

Doobz

Brice Feillu signs with Saur-Sojasun

Doobz

According to CyclingNZ.com Hayden Roulston goes to Radioshack-Nissan next year

http://cyclingnz.com/cnz5_profiles.php?a=1110

andyp

Fabian Wegmann to Garmin-Cervelo.

FJS

Mahdi Sohrabi to Lotto

nr 5 in 2011 victory ranking and winner or UCI Asia Tour, but apart from the Worlds not a single race in Europe last year. Sergeant needed the points. Still, consistently good in the Asian races for years - interesting to see how he'll do next year

rick_chasey

FJS wrote:

Mahdi Sohrabi to Lotto

nr 5 in 2011 victory ranking and winner or UCI Asia Tour, but apart from the Worlds not a single race in Europe last year. Sergeant needed the points. Still, consistently good in the Asian races for years - interesting to see how he'll do next year

Do you rate Sergeant as a DC?

FJS

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do you rate Sergeant as a DC?

If you're DS of the best team of the year you've done well, right? Especially if it hasn't worked with the biggest budget. This particular buy isn't bad either, a cheap way out, an opportunity you can see other DS's simply having missed. A bit shorth-term policy perhaps. Still, there have been a couple of cases the last couple of years team coherence hasn't been greatest (Evans, Gilbert-Vandenbroucke at Mur-de-Bretagne, Gilbert-Roelandts in Montreal).
Since you're asking you must have an opinion

pat1cp

FJS wrote:

Mahdi Sohrabi to Lotto

nr 5 in 2011 victory ranking and winner or UCI Asia Tour, but apart from the Worlds not a single race in Europe last year. Sergeant needed the points. Still, consistently good in the Asian races for years - interesting to see how he'll do next year

I believe he's ended up at Lotto after he was offered a contract by GEOX.

Doobz

Valverde to movistar confirmed.. we all knew this already

RichN95.

Morris Possoni has joined Lampre

andyp

To Dave_1's undoubted delight, Russ Downing has just tweeted that he's got himself a team for next year. More news to follow in the next few days apparently.

pat1cp

Russ Downing has tweeted that he's sorted for next year, doesn't say who with, but he's chuffed with the deal. I know dome here were keen to see him fixed up next year.

I see Valconsoleil have been awarded their license too.

pat1cp

Sorry for the repeat, was doing it on my phone on the train.

Tusher

Has Downing gained a berth in a Pro Tour team then?

Doobz

Stefan Schumacher signs with the Christina Watches :shock:

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/no ... p?id=45023

El Imbatido

Matt Lloyd to Lampre

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lloyd-s ... lampre-isd

frenchfighter

Tusher wrote:

Has Downing gained a berth in a Pro Tour team then?

He signed for Endura Racing.

Doobz

Press conference with Ezequiel Mosquera now. Vacansoleil doctors have read the file and think he's not guilty so he could be back to Vacansoleil / Not banned.. WTF..

mr_goo

Anyone know where Dan Lloyd is heading?

andyp

He's talking of retiring after a ride with FDJ fell through. More here;

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/lat ... -ride.html