2019 Transfers - Rumours and Confirmations

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  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,620
    Brent Bookwalter to Mitchelton Scott
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    Aquablue to fold at the end of the year. Terrible shame. After a good start the stopped getting good invites.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    Wonder who the failed merger was with?
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    RonB wrote:
    Wonder who the failed merger was with?
    Verandas Willems. Sounds like it was a right balls up.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,719
    Did anyone ever buy anything from AquaBlue.com?

    Can't say I've ever been to the site...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249
    inseine wrote:
    Aquablue to fold at the end of the year. Terrible shame. After a good start the stopped getting good invites.
    Wonder what this means for Eddie Dunbar? He was supposedly signed with them for 2019.
  • poptart242
    poptart242 Posts: 531
    Christ that's late in the day. Hopefully the riders had a decent idea before now, otherwise that's a whole lot of them stranded for next season.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    DeadCalm wrote:
    inseine wrote:
    Aquablue to fold at the end of the year. Terrible shame. After a good start the stopped getting good invites.
    Wonder what this means for Eddie Dunbar? He was supposedly signed with them for 2019.
    He's been riding for them this year.

    I'm sure someone will pick him up. Lotto Jumbo or Trek would be good fits. BMCCCC need some riders.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,719
    Poptart242 wrote:
    Christ that's late in the day. Hopefully the riders had a decent idea before now, otherwise that's a whole lot of them stranded for next season.

    Apparently they may have found out the same way we did...

    Not sure i have a great deal of sympathy for this team owner.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    ddraver wrote:
    Poptart242 wrote:
    Christ that's late in the day. Hopefully the riders had a decent idea before now, otherwise that's a whole lot of them stranded for next season.

    Apparently they may have found out the same way we did...

    Not sure i have a great deal of sympathy for this team owner.

    I guess Rick Delaney must be a smart guy, acquiring his millions takes a certain intelligence I guess, but he does seem speak before thinking.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,719
    Feargal McKay‏ @fmk_RoI
    Delaney wanted to play at WT level with a PT licence. He needed WT level racing to promote the website which would fund the team. So why didn't he seek a WT licence? Because the sport owed him invites as he was going to save us. Quite a business model, isn't it, being Jesus?

    Yeesh :shock:, save some burn for the rest of us Fergal!
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • poptart242
    poptart242 Posts: 531
    It did come across as a bit rich - fair enough maybe they should have had more invites this year but they'd no God given right to them, and the pro-conti field is pretty strong this year with a few American outfits having stepped up too.

    Still, Twitter should be fun for the next few days.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,444
    I think they were a bit unlucky with the WT invites this year, they have some good riders and rode well at the Vuelta last year.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    The Izagirres are going to Astana (confirmed)
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    RichN95 wrote:
    The Izagirres are going to Astana (confirmed)
    Bahrain are mad to let them go, and I see Vino wants Landa back too. Strong team.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,262
    inseine wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    The Izagirres are going to Astana (confirmed)
    Bahrain are mad to let them go, and I see Vino wants Landa back too. Strong team.
    Bahrain said that they were asking for too much money
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • gweeds
    gweeds Posts: 2,613
    I thought Delaney said he had funding for the team for 4 years

    Liz Hatch saying on Twitter that the riders all found out via Twitter.

    Sounds like an absolute shambles.
    Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,692
    Gweeds wrote:
    I thought Delaney said he had funding for the team for 4 years

    Liz Hatch saying on Twitter that the riders all found out via Twitter.

    Sounds like an absolute shambles.

    A right böllöcks-up. Vanity project turned sour.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,451
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    Gweeds wrote:
    I thought Delaney said he had funding for the team for 4 years

    Liz Hatch saying on Twitter that the riders all found out via Twitter.

    Sounds like an absolute shambles.

    A right böllöcks-up. Vanity project turned sour.

    Back in 2016: "Delaney: We're aiming to create the first sustainable cycling team" https://www.independent.ie/sport/other- ... 16350.html

    I remember raising an eyebrow at that statement at the time
  • awavey
    awavey Posts: 2,368
    Kirsten Wild has joined WNT-Rotor for 2019 & 2020 https://www.wnt-rotor-pro-cycling.com/u ... 4199bb9358
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,459
    conordunne1Green Giant for sale...
    Feed me porridge and I'll be happy. I know all the lyrics to every Dolly Parton song ever made. Slightly forgetful, due to all the door frames I've walked into, but I'm sure we can learn to get round this. Have a large tattoo of my recently deceased obese cat, Smudge, on my left buttock. I can eat 44 weetabix in less than an hour. Also, I come with a slightly lunatic Irish girl called Stacey, who supports me at every race... please don't panic, I have a handbook explaining how to look after her.
    .
    .
    Tough day over here. Thank you everyone for all your messages, it is really appreciated. In times of trouble, sometimes it helps to try and keep a sense of humour (and frantically search the job section of the Indo)


    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm_nZ2Bhsv5 ... qjynaa3c5a
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,823
    Why would people raise an eyebrow at the ambition of creating a self sustaining cycling team?

    The current model is so insecure it doesn't work. Granted, mistakes were made in the application of this project, but I think the ambition should be applauded.

    I would disagree with calling it a vanity project too
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,451
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    Why would people raise an eyebrow at the ambition of creating a self sustaining cycling team?

    The current model is so insecure it doesn't work. Granted, mistakes were made in the application of this project, but I think the ambition should be applauded.

    I would disagree with calling it a vanity project too

    Because at the time it was a "self sustaining" cycling team that was supposedly funded by an online retail business that didn't exist yet.
  • gweeds
    gweeds Posts: 2,613
    Cart before horse.
    Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,108
    I'll put my hand up and admit that until the team folded I had no idea AquaBlue was some kind of cycling retail business and I both watch Pro cycling and buy a fair amount of cycling stuff on line.

    I'm still not sure what exactly was self sustaining about this model - how is it different to Team Wiggle, were the team and integral part of the business if so how?

    It's a shame for the riders.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • gweeds
    gweeds Posts: 2,613
    Nor me - I thought it was some sort of water company
    Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    Looks like Veranda Willems-Crelan are now in discussions with Dutch team Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij about a potential merger between the two outfits. Seems like the Aqua Blue deal was a real possibility. Not sure why it fell through.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,459
    Aqua Blue riders won't be taking part in TOB.

    https://cyclingtips.com/2018/08/aqua-bl ... -in-limbo/
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • yorkshireraw
    yorkshireraw Posts: 1,632
    my understanding of the Aqua Blue site was that it was to act as a portal for other retailers / brand manufacturers, rather than as a retailer in itself - so they wouldn't buy and sell stock as such, merely act as a virtual 'shop window' and presumably take a small fee per transaction. So in effect an Amazon marketplace type set-up - I could have mi-understood this of course, which I suppose is part of the problem - it was never very clear what 'Aqua Blue' was.
    Would need to be doing a huge amount of transactions to fund the € multi million required for a PCT or even more for a WT team. You can applaud the ambition but seriously question the business plan.
  • carbonclem
    carbonclem Posts: 1,798
    They wanted to be the Amazon of cycling, forgetting that Amazon already were. And eBay.
    I kind of assumed that the bigger plan was to get a second/main sponsor on board before the allocated money ran out which seems not to have happened. :(

    I guess several of them will get picked up quick enough but there will obviously be those left badly off. One wonders where Blyth will go from here?
    2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner

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