T-Mobile Team Thread

Here is the jersey for you to use to pledge your allegiance to the team:

Attached to the post is the excel spreadsheet for tracking your team including any stages already committed!!

Time for FUN!  

don't forget your parmesan:

T-Mobile

Monday July 2, 2007

Guardian

They're a mobile-phone firm with a nice pink logo and a warm "simply closer" slogan. What's not to like?

Tour heritage

Rich but tarnished, a bit like Kate Moss. In 1995 (as Telekom) they were considered good enough only to form part of a mixed team with a very small Italian squad but they came back in 1996 to win the thing with Bjarne Riis, kicking off a boom in German cycling that finally expired this year when Riis admitted to doping. Jan Ullrich's 1997 Tour win is still on the books - but he is now linked to Operation Puerto. They have taken 30 stage wins, and six points victories with Erik Zabel (see Milram).

Past controversies

This year has been like one long acid flashback, with one skeleton after another leaping out of the closet. Several of the 1996 Tour winning team confessed to doping, a former soigneur Jeff D'Hont wrote a book about drugs, while team doctors confessed to doling them out. Make it stop.

In the coffers

£10m. Yes, £10m to spend on wheels, saddles and pumps.

The boss

Bob Stapleton is a genial American with the task of cleaning up the team. He fired a host of riders and staff last year but had no idea of the task facing him - which is why this year has been spent firefighting.

Team leader

Triple world champion Michael "Dodger" Rogers will look to improve on ninth last year, and will be in the mix for time-trial stage wins. Otherwise they'll look for stage wins through the sprinters Mark Cavendish and Bernhard Eisel.

Wild man of the saddle

A ballroom dancer in his youth, the Manxman Cavendish is the fastest British road sprinter in 20 years, has taken five wins this year and may get to ride the Tour at just 22.

They'll be happy with ...

Anything that begins to restore their good name.

Fans will paint on the road

"Time for T"; "Simply Closer to the leaders would be a start"

William Fotheringham predicts

Rogers could make the top eight, Cavendish and Eisel could win a stage. How T-Mobile are could be a barometer for how "clean" this year's race is.

If they were cheese ... Parmesan

A seriously pricey investment but is it really worth it? We all know the name but it is usually knocking around on the fringes of the main action and unlikely to take centre stage. Also unlikely to show signs of improvement with age. Can grate after a while.

Based Bonn, Germany

Bike Giant frame, Shimano wheels

Jerseys Adidas

Team leader Michael Rogers (Aus, age 27. 4 Tours, 0 stage wins. Best 9th, 2006)

Climbers Giuseppe Guerini (It, 36), Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger, 27)

Sprinters Bernhard Eisel (Aut, 26), Mark Cavendish (GB, 22)

Time-triallists Lorenzo Bernucci (It, 27), Marcus Burghardt (Ger, 23), Andreas Klier (Ger, 31), Linus Gerdemann (Ger, 24), Bert Grabsch (Ger, 31), Axel Merckx (Bel, 34)

Puncheurs Roger Hammond (GB, 33), Kim Kirchen (Lux, 28)

Team manager Bob Stapleton

Team founded 1991

Tours de France entered 15

Stage wins 30

King of Mountains

Team wins 4

2006 best 3rd, Andrea Klöden

2006 stage wins 3 (Sergei Gonchar 2, Matthias Kessler 1)

ProTour ranking 9th

Website t-mobile-team.com

Hello Team T-Mobile!

My name is Jeanette and I ride a Raleigh Cadent road bike.  Most of my rides are on a trainer, unfortunately for now, due to new job and time commitments.  I have committed to 9 legs and will try to get outside for some of the rides on the weekends.  I am setting up a computer on the back wheel so I can track mileage while on the trainer, mag-trainer not computrainer, to add more info to the challenge.

I will get my sig set up and I have already posted my TdF challenge info in my goals on the log page.

Hi everyone,

I am Steffi and represent the german member of T-mobile

I live in Iceland and biking here can be tough with all the winds but we had some really good summer days lately so I am learning slowly that biking outside can really be fun.

I am also comitted to 10 rides during that time (might do more but the training plan says 10) and 2 of them will be in Germany one as part of my next TRI.

Let´s go Team T-mobile!!

Hi T-Mobile - just to let you know there is another rider being added to your line, madcow.

He will hopefully be dropping in to say Hi soon!!!!! 

Hi T-Mobile. I'm Tom. I ride a Cervelo P3 for my races and outside training, a Cervelo One for my trainer rides and a 4 month old Cervelo Soloist road bike (that I haven't ridden yet). Hopefully I will take the road bike out soon.

Seeing as though Daremo on CSC has pledged 21 rides, I will do the same. My training plans calls for about 11, but I will be watching all 21 stages of the tour in my den near my trainer bike anyway, I might as well ride while I watch. I looking forward to doing this challenge with all of you!!!

Welcome aboard, Madcow! 

Hey everybody, we need a team leader, any volunteers?

Gina76 - 2007-07-05 7:44 PM I think the team leader should be the person that spends the most time here on BT!

That leaves me out

I do have to say, I tried t-mobile because they were the cheapest and I'm a cheap bastard... but boy did they suck.

Fitting you should have them as a sponsor.

While you sissies were sleeping, looks like someone from barlo rode by and took a quick swim in your kiddie pool...

Oh, and by the way...

(good luck  getting your a$$ kicked in the challenge everyone).

Hi Team,

With the prologue less that 12hours away I thought it might help with the spirit of the Tour De France and the challenge to learn about your pro team.

The T-Mobile 2007 Tour De France live up (as of about 24 hours out) is:

- Marcus Burghardt GER

- Mark Cavendish GBR

- Bernhard Eisel AUSTRIA

- Linus Gerdemann GER

- Bert Grabsch GER

- Kim Kirchen LUX 

- Axel Merckx BEL 

- Michael Rogers AUS

- Patrik Sinkewitz GER

The team leader for the team is Australian rider Michael Rogers who came 10th despite riding as a domestique for Kloden in the 2006 tour. He is a three time world time trial champion and as proven in last years competition he can climb with the best riders in the peloton.

Despite the change in team management and line up this is a team packed with talent and one rider. Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Mann who is aiming to win the opening prologue.

So I hope this helps you get into the Tour and your team. Assuming you are interested in your team I will drop in and give you some updates on how your team is doing as I will be watching all of the stages live (well if I stay awake as its on between 10p - 2/3am).

So have a GREAT challenge!!!

Cat 

1st ride down!

total ascent 4515ft
total descent 4540ft

Hey all, my name is Hans, and leave in Vegas. I will be doing all rides. I had placed myself for 12, but somehow, appears that more was posted on the spread sheet. So I'll go for all stages. OUCH!! Got to push myself more than estimated.

Excited, and glad to join this group. Who's our fearless leader?

Hi guys,

First challenge for me and I'm already late (I've been away at the coast on holidays).

Can somebody put me down for 9 rides?

Lets go T-Mobile!!!

Hi Team - there has been a query with regard to cycle commutes, should they be counted as one stage or two?

Ive already stated that two a day workouts are fine i.e a spin class in the morning and a road ride at night would be two stages BUT a commute could be argued to be different as technically you HAVE to ride both ways...

Personally I think it comes down to how you counted it when you committed your stages... as long as you state how you are counting your commute in the beginning and stick to it I have no major objections but if anyone has a strong opinion regarding this please let me know.

Thanks

Cat

PS: HUGE congratulations to everyone who has already got a ride in for the challenge

Hey, everyone.  I am volunteering to be the team leader.  I have already downloaded the spreadsheet and have collected the rides from Saturday from your logs.  I will check later for the Sunday rides.  Remember they have to be logged in your logs to be counted. 

My rides begin tomorrow.  I will ride M, W, F each week until this completes. 

Congrats to all that have already logged mileage!!!!  Keep up the good work and I will try to stop by and leave an inspire each day.

Jeanette

Thanks for volunteering to be the team leader Jeanette

My first ride is done and it was fun

I second that.

 Thanks!!!

2 down, 19 to go!