Credit Agricole Team Thread

Hi Credit Agricole... here is the team jersey for you to use to show your allegiance to your team!!

Also attached to this email is the excel spreadsheet with all the team stage committments to date, please check and make sure you have everyones before the challenge starts Saturday!!!

Have FUN  

hey all

hope you don't mind me nominating myself for team leader. i am currently unemployed and would love something to keep me busy.  also i have a credit agricole top: my sister has her mortgage with them so i just had to buy one!

hope everybody is well. just to confirm i am in for 12 rides. most will be on my trek slr1400 but i do own a trek 7.2fx for commutes etc i am currently following a modified version of the 8 week bike focus winter maintenance as i hope to do a metric century in september. 

from my daily paper:

Crédit AgricoleMonday July 2, 2007

Guardian

Would it come as a shock to discover this lot are in banking?

Tour heritage

In 1986 the oldest sponsor in the sport, Peugeot - with a history dating back to the 1913 Tour - pulled out and kids' clothes magnates Z took over. Z must do a roaring trade in Mothercare, because in 1990 they offered cycling's first $1m salary, to Greg LeMond. They were GAN for a bit, with Chris Boardman. Credit Ag, as those in the know them, have been there since 1998 and the team has won six Tour stages.

Past controversies

The team manager, Roger Legeay, was among the earliest movers against doping and the team have been trouble-free since 1996. That is a major achievement, of which he can be proud.

In the coffers

An average £4.75m: masterful management of the purse strings.

The boss

Legeay is a wily, if a tad oleaginous, pro from the 70s, known then for smoking the odd cigarette while riding (well, after he got off his bike). He is now a pillar of the French cycling establishment.

Team leader

The Norwegian Thor Hushovd is one of the best sprinters in cycling; the entire team is built around him. He hit the jackpot in 2005 by winning the green jersey and last year landed the prologue time-trial and the prestigious final-day finish. Initially a skier, he's hulking, blond and fearless - a cycling god according to his website, which refers to hammers, thunder and just about everything else Nordic (except cured fish, death metal, overpriced vodka and manic depression).

Wild man of the saddle

The team will be selected solely to back up Hushovd, although Pietro Caucchioli of Italy will have his head in the mountains.

They'll be happy with ...

Stage wins for Hushovd and another green jersey.

Fans will paint on the road

"Hammer them, Thor"; "We asked for LeMond and you gave us the world"

William Fotheringham predicts

Hushovd is a good bet for the green jersey if he stays out of trouble, while Caucchioli can scrape into the top 10, without actually being seen to do anything along the way.

If they were cheese... Emmental

Classic good looks and a popularity that rocketed after investment in the US market. Picks up prizes and the devoted following loves that bubbly approach. Critics are harsh if they point out a few holes in the operation: this one's all about quality.

Based St Pierre du Perray, France

Bike Look frame, Shimano wheels

Jerseys Nalini

Team leader Thor Hushovd (Nor, 29). 6 Tours, 4 stage wins. Best green jersey, 2005)

Climbers Pietro Caucchioli (It, 31), Alexandr Botcharov (Rus, 32), Patrice Halgand (Fr, 33)

Sprinters Julian Dean (NZ, 32), William Bonnet (Fr, 24)

Time-triallists Anthony Charteau (Fr, 33), Sébastien Hinault (Fr, 33), Christophe Le Mével (Fr, 26)

Puncheurs None

Team manager Roger Legeay

Team founded 1998

Tours de France entered 8

Points wins 1 (Hushovd, 2005)

Stage wins 6

King of Mountains 0

2006 best 16th, Caucchioli

2006 stage wins 2 (Hushovd)

ProTour ranking 13th

Website www.au-veloclubdeparis.fr

let's not forget our emmental:

Bonjour! My name is Kat (yes, another one) and I'm in Texas.  I'll be doing 9 rides for this challenge, 3 for each week.  The majority of those will be on my Trek 2100,  but I will be using my trainer on rainy days - which we've had WAY too many of lately! I'm trying to build up my base and some speed for my next tri which will be an olympic in September.

Oh...and I second the nomination for sapph to be our team captain!

Hello evelybody (Dr. Zoidberg voice from Futurama)

Name: Märten ("ä" spells like "a" from the word "apple",

Location: Estonia, Eastern Europe.

Bike: Merida 903 Road

My goal is to ride 12 times during those 3 weeks and since I have no trainer, I have no choice but to ride with every kind of weather outside. And since Estonian summer is known as "3 month of crappy skiing weather", we will have a lot of rain.

My main focus is on my first tri, which will be a HIM in 5th of August, so I have to be ready and slacking off is simply no option. So whenever I feel not like training, you're all very welcome to kick my virtual butt

My vote goes to sapph as captain.

Oh and if anyone wants to make a nice list of our team members with links to training logs to be used in our log page for faster communication, that would be great.

Now, lets win that thing!

welcome fellow european. tallinn is meant to be gorgeous! i visited vilnius and kaunas a few summers ago for a football game: a gorgeous part of the world.

welcome nalani. you do know our top is made by nalini???

thanks for my nomination   how are we all liking the cheese?

What are you talking about, you copied that from us!

(Actually I just "borrowed" the overall design and wrote HTML code myself, but BT for some reason overwrote some of my styles, so now it indeed looks like a copy) 

who cares what csc are up to! we'll kick their sorry black and red a$$es anyhow!

ALLEZ LES VERTES EMMENTALS!!!!

Hi team!

I'm Jen.  I'm in for 10 stages.  I'm training for two more tris in July and a bike ride in August.  I ride a 2005 Trek 1500.  Currently I live in Richmond, VA.

I love the cheese (but I'm originally from Wisconsin, so of course I love cheese).

Easy now.......hold your cheeses.

Just accept that you are up against a superior team, then the defeat will not be so painful !

lol! cheese head like the violent femmes? 

Well, that must be some sort of sign then, right?  That, and I really love cheese too...even though I'm not from Wisconsin.

Yep, like the Femmes.  Even from the same city (Milwaukee).  I've seen them a few times. 

welcome to sledge. that is such a cool name: sledging is a cricket term for smack talk. perfect

so peeps as captain (lol!) i just need you to confirm that you are on for the correct number of rides.

and sledge(r) can you let me know how many? ta.

then let the riding begin. two stages are in the uk so i think with me as captain we should get bonus points

oh and barloworld seem to be over-taking us on the smacktalk front: let's go invade some threads...maybe a quick dip into disco to ask where lance has gone? pop into t-mobile to ask where ullrich and basso are? oh at the clinic :p

les vertes emmentals are the cleanest team historicallly so we can really pull some punches.

and can i ask a favour? are we all up for having our emmentals as avatar? shout if you need help changing ok?

anythign else i need to do?

j xx

You still have time to figure it out, the Tour dose not start until tomorrow

But being a Credit Agricole, nobody expect you to get it right away

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).