Contador to leave Astana

Heard it and expect Vino to go back to being lead dog on Astana.

 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/tour-de-france/stuart-ogrady-tipped-to-benefit-from-alberto-contador-move/story-fn5wdeal-1225898415310    So Sungaard  is one of the sponsors.  Since Saxo Bank is resigning.
Any new sponsor stepping up yet.

And the Schlecks are going to start up some Lux Team?   Interesting stuff.

possibly going to take over schlecks spot on the soon to be renamed saxobank team. will be strange to watch that, schleck to the shack lol?

I just hope Schleck doesn't end up with Lampre.  No future winner in pastels!

when i first saw this i thought liquigas and thought it would be awesome. Ya lampre would blow. This new luxembourg team they are talking about sounds great and all but they need a serious budget to keep him as a contender, at least 2 big climbers besides his brother to pull in the mountains and another 4-5 able to be pace setters.

Confirmed this morning that Contador is going to Saxo-Sungard.

http://www.versus.com/community/forums/?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussi...

The irony of Contador wearing the jerseys of the Schleck brothers is almost as rich as if the new lead sponsor would have been an American company.

It is going to be an interesting 40 some-odd days of musical chairs as the teams get organized for next year.

Wow.. this sort of adds a drama for me as a newb fan.  It adds a bit of passion to my wanting Schleck to win next year.  I would love to see Schleck and Cavendish on the same team.  After watching this year, those two are my favorites.

After the controversy this year, I think Andy will be a crowd favorite next year. I know I'll be pulling for him!

Depends what side of the "controversy" you are and IMO for how long you have been a cycling fan beyond the TdF. I know many in the USA who recently began following the tour the past year and did so mainly via American media will indeed be pulling for Andy. OTOH, many others like me won't though I like Andy and think is a great rider. In fact I am rather excited to see the battle between Andy and Alberto but more so to see the fire power of Saxo bank-Sungard team rocking it out at the spring classics with Cancellara and the grand tours with him, Contador, Navarro, Noval, etc. See how the Andy/Frank new team comes together, see Astana lead by possibly Vino, see what happens with RadioShack, see how Liquigas performs and where riders from Euskatel and Cassie d'Espargne end up if they don't find new sponsors.  2011 is going to be fun!

Tour winner Contador signs with Saxo Bank team

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38534472/ns/sports/

Jorge,

You got your forum mixed up ... this is Beginner Triathlete, not Slowtwitch.  Many of the participants here are new Tour viewers, something that should be welcomed.

Understanding that you might be a Contador fan I still do not get the what the American media viewpoint has to do with the controversy over attacking when Schleck had his mechanical?  It is not like only Velonews or other American based publications took umbrage to it as it was debated in cycling news publications internationally.

That said, the Schleck/Contador 'rivalry' is a good one ... and something that is good for cycling ... regardless of the incident.  Personally, I thought Schleck handled the incident with the type of sportsmanship that many can learn from.  Contador was clearly the better rider during the Tour but I thought that Schleck was the better cyclist.

It'll ne interesting to see the teams each builds for the upcoming season. Contador certainly seems capable to be a force to be reckoned with at the classics next season.

I'm not a fan of el pistolero. Now my one of my least favorite and most favorite riders will be on the same team. woo. Nothing to do with the rivalry or Schleck's mechanical. Its all to do with the ego.

I think that putting Schleck and Cav on the same team would help neither.

Schleck needs a team that's strong overall. They have to be able to control the pace on the flat stages, and offer support in the mountains. He needs at least one teammate who can stay with him in case of a mechanical or other issue. (No, I'm not talking about chaingate this year, just in general.)

Cav, on the other hand, doesn't need strong climbers. He needs teammates who can control the race towards the end of the flat stages, and give him a good leadout.

Since you can only have 9 riders on a team, it would be tough to form a team that could support two riders with such different goals. Schleck wouldn't benefit from having a sprinter. And Cav wouldn't benefit from having a climber/GC rider.

BUT you can sign up for the Fantasy Cycling game at Versus, and get both that way. (Not sure who else you'd be able to afford, but if you had those two, you'd do well!)

Exactly! For me, it has nothing to do with the chain incident, but I just don't like Contador. I give him props for being a great rider, but never find myself cheering him on. I'm a new viewer - have only been watching cycling for a few years now - and have never liked the guy. I do agree, Jorge, that next year will be an exciting year with all the mix-ups on the teams!



Good point... .



Sigh. Cycling = drama. That's what make it so great in my opinion. If it were just guys out riding their bikes really hard, it would lose a lot of the excitement for me.

I welcome new fans of cycling but that doesn't change my point even though you think is unwelcome (or joke about it with your ST reference).

The reality is that if someone began watching the TdF the last year, did so getting expose to US media mainly and rarely follow other cycling events and international cycling news then it is rather easy to dislike AC because the US media had been very bias against him portraying him as a 'bad' guy which I don't blame because it is good biz for them. This particularly since last year he refuse to fold becoming LA support staff when LA itself 1st announced his return to cycling as a way to promote his foundation and in support of AC and just months later changed his tune saying he was planning to compete for the Astana leadership.

Pre LA return AC was consider as the best talent around to become one of the best stage racers and this notion that he was a bad teammate, a 'bad' guy etc. was non-existent. The year before LA no-one on discovery apparently had a problem with him but as soon as LA joined Astana with many of the same riders now he all of the sudden become bad. It wasn't until last year via comments from LA and the reporting from the US media that this perception was created IMO and part if the reason while I am always been a LA fan I began changing my opinion about him.

Regarding the 'incident' this year which has been discussed ad nauseam, not even riders/team directors agree. But the treatment and opinions given in the international media I read in Spanish, French or Italian were different even to the point many blame AS for his mistake as opposed to AC for the attack exclusively as it happened here. But what you hear on VS or read on Velonews  for instance was all once side for most part with a very few exceptions. The notion that AC is a bad teammate as far as I can tell is non-existent in those media outlets and partly it might have to do with the fact AC speaks little English which might be easy to misinterpret meaning or even distort his points of views.

I think a telling story is the fact Saxo Bank was ready to end the sponsorship of the team even before the Schlecks announced their intentions of starting a new team when AS is the 'raising' star, but then they decided to stick around when Contador appeared the picture. Of course, AC has already a proven success and with the power to add much more wins to his palmares in addition to his 5 grand tours.

PS. I have no idea what this means: "Contador was clearly the better rider during the Tour but I thought that Schleck was the better cyclist". What's the difference between rider and cyclist? I think the best all around cyclist won, period.

Welcome to the TdF, a three-week soap opera on wheels.

Who will follow whom in Schleck-Contador team shifts?
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/08/news/who-will-whom-after-sch...


Probably following Contador:
Dani Navarro,
Jesus Hernandez
Benjamin Noval.
Paolo Tiralongo
David de la Fuente.

Staying with Riis (which means they'll be w/ AC):
Fabian Cancellara,
Nicki Sørensen
Chris Anker Sørensen
Erik Gustav Larsson.
Richie Porte

Also, "Riis told Danish television Tuesday that [Michael] Rasmussen “deserves a chance to come back” and said he would consider signing the 36-year-old climber."


Possibly following the Schlecks:
Jakob Fuglsang
Stuart O’Grady
Jens Voigt
Laurent Didier.


http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/08/news/who-will-whom-after-sch...

Edited by D001 2010-08-04 10:40 AM

Liking or disliking AC has nothing to do with media bias for me.  I liked watching the TdF but I didn't go out to ESPN or any other site to read about it.  I simply DVR'd it on Versus and watched it.  After watching, I simply found Schelck impressive because AC couldn't pull on him.  To be honest, Schelck seems less "cool" and I felt like I was pulling for an underdog. 

Cavendish.. the guy simply destroyed people.  He makes cyclists look cool.