LOL…like we didn't see this coming….
http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/13684.0.html
Horner is a surprise tho…Good for him! That is one cat I wanna see racing in Europe next year.
http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/13688.0.html
Trek too…hmm…
Stoked for Horner. I enjoy listening to his interviews, he doesn't beat around the bush, he says it like it is.
"X is for x-ray. If you've been bikin' and you haven't had an x-ray, you ain't goin' hard enough." - Bob Roll
They should pick up Jose Rubiera, surely they could use another experienced Spanish climber.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
They should pick up Jose Rubiera, surely they could use another experienced Spanish climber.
They did! Chek the first linky..I was super stoked to see that too…Chechu sacrificed his very promising career for Lance and I think he has earned a contract from Bruyneel until he decides to retire.
^^^Oh sh*t, that's great news.
I can still remember when Lance crashed badly and Rubiera paced him up. As soon as Lance got on his wheel, Rubiera was motioning with his palm down like "Chill, Lance, we'll catch those suckas, everything is under control…"
Haven't crunched the team numbers yet, but I think Bruyneel can field a full Discovery squad plus Horner?
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
To answer my own question, yes, Bruyneel can field a full Disco squad plus Hornder, even with Savoldelli (ex-Disco) leaving:
Levi Leipheimer
Alberto Contador
Sergio Paulinho
Tomas Vaitkus
Janez Brajkovic
Benjamin Noval
+Vladimir Gusev
+Jose Rubiera
++Benoit Joachim (Astana holdover, ex-Disco)
Presenting your 2008 Astana TDF roster (plus Horner)!
But I'm still not enthused about the team colors.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
I think this is a pretty interesting comment:
"New manager Bruyneel saw the value in signing Horner. "He will be of extreme value in the mountains for our leaders. Chris is extremely motivated to join our team." "
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/nov07/nov17news
Contador, Leipheimer, Kloden…geez, ya'd hardly think they'd need to pinch Cadel's domestiques with that lineup.
Cadel needs a different team anyway. Him and Robbie together = no yellow jersey for Cadel.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Contador, Leipheimer, Kloden…geez, ya'd hardly think they'd need to pinch Cadel's domestiques with that lineup.
Pinch… they didn't want to pay, soo Horner basically told them he wasn't coming back to ride, for that kinda money.
I'm just glad he ended up on a Pro tour team. It would have been a shame to see him race for a continental team.
"X is for x-ray. If you've been bikin' and you haven't had an x-ray, you ain't goin' hard enough." - Bob Roll
Yea…Horner was saying something about only being 1/3 of what other riders of his caliber were being paid while he was with Predictor/Lotto.
I can see Kloden leaving for a new team, Milram maybe?
Kloden is a leader and he needs his own team. Milram would be a good bet for sure..I don't think they have a GC guy of Kloden's class.
But with Petacchi at Milram there won't be full support for GC. Wouldn't be a great fit for Kloden's Tour hopes.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Looks like Kloden will stay with Astana. It sounds like the market is so bad that he has no other options than to play third fiddle after Contador and Leipheimer. Regardless, Discstana is still his best chance for a high placing in the Tour.
"Having reflected on the situation and spoken to other teams, I have decided to remain for one year more at Astana," said Kl[HTML_REMOVED]#246;den on his website. "I am content that uncertainties have now been resolved and I will devote myself to my profession. The quality of the team and its attitude has led to this decision."
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
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