Will Wear Rainbow For Food
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 3, 2009 7:52 PM EDT
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PrintYep, the World Champion, Lampre's Alessandro Ballan, is on the move. This came up during the Poland live thread, but deserves its own space, particularly as CN has done some further reporting. Rabobank ain't buying -- they were among several teams Ballan mentioned to La Gazzetta, but not surprisingly Rabo are not in the market for his services, presumably due to their existing glut of one-day vertically-challenged hammerheads. And less expensive ones at that. The other teams Ballan mentioned: the Shack, Sky and Astana. These teams have in common virtually nobody on their rosters for 2010, so yeah, they're good fits. Interest and money are two potential stumbling blocks, but one would hope a rider of Ballan's class will find a good home.
The news comes on the day Lampre celebrate their ninth victory of the season, Angelo Furlan's win in the second stage of the Tour de Pologne. Nice enough result, but it does little to take the sting out of a disastrous season. Ballan and the newly-purchased Enrico Gasparotto were set to light up the northern classics until both of them went down. Racing without his illustrious teammates, prodigy Simon Spilak sagged to 47th at Flanders and failed to finish Gent or Paris-Roubaix. The team made barely a dent in the Centenary Giro, leaving captain Damiano Cunego sounding ever more frustrated with fighting the good fight. Now they're tossing one-year deals to a reigning world champion, a sign of either poor fiscal health or an impending retrenching. Maybe they can't afford to compete in Belgium when they're doing so poorly in Italy. Stay tuned...
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Cunego should leave as well
Lampre is very weak, Grand Tours, one day classics or one week races……it doesn’t really make a difference, no depth and very few stars. I caught many of the Tour of Switzerland stages on youtube and I always noticed that Cunego was finishing 2nd of 3rd because he up against strength in the depth of Columbia and other teams. For example on the stage to Crans Montana Cunego looked the strongest but he made the mistake of marking the first attack by a Columbia rider, Monfort, and was caught off guard when Monfort’s teammate Tony Martin counter-attacked and won the stage. A change of scenery is in order……I know it will probably never happen but I would love to see Cunego ride for Saxo Bank, Riis could probably do wonders for his career.
What are Cunego's options for teams?
Seems he might be a fit at Liquigas but they already have so many guys. And I only say liquigas because they are really the only other protour italian team (which I find very strange but thats another story). Could he go to a team like Quickstep? I don’t want to say Lotto because they have nobody. Saxobank is way too full to fit the likes of Cunego on that team. He could actually be a big improvement for a team like Ag2r who has a good crop of young guys and some weapons when it comes to week long stage races and the ardennes.
Quickstep might be a good option
This Seeldrayers guy is a young rider with a lot of promise, Barredo, Devolder and a few others are also strong in the type of races that Cunego excels at. I personally feel sorry for the guy seeing him quadrupled teamed by the likes of Saxo and Columbia and often being left alone with no teammates at the crucial moments of each race. Cunego has been with Saronni for his entire career and I think that partnership has run its course.
As for Ballan, I would say it seems unreasonable to demand a 2 year deal based on his output this season. Quickstep might also be a good fit for them unless they’re already too loaded with Boonen, Devo and Chavanel.
The problem with Saxobank
Is they have way to many Ardennes type riders already. No way Cunego fits in there. I hate to say it but what about Columbia?
Agreed about Saxo
I’m not sure that would work. Columbia? I don’t think the little dude speaks any English.
On the subject of QuickStep, Devolder is rumored to La Shack.
Oh, right
They have an Italian ds, whose name is totally escaping me.
Hmm, Cunego overlaps with Kirchen, and who else?
I’m not sure I can imagine him leaving Italy though.
Valerio Piva. Happiest man on the Processo every night, he was...
No, I can’t see it either. Shame, really.
Si
I enjoyed Piva on the processo. Good times there. There’s too many legs at Columbia already, though, methinks.
Too bad Cunego like never talks to the press. We might have half a clue as to what he has in mind.
On the subject of Devolder...
…please, resist the pull of the Dark Side. I’ll believe the Shack has a serious classics squad when I see it. Your yearly victory in the RVV is worth being TB’s helper in the rest of the classics Stijn.
You see how calm Vaughters is? That’s because he’s really one giant seething ball of Evil inside. With like, extra Evil.
devolder was happy at uspostal/disco... he'd prob do well there..
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
I dont think Columbia is a real possibility
But the options are pretty thin elsewhere.
Cunego is on such a ridiculously high salary
that no other team is going to look at him until this contract ends.
Cunego was mentioned
in one of the early versions of the everyone-to-Sky story, but that seems to have dropped off now.
I (like pretty much everyone else, I guess) think Cunego’s problem is not so much the team, but not really quite making up his mind what kind of a rider he really is. Until he finally does that, it’s pretty difficult to decide what kind of a team would suit him best.
Ordinarily
I wouldn’t go along with a Cunego-leaving thing, but he would do quite well at Saxo…
The part that bugs me the most is the idea that Lampre are struggling because they’ve made more of a commitment to racing clean than some of their competition. I don’t like to implicate teams, too unknowable, but we know the individuals: Ricco, DiLuca, Sella, Rebellin…
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 3, 2009 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't like it either Chris
But that’s just where my mind turns as well.
"…I saw bloody Cavendish coming, really fast…"
HH
Except
that there were Lampre riders among the positives last year also. And wasn’t there one this year, too?
Cunego did call it right during the Giro – that the results would be revised.
Caucchioli--one of the Bio Passport 5.
Throughout the stage all I kept on thinking was: ‘don’t finish second, you can’t finish second again’.--Heinrich Haussler
Bingo, thanks
Though I suppose we should give them a pass since he allegedly failed last season before he rode for Lampre.
Yep
We don’t know for sure. They also had, what, two positives last year? Hard to know what to make of that, given Cunego’s out-spoken comments. Perhaps the management and sponsor laid down the law this year.
Forget Lampre as a "clean team"
unless they somehow miraculously found religion all of a sudden.
Don’t open the closet-door.
What was the latest on Bruseghin after the sponsors in Milan shenanigans?
Is he off too? I thought the upshot was that the sponsors wanted him out & that suited him just fine?
Cunego
His contract is up this season. I haven’t seen any rumors on renewal and whatnot, but I doubt he’ll negotiate anything until after Worlds.
I also don’t know when the sponsorship agreement is up at Lampre-Ngc, which might make a difference in all these calcuations.
My impression is that Ballan did not want to stay at Lampre.
You also have Lampre's protour licence up for renewal right now.
I’d’ve thought tnat would entail at least some indication of who might be on the team. Cunego stays, I reckon.
Hmm, that's interesting
I wonder if they drop off the pro tour, actually, and focus more on the Italian races. They will always get a Giro invite with Cunego on the team, and really, do they need a Tour invite?
Huh.
But will they get an Ardennes invite?
If they go this route they would appear to just be a clone of Acqua & Sapone.
That would leave only one Italian PT team.
It kind of makes sense (at least until you look at some of the other teams with protour licences), but politically, would that be allowed to happen?
with five French teams
bad optics.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 4, 2009 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Way too many good italian riders to have one and a half protour teams
I am considering Lampre a half given how they have done this year outside of Cunego. You can’t keep sending people to Liquigas because they are full to the brim and there is probably infighting there considering Pellizotti wants sole Giro leadership.
But you have the young Masciarelli guys from Acqua Sapone and guys like Cunego, Ballan, and Pettachi probably looking for a new team.
Masciarellis will never get picked up on major team
unless that team is suicidal or completely desperate. Forget them.
poor lampre
their best 3 riders (ballan, cunego and gasparotto) haven’t really paid off for them, for whatever reason. very few results of note, hints of an unhappy management-riders dynamic, and a tightening amongst the top teams in terms of talent distribution. i think the last point is most important, because like people have mentioned above, it’s difficult to place ballan for next year, he’s got to have a great rest of season if wants that move to radio shack/astana/whoever.
speaking as a fan of both ballan and cunego, here’s what i hope/think might happen. the team loses its pro tour licence, ballan departs for a team that can potentially help him consolidate and progress in the classics. cunego (who i still think wants another crack at that whole grand tour thing, despite what happened in may) stays for another year, cause like gavia said, he will always guarantee a giro invite for the team, being a former winner an’ all.
sure, they might lose their spot in some prestigious races, but given the results from this season, will that make a lot of difference? i reckon the (domestic) sponsors would prefer a higher win rate in domestic races to anonymity in the tour.
"at the end of the day, it's only the tour de france."- bradley wiggins (and majope)
Cunego has quietly put together a decent season
He dominated that Coppi-Bartali week, and was very strong in the Basque Country, where other than the stage to Arrate none of the stages really suited him. Take cheater Colom out of the equation and he rises to a decent 5th place.
Quite good in the Ardennes also, barely losing the sprint to Gilbert for 4th at the top of the Cauberg and coming within a few meters of stealing 2nd from Andy Schleck on the Mur de Huy. Only at Liege did he seem a little off, almost as if he was lacking confidence in his form and was gambling that he could win the race in a sprint at the end.
The Giro of course was brutal, a couple of attacks on the stages to Monte Petrano and the stage to Bergamo that went unrewarded. The most startling image for me was seeing him getting dropped on the stage to Faenza, a stage which ran over many of the same roads as Coppi-Bartali race which he dominated earlier in the year. Very strange. Lastly a decent result at the Tour of Suisse where he was unlucky on more than one occasion. Again, if he had some support riders strong enough to help him chase down dangerous attacks at the end of same of these races he would probably have another 3 or 4 wins on the season, instead he usually has to do it all himself.
If he can do his usual trick at Lombardia, I'd probably agree.
But by his – & most of all, his public’s – expectations, I’m not sure all those thirds, fourths & fifths quite cut it, nothwithstanding the lack of team support. & I think the Giro counts for a lot too (despite the unlevel playing field), since it was his acknowledged target this year.
it's a decent season
for peeps like us that follow cycling all year round, but in terms of exposure and big wins, i don’t think it will be seen as a success by him or by the team. it’s a shame.
"at the end of the day, it's only the tour de france."- bradley wiggins (and majope)
How about Cunego to Garmin?
if Garmin can’t get AC then they clearly have the money to get Cunego. And who does Garmin have for the hilly classics? No one who would challenge Cunego for team leadership. Plus, Cunego’s stance against doping definitely fits with Garmin’s message. The only thing is the whole Italian on a almost entirely English speaking team, but that can be overcome you’d think. Well that and Cunego might not be evil enough.
"On a personal level, I have never had admiration for him and I never will"
~AC about LA, me about Johan "drama queen" Bruyneel
heehehe
“.. and your little dog tooo..”
by Christopher See on Aug 4, 2009 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
I thought about that same thing
This would help them mold the team into that international Columbia type team. And it would really give them another options for the hilly classics. They might even be able to improve Cunego’s TT ability which definitely makes him a better contender in the Giro.
Are you saying
that you don’t believe in Tom Danieslon’s chances to win the Giro?
"On a personal level, I have never had admiration for him and I never will"
~AC about LA, me about Johan "drama queen" Bruyneel
Why settle for the Giro
When they get Contador it wont be all happy times because Contador will have to win the team leadership in the Tour from Danielson :)
It will be a tough situation trying to to wrestle team leadership away from such a proven leader
…for Contador.
"On a personal level, I have never had admiration for him and I never will"
~AC about LA, me about Johan "drama queen" Bruyneel
I laugh
…but then I think how much it must suck to be TD and have to live up to the insane expectations, or live with not living up to them. But I do laugh, more at the fact that people won’t let those expectations go at this point.
You see how calm Vaughters is? That’s because he’s really one giant seething ball of Evil inside. With like, extra Evil.
I think he's done incredibly well
Sometimes I am frustrated at people having almost impossible expectations of a sportsperson. Don’t envy those who ‘carry a nation’s hopes’. What has been said about TD reminds me of Cadel
in that sense, maybe
but I never see TD as a major future GC threat.
and I don’t like Cadel either….sigh….something about him just does not feel right…..and he cracked under pressure way too many times.
We've both been kind about Cadel
and recognised that he has a go.
He doesn’t really float my boat either, but I feel sorry for him. Media and Australian public, (many of whom know little or nothing about cycling), have put huge pressure on him. Not everyone is Cathy Freeman.
Anyway, let’s hope he finds a new team that’s a better fit and a way of making the most of his not inconsiderable talents.
Also agree with you about TD.
his whining kills it for me.
mentally he’s weak.
I know Lotto is not good.
but, watched the Giro Cadel? Menchov had not much of a team.
not to mention the Tour, Bert is really tough. that’s a winner right there. Cadel just doesn’t have it.
I think anyone who can compete
in three week tours is mentally and physically tough and Contador at the moment, and I suspect for some time to come, is unbelievable.
I don’t want to write Evans off yet, not because he’s a fave, but because I think he still has more to offer and now that he’s an underdog I seem to be wired to be nicer about him than I’ve been in the past.
weak here, of course, is compared to his competitors, not me or you.
2007 he’s ok.
then last year he totally lost it. headbutting cameras, “I cut your head off”, etc. I don’t think he can win it.
I don't think he can either
but maybe Giro is a possibility. Maybe a race that doesn’t get the same heat in Australia?
Hope springs eternal for cadel
in regards to tdf. Remember SL wanted him to do both. Lesser men have failed, greater ones have triumphed.
Anyway, I wish him luck. A bit pointless continuing this really :)
Only because you can't stand him
and I feel sorry for him. And I must admit, I’d rather not debate a rider I don’t feel very invested in.
Now if we suddenly disagreed about Fabian (which will probably never happen), then it would be worth an argument ;)
You had me for a minute!
I’m going to blame the shorts for the bum. Now this shows how objective I can be – in spite of my misgivings I think Cadel’s bum is up with Klodi’s. I’m just not so keen on him speaking:)
I have nothing to say
on the subject of Cadel (or his arse).
Bit I feel that I must point out that the shorts have nothing to do with the size of Tony’s backside. Baby got back, that’s all there is to it ;-)
Quick tutorial?
First copy your link. Then type your post. Hilight the text that you want made into the link (like ‘baby got back’ in my post above) and click on the second-last icon that appears in the space below your post title and above your comment box (see the six icons? – ‘bold’, ‘italic’, ‘strikethrough’, ‘quote’, ‘link’ and ‘image’… the ‘link’ one is the one you need). Paste your link into the popup box that appears, click ‘submit’, and Bob’s yer uncle-)
i've just copied this to a word doc.
I am a complete Luddite! However, I’m determined to work this out slowly.
Hopefully i will be able to repay your help and accompanying lack of derision with something.
Thank you!
Me too
Not quite a secret
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 3, 2009 11:29 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
yep mountain pixies have never really been my choice either.
by Christopher See on Aug 4, 2009 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Just saying
I don’t root for every Italian, or everyone who wins Flanders, but Italians who win Flanders? Probably 100% on those guys.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 4, 2009 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions
I thought Evans would have been a good fit at Lampre
Italian wife, speaks the language; they have no real GC threats (esp if no Bruseghin). Might they be clearing some space in the budget?
In many ways it does eem like a better fit for Evans.
But will he gain anything professionally by it? Lampre haven’t been able to help Cunego as much as he needs, so unless there are bigger changes afoot, it could be problematic.
Leadership issues could also make things uncomfortable.
I have read a couple of speculative articles about Evans going to Sky. These have largely been linked with Scott Sunderland’s presence there.
Hmm...
I think that if Ballan goes to Sky then it is likely that Pozzato and Swift will ditch Katusha.
Mon coeur appartient aux les forçats de la route.
Swift to Sky's probably a done deal...
… but I’m not sure Pozzato was ever on the list of Italians-Most-Likely (mildly fascinated by Sky’s interest in Italians, have to say)
isn't it cause
they have a large television presence in italy? i think its their second european territory, behind the uk.
"at the end of the day, it's only the tour de france."- bradley wiggins (and majope)
Indeed it is.
Sky Italia’s a pretty big deal, not least because it’s the only really challenge to Berlusconi’s tv empire. So it makes sense to for Sky to have an Italian or two. & it looks like they’ve probably got one (Nibali). Plus there’s the whole Quarrata thing, though I thought I saw somewhere the team would be run from Mechlen…
persistently rumored
While the Italian press can be rather principled in some respects (i.e. personal stuff), I find their rumormongering tendencies to be rather off the charts, and 99% worthless. Poor Alberto Aquilani has been sold by La Gazzetta to half the Premiership and a third of La Liga in the last month.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 4, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Is also mentioned on the Sky Sports website
This (right click, right click!) came out during the tour. The Nibali thing has been around since April/May as civetta mentioned.
This (ditto) is the latest from their site.
Brailsford said live on air on ES during the tour that the team half GB and that is sorted, so 12/13 riders must be GB. Says got to 17/18 so far – so probably only signed 5/6 international cyclists so far.
There is lot more of this to come, but at least it seems to be team you can join to develop as a cyclist not be a LA pawn (ducks!)
I heard he's going to Liverpool
lastest rumor anyway, seeing that they sold Xabi for 30M, they sure can afford him!
Oh, THAT Sky...
the TV people. Lots of calcio. I get it… and this is getting interesting. Even more interesting that Tourbecco’s brain winding up in stomach of his undead cousin.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 4, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Heh
that’s a distant dream.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 4, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Pozzato?
I suspect a look at his bio passport details would kill any interest Sky might have.
er
has there been earlier rumorage to this effect? I don’t like having doping rumors start here.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 4, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Cunego to Rabobank seems like a nice combination.
Cunego and Gesink for the classics and for some smaller rounds
While that would be nice and I'm sure you are hoping it happens,
I think QS would be a better fit. They already have a relationship with Italian riders and have some top quality riders to help support him, like Barredo in the Ardennes, so I would think he would probably be more at home at QS. I know I know, Dutch vs Flemish and all that.
If I just had one more gear, I...
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