Emma Pooley and friends to AA Drink - And it's about time too

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 5:10 AM EST in Women's Cycling

We've been waiting for news of this for a month or so, but today Wielerland seems to have official confirmation that Emma Pooley will be riding for AA Drink - leontien.nl in 2012. And she's not coming alone, nor merely bringing the British contingent with her; no less than six ex Garmin-Cervelo will be lining up in that green, blue and yellow strip next year (is it too late for a "bring back the pink" grassroots campaign?), that's Emma herself, Lizzie Armitstead, Lucy Martin, Sharon Laws, Jessie Daams and Carla Ryan. No mention yet of where Alexis Rhodes will go, but as Wielerland suggest that Emma wanted to look after her old teammates, she's probably got somewhere sorted.

That looks to be the last big transfer news of this off season, but little snippets have been drifting in over the past weeks, and I've been doing my best to keep my transfer thread up to date. Check it out if you think you've missed something on the way (or if you see that I've missed something), and roll on VDS 2012.

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And some other transfer news that you might have missed

If anyone thought that Franco Chirio would be leaving women’s cycling then think again. His team for 2012 has just been announced and they will be racing as, erm, Forno d’Asolo – Colavita. And following a programme in both Europe and the USA. With a roster of 20 riders. Is this winter 2010 all over again. I’m sure I’ve deja vu his deja vu.

The team includes Flavia Oliveira, now on a Brazilian licence, Cath Cheatley now a USAian, Whitney Gaggioli who speaks Italian with a most unamerican accent, and young Italian hope Stella Riverditi.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 5:30 AM EST reply actions

It's good

to see Flavia racing again. I like the way she races.

by Le Sprinteur on Dec 31, 2011 8:58 PM EST up reply actions

New kit time

Karl Lima tweeted a piccie of the Hitec 2012 jersey and it looks like some of their minor sponsors have stepped up. In particular Mistral Home have gone from a vague pink blob on the shoulder to almost second sponsor. Hitec Mistral has to be a nicer name than HItec UCK. Unless UCK is a good sort of noise in Norwegian.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 5:34 AM EST reply actions

UCK

as in Ullensaker Cykleklubb

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...

by TheFigurehead on Dec 30, 2011 5:52 AM EST up reply actions

Don't spoil a cheap laugh with the truth

or people will start to suspect that you speak foreign.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 5:54 AM EST up reply actions

Karl Lima was tweeting happily about getting a new sponsor at the end of 2011, good end to the year etc

Aka Pigeons!

by Sarah Connolly on Dec 30, 2011 7:10 AM EST up reply actions

Mistral was on the last version he tweeted too

so that shouldn’t be it (I believe they are a personal sponsor to EJ originally?) . The "AF Gruppen might be the new one, not sure if it was there before.

by Jens on Dec 30, 2011 7:45 AM EST up reply actions

The Mystery of the other South African invasion

Alberto Rigamonti, the announcer at most Italian races and one of the best informed on all the inside gossip posted a list a couple of days ago of the proposed 2012 Bizhub line-up. But it didn’t include Cash Slingerland and Linn Torp who’ve previously been reported as heading there, and it did include Cath Williamson who is meant to be going to GSD Gestion – Cyril. Cath was also quoted pretty extensively and supplied a photo of the team in their new kit. The site itself is not very link friendly so go here and find the report dated 27th December. Does anyone know any more?

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 5:45 AM EST reply actions

Earlier in the month

Torp’s Norwegian club wrote about her and Bizhub. The article says that she will ride there next year, that she was in South Africa but planned to go back to Norway in mid-December and that also the South African champion Marissa van der Merwe will ride for the team (actually, the article says Marissa Stander, her former name?).

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...

by TheFigurehead on Dec 30, 2011 6:13 AM EST up reply actions

I meant to copy that list here:

Catherine Williamson (Gran Bretagna),
Yolandi Du Toit (Sudafrica),
Lilandi Swanepoel (Sudafrica),
Candice Neethling (Sudafrica),
Nicci Mari Grobler (Sudafrica),
Monique Gerber (Sudafrica),
Lindi Erasmus (Sudafrica),
Ischen Stopforth (Sudafrica),
Caitlin De Wet (Sudafrica),
Liani Morkel (Sudafrica).

Whereas the names I’ve got so far are:

Leana de Jager
Anriette Schoeman
Cashandra Slingerland
Lilandi Swanepoel
Linn Torp

I don’t remember where I picked them up from, but the only match we’ve got is Lilandi Swanepoel. ???

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 6:22 AM EST up reply actions

Hi, I’m updating the CQ overview and found these names on Team Bizhub’s Twitter:

Stay
DU TOIT Yolandi
ERASMUS Lindi
GROBLER Nicci-Mari
WILLIAMSON (HARE) Catherine

In
BREYTENBACH Jeaun-Mari < Team MTN – Qhubeka
DE JAGER Leana < Elite-2
SCHOEMAN Anriette < Elite-2
SLINGERLAND Cashandra < Elite-2
SWANEPOEL Liliana < Elite-2
TORP Linn < Alriksson Go:Green
VAN DER MERWE Marissa < Lotto Honda Team

That first list looks like a mistake by Rigamonti. It’s Team Bizhub’s 2011 roster

Cath Williamson was first announced with GSD, but she disappeared from their 2012 roster

by FilipCQ on Dec 30, 2011 8:01 AM EST up reply actions

Brilliant

I’ve been clicking at bits on that GSD page, but all I get is the little animated ECG line.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 8:19 AM EST up reply actions

It’s working fine over here (using Firefox).

by FilipCQ on Dec 30, 2011 8:21 AM EST up reply actions

And speaking as one for whom the term "native fauna" usually means squirrels or escaped Jack Russells

I love that last sentence

it is undeniably a bit more exotic for a Eidsvolling to take zebras and giraffes on training rides, than moose

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 6:30 AM EST up reply actions

Was that you with Fenton?

"Beer helps." -- Ant1.

by tedvdw on Dec 30, 2011 6:34 AM EST up reply actions

Eh? I went to a poetry reading of his in the early nineties

Or does that mean something in Dutch?

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 6:44 AM EST up reply actions

It's a thing on teh interwebs ever since

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRSbr0EYYU

"Beer helps." -- Ant1.

by tedvdw on Dec 30, 2011 6:52 AM EST up reply actions

I'm sure my old Lab dreamed of doing that

but she’s been dead for six months and was a bit wobbly on her hind legs for a good few years before that. And as for me, I think that I’m just crap at teh interwebs. Not one of the three million.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 7:21 AM EST up reply actions

I hadn’t seen it before it got to Have I Got News For You.

"Beer helps." -- Ant1.

by tedvdw on Dec 30, 2011 7:54 AM EST up reply actions

New faces of 2012

GSD Gestion signing Lucie Pader is a 19 year old law student from Clermont-Ferrand.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 5:57 AM EST reply actions

Rhodes to GreenEdge

according to Bridie.

"Beer helps." -- Ant1.

by tedvdw on Dec 30, 2011 6:20 AM EST reply actions

I've heard the same.

Can’t recall where.

I saw a baby that looked like Cadel Evans the other day...

by John Cyclopunk on Dec 30, 2011 1:35 PM EST up reply actions

A couple of names I'd like to hear about

Mara Abbott and Bridie.

by Monty. on Dec 30, 2011 6:24 AM EST reply actions

Me too re Bridie

I’m wondering if Abbott will just ride for a club, and come across to a few key races with Team USA? She rode a couple of USA races this season with a local team, and she wasn’t happy as a full-time Euro, was she?

Aka Pigeons!

by Sarah Connolly on Dec 30, 2011 7:11 AM EST up reply actions

Who else don't we know about?

Are all the Diadora riders accounted for? How about Rachel Neylan?

Aka Pigeons!

by Sarah Connolly on Jan 1, 2012 5:55 PM EST up reply actions

Those that were more than 1 point last year

Mara Abbott 35
Gabriela Slamova 8
Kirsty Broun 4
Jeannie Longo 4
Joelle Numainville 4
Edwige Pitel 4
Noortje Tabak 4
Tara Whitten 4
Kelly Druyts 2
Amber Halliday 2
Melissa Holt 2
Wendy Houvenaghel 2
Li Huang 2
Elena Kuchinskaya 2
Maaike Polspoel 2
Alison Testroete 2
Aurore Verhoeven 2

Then a few random one-pointers :

Veronica Andreasson
Nancy Arreola
Kat Carroll
Jolien D’Hoore
Jacqueline Hahn
Carmen McNellis Small

There are still a few teams that haven’t announced their rota (or that have but I haven’t noticed it), but I think that I’m reasonably up to date.

by Monty. on Jan 1, 2012 6:15 PM EST up reply actions

Isn't Tara at Tibco, still?

Or will she focus only on track this year?

Aka Pigeons!

by Sarah Connolly on Jan 1, 2012 7:09 PM EST up reply actions

She wasn't on the list I saw

but then again, Exergy seem to have two team lists, one UCI and one that’s got a few more names on it. Maybe Tibco are doing the same. Lots of US races aren’t UCI so the riders don’t need to be registered and on that list of 16 (cough, Colavita, cough).

by Monty. on Jan 1, 2012 7:17 PM EST up reply actions

Rach went on that AIS boot camp

but I’ve not heard if she got picked.

by Monty. on Jan 1, 2012 6:16 PM EST up reply actions

I don't think it's actually official yet

Bridie was tweeting about it last year, and let’s face it, it’s been talked about for ages, but there still hasn’t been an official-in-writing confirmation (apart from ppl saying they’ve been told etc)

I don’t doubt it’s happening though, and it’s bloody good news, too – I am especially pleased for the domestiques! Here’s hoping the team staff also found jobs for 2012!

Aka Pigeons!

by Sarah Connolly on Dec 30, 2011 7:04 AM EST reply actions