Today, from Sporza, I learned a new Dutch idiom:
The transfer of the Australian sprinter was announced a while ago, but Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere refused to let Allan Davis go for an apple and an egg.
Love it. Did Astana try offering money the next time around? People sometimes respond to offers of money. Lefevre, for his part, was not amused. In a separate article, he complains rather bitterly about Davis' case. Lefevre might have even said "I have to fuck to put the padding and it still remains to be seen whether I think cents for Allan Davis" though I have no idea what that means beside the usual Google-translator-speak. I do know, however, that he accused Davis of whining for a raise, then ditching the team on little notice. And Lefevre seems genuinely agitated about his inability to fill up his roster right now, claiming that he can't simultaneously staff the Giro, Tour of California, and Tour of Belgium in May, for example. Recall, he held open several spots for Contador plus an entourage. When that didn't materialize, Lefevre has had to scramble to fill up those spots, adding Iljo Keisse and Andreas Strauff. Davis' sudden departure made a bad situation even worse. Not that anyone will be crying for Quick Step in March or April though.
Also in today's headlines, Oscar Freire is not retiring after this year, planning to ride in 2011 and maybe, just maybe, 2012.