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Transfer rumors: Yes, all ready...

So a story ran on Velonation, via Tuttosport, that was filled with big transfer rumors that probably have some or no truth to them but the highlights...

-Contador to Caisse to replace Valverde, with a massive 7 million euro contract for 4 years and bringing along Benjamin Noval and Jesus Hernandez

-Alexander Vinokourov could retire and become team manager of Astana

-To fill the Contador void, he would then bring in Andy & Frank Schleck. Seems a bit early to speculate with that since Riis has been mum about sponsor dealings though Specialized would love to keep it them in the house

-If Riis didn't find a sponsor, Fabian Cancellara would then head to BMC

-With Basso and Nibali signed down, Liquigas would replace Pellizotti, if his name wasn't cleared with a valuable domestique...the name that has come up is none other than David Arroyo from Caisse, who battled both in the Giro, to come in and help fill the void. With Kreuziger being in many rumors, the main name being a move to Lotto, Arroyo could also be used to help fill in that 3rd hole especially with his new found confidence.

-Damiano Cunego is talking with other teams namely Garmin and Team Sky, according to this article and others, which would leave big holes at Lampre that would need to be filled though a they have a co-sponsor, Geox, that is interested in creating it's own team.

-To fill the void, Lampre might sign Michele Scarponi away from Androni or even Pellozotti, if he clears his name.

-Also rumored is a move by Francesco Ginanni, who would defect to AG2R- La Mondiale to be with buddy Rinaldo Nocentini. This is a lateral to slightly upward move, in my opnion, because he might have a tad more freedom but he still would have to compete against Roche, Nocentini, etc. Plus AG2R will be having to make moves because they will probably fire Valjavec and a couple of others might be retiring so they will need to have a proven winner added to the ranks

A lot of these moves, as you can see, would fall into place because of other moves so a lot of this is just speculation and in the rumor mill though much of it could have validity to it. There are also other moves in the works like Van Avermaet to BMC, which almost looks assured at this points, so if Riis doesn't get his act together quickly BMC and others might be looking quite nicely for next year...

With UCI rule changes apparently coming after a big meeting on June 23, I think that some rather surprising moves might come about from certain teams though that seems to happen every year. With a the amount of sponsor that are pulling out of the sport, teams like Quick Step will be eager to cherry pick talent to bolster their depleted ranks so that they are not languishing behind other, more well rounded, teams. Should be quite an interesting saga...