I think there must be something in the water out there in media land, because really, you can't make this kind of thing up. Or, at least, I can't. Which maybe just means I am a girl with a very small brain.
Tuttobiciweb.it is reporting today that a switcheroo is in the works among Bjarne Riis, Johann Bruyneel, the Schleck Brothers, and Alberto Contador. The result would reunite the Schleck brothers with Riis and Contador with Bruyneel. Reunited! It feels so good.
Tutto claims that the negotiation process is super advanced and this is totally going to happen. Which, maybe.
The media has been frothing over reports that Bruyneel and the Schlecks are not on the most awesome of terms. Schleck has downplayed talk of dissension on the team. He also told the l'Équipe today at the Critérium du Dauphiné that he is not bluffing his lack of form.
Rumors have also surfaced of possible mergers between Riis's Saxo Bank team and other teams in the sport. Most recently, Liquigas-Cannondale denied a report of a possible merger with Saxo. And of course, last week, we saw a resurrection of the old-timey story about a custom-built team for Contador. We first heard about that thing before Contador signed with Riis. It's back! Quick! Where's my wooden stake?
So, it's easy to see where the idea of this switcheroo shenanigan might have come from. All the ingredients are right there for everyone to see. But which of the ingredients are actually real? I don't pretend to know. While strange things certainly happen during the transfer season, I can't help but think this one is a step too far down the rabbit hole of ridiculousness.