# Contador and Cancellara on the same team for 2011?



## MG537 (Jul 25, 2006)

As per the cyclingnews article this morning we may get to see a cobbled classic TdF dream team form for the 2011 season. I can just see the headlines. Team Sungard-Specialized dons the yellow jersey for 18 days during the 2011 TdF.


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

The article also says Contador would be able to bring Novarro, de la Fuente, and some others. Looks like Riis has rebuilt on the fly nicely.


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## kaban (Jun 14, 2010)

Is it the END for Team Astana ? Tons of $$$ but no big names riding for them..


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

kaban said:


> Is it the END for Team Astana ? Tons of $$$ but no big names riding for them..


 Vino gets to be the sole GC guy, which is what he clearly wanted. Also with at least two ProTour teams disbanding their will be some talent available. Heck, they could load up on French riders (like the disgruntled Feillu brothers) to ensure their TdF invite. 

As long as they have the ProTour status and $$, they will get some talent.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Here is the link:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-to-leave-astana-at-end-of-season


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Quote from the story:



> Speculation that Alberto Contador may team up with Bjarne Riis in 2011 is growing after the Tour de France winner refused to sign a new deal with the Astana team in Paris on Sunday and issued a statement saying that he and Astana will go separate ways when their contract ends later this year.
> 
> During the Tour de France, Contador said he was likely to stay with Astana. However his brother Fran is now negotiating a deal with a new team for 2011. The statement says Contador “wants to have time to calmly explore all possibilities available to him for the coming seasons. But so far none has been excluded.”
> 
> ...


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

It will be cool to see Jens and Conti on the same team


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

OMG - If this is true, 2011 will be an amazing season for Riis Cycling fans!
Sorry to see Andy and Frank go - but that was their choice.
Top Team for 2011 has been sorted out it seems.


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## Italophile (Jun 11, 2004)

This would be perfect for Contador. He needs a strong, smart boss to minimize his intellectual or tactical shortcomings. Riis can do for him what Bruyneel did.

I can't wait to find out what the Schlecks have in the black box. I can't see them being better off as racers on their own. I hope it isn't a mistake.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

*Andy and Frank to Radio Shanty?*



Italophile said:


> This would be perfect for Contador. He needs a strong, smart boss to minimize his intellectual or tactical shortcomings. Riis can do for him what Bruyneel did.
> 
> I can't wait to find out what the Schlecks have in the black box. I can't see them being better off as racers on their own. I hope it isn't a mistake.


Agreed - the Schlecks should put their current plan on ice and join Radio Shanty - added bonus: Everyone on the "I hate Conti" threads would be overjoyed to have Andy on RS.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

With this tour, Specialized have hit the top of of the bike brand publicity chart. I'm sure they want to keep it that way.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Coolhand said:


> Quote from the story:


Don't you mean Ouote the entire story? you have all but one paragraph there.


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## STARNUT (Jun 19, 2005)

$10 says spartacus goes over to BMC....

Starnut


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

STARNUT said:


> $10 says spartacus goes over to BMC....
> 
> Starnut



So tempted to take that bet, but I think I might lose cause I know they want him to switch.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Italophile said:


> This would be perfect for Contador. He needs a strong, smart boss to minimize his intellectual or tactical shortcomings. Riis can do for him what Bruyneel did.
> 
> I can't wait to find out what the Schlecks have in the black box. I can't see them being better off as racers on their own. I hope it isn't a mistake.


I think Contador is a brilliant tactician. He out foxed Lance the last two years and was able to neutralize Andy this year.


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## jptaylorsg (Apr 24, 2003)

il sogno said:


> I think Contador is a brilliant tactician. He out foxed Lance the last two years and was able to neutralize Andy this year.


This can't be true.

I know that because many people on RBR say he is a terrible tactician. And Lance said last year that he had growing up to do.

And he doesn't follow the unwritten rules of cycling that at least 2 riders have followed in the (recent) past.

Therefore, he cannot be a brilliant tactician.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

il sogno said:


> I think Contador is a brilliant tactician. He out foxed Lance the last two years and was able to neutralize Andy this year.



Outfoxed Lance the last two years? Meh. Lance was far from being in his prime these last two years.

I too would love to see the brothers Schleck on RS. I might actually then go to Radio Shack and buy some unnecessary transistors or electronic equipment that I have no idea how to use. How are they still in business again???


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

il sogno said:


> I think Contador is a brilliant tactician. He out foxed Lance the last two years and was able to neutralize Andy this year.


I disagree, respectfully. In the case of Lance, there wasn't much tactical about being a stronger rider. 

I wouldn't say he neutralized Andy, but kept him marked and in his sights. More or less, I think he had slightly better luck than AS. 

BTW, anyone think the Schlecks moving to a new team might be a Sastre/Wiggo move? Something about winning and changing the formula strikes me as a questionable move. You didn't see LA leave JB after a win or two. Call me overcautious, but you don't mess with a winning formula.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

STARNUT said:


> $10 says spartacus goes over to BMC....
> 
> Starnut


I think Riis has a pretty good situation for him, my money is on him staying put.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

32and3cross said:


> Don't you mean Ouote the entire story? you have all but one paragraph there.


That would be "most" then, not "entire" if we are word smithing posts now. BTW- that's all your feedback on this thread? Share!


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

spade2you said:


> I disagree, respectfully. In the case of Lance, there wasn't much tactical about being a stronger rider.
> 
> I wouldn't say he neutralized Andy, but kept him marked and in his sights. More or less, I think he had slightly better luck than AS.
> 
> BTW, anyone think the Schlecks moving to a new team might be a Sastre/Wiggo move? Something about winning and changing the formula strikes me as a questionable move. You didn't see LA leave JB after a win or two. Call me overcautious, but you don't mess with a winning formula.


Agree on that

where would Andy have been this last tour without Motorcus and Jens taking care of him on the hard moments ?


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## jptaylorsg (Apr 24, 2003)

spade2you said:


> BTW, anyone think the Schlecks moving to a new team might be a Sastre/Wiggo move? Something about winning and changing the formula strikes me as a questionable move. You didn't see LA leave JB after a win or two. Call me overcautious, but you don't mess with a winning formula.


Winning formula? For Andy, do you mean that one victory in LBL and the Luxembourg TT championship?

He's got three GT podiums, so he's definitely a very good rider and obviously one to watch, but maybe what he really needs is a change to put him over the top.

Or maybe the guy was born to finish second?


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Coolhand said:


> That would be "most" then, not "entire" if we are word smithing posts now. BTW- that's all your feedback on this thread? Share!


We defmore than is legal as mod you should know that, esp as this site sells ad space and you should understand how content on the web works.


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## jptaylorsg (Apr 24, 2003)

32and3cross said:


> We defmore than is legal as mod you should know that, esp as this site sells ad space and you should understand how content on the web works.


I must have missed the part where Coolio took credit for the story and failed to attribute and link to it.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

jptaylorsg said:


> I must have missed the part where Coolio took credit for the story and failed to attribute and link to it.


Don't forget where I ate those puppies and stole all the money from the orphanage. Next on my to-do list is tying some damsels to railroad tracks. Well, if it's on the list, it's on the list. . .


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

I don't know if Contador is a brilliant tactician, but I think the evidence that he is a bad tactician is pretty limited. He bonked once during Paris-Nice, and I suppose you could take that as bad tactics. His attack during last year's TdF when he was in a group with the Schlecks and Kloeden was a tactical error. Is there anything else? Some people have said his attack at this year's Fleche Wallone came too early on the final ascent, but that's probably more experience than poor tactical judgment.

Against the evidence that Contador is a poor tactical rider is the fact that he wins an awful lot. If you think a bonk is a tactical error, then he lost Paris-Nice through poor tactical judgment. With that arguable exception, I can't think of any race he has lost through poor tactical judgment. So is dropping Kloeden it, or do the critics of his tactical judgment have more?


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

harlond said:


> So is dropping Kloeden it, or do the critics of his tactical judgment have more?


Some people thought that Contador's getting gapped in that early windy stage of TdF 2009 was due to poor tactical judgment. Bruyneel seemed to have warned Armstrong about that turn, though.


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

pretender said:


> Some people thought that Contador's getting gapped in that early windy stage of TdF 2009 was due to poor tactical judgment. Bruyneel seemed to have warned Armstrong about that turn, though.


Plus, I remember the guy who was on Contador's wheel complaining that Contador created the gap by letting go of the wheel in front of him. I doubt he intended to get himself gapped, so from that rider's perspective, it sounded like Contador was struggling rather than being stupid. Still, he did come in for a lot of criticism for this, so I suppose this one counts.


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## jptaylorsg (Apr 24, 2003)

harlond said:


> Plus, I remember the guy who was on Contador's wheel complaining that Contador created the gap by letting go of the wheel in front of him. I doubt he intended to get himself gapped, so from that rider's perspective, it sounded like Contador was struggling rather than being stupid. Still, he did come in for a lot of criticism for this, so I suppose this one counts.


Considering that more than 50% of the peleton got gapped in that incident, including some of his own teammates, calling it a tactical error is painting with a pretty wide brush. Stuff happens on the road, and sometimes you get bit. 

I think this incident was way overblown by Armstrong as a reason to stage his coup on Astana.

I would give Columbia credit for good tactics, though, for taking advantage of the situation.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Coolhand said:


> Don't forget where I ate those puppies and stole all the money from the orphanage. Next on my to-do list is tying some damsels to railroad tracks. Well, if it's on the list, it's on the list. . .


Hey man Im not saying your the devil here but you guys are serving add space and you lifted content which is total bullshit and you know. I know for a fact you guys have been contacted by Cyclingnews in the past for it too. 

They allow for you to post 50 words and a link, you posted 80% of the story there by there is little left content wise for people to read so why would they click through to the story which is what generates revenue for CN the people that did the work to generate that copy. You know for a fact you are out of line and a mod you should be following the rules not breaking them.


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## sbindra (Oct 18, 2004)

MG537 said:


> As per the cyclingnews article this morning we may get to see a cobbled classic TdF dream team form for the 2011 season. I can just see the headlines. Team Sungard-Specialized dons the yellow jersey for 18 days during the 2011 TdF.


Not going to happen - no prologue next year. Tour will start with 180km road stage. Sorry Spartacas - you got to give the sprinters a chance to wear the yellow jersey in the first week every now and again!


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

jptaylorsg said:


> Considering that more than 50% of the peleton got gapped in that incident, including some of his own teammates, calling it a tactical error is painting with a pretty wide brush. Stuff happens on the road, and sometimes you get bit.
> 
> I think this incident was way overblown by Armstrong as a reason to stage his coup on Astana.
> 
> I would give Columbia credit for good tactics, though, for taking advantage of the situation.


Agree, funny that the Schlecks, evans, wiggins, pozzato, devolder, casar, menchov, ciolek, boonen, to mention a few, are not called complete amateurs for being caught in the same situation.


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## philoanna (Dec 2, 2007)

I read yesterday that day two of the Tour is a TTT. Makes perfect sence for Alberto to want the best TT rider on his team so as not to lose any time to Andy and Frank. I would not be surprised to see other big name TT riders getting big offers from Riis and Schlecks team just for day two of the tour considering how close things were this year.


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

The TTT is only 23km, presumably to limit time gaps?


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## goloso (Feb 4, 2004)

Italophile said:


> This would be perfect for Contador. He needs a strong, smart boss to minimize his intellectual or tactical shortcomings. Riis can do for him what Bruyneel did.


You mean like going to the team car himself during a big climb with a teammate present in the group or attacking in the small ring and dropping his chain? 

The guy looks like a tactical genius to me. He was focused on winning the overall and thats it. His record speaks for itself.


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## Keski (Sep 25, 2004)

Explains why Riis wouldn't say anything negative about Conta after Chaingate.


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## WeakMite (Feb 20, 2005)

Astana is going after Menchov now... but so is Katusha.

velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/contador-astana


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## cruso414 (Feb 20, 2004)

Salsa_Lover said:


> It will be cool to see Jens and Conti on the same team


I agree. The nicest guy in the peleton (Jens) and the biggest douchebag (****i) on the same team, what a great situation. I bet if Jens gets away in a break, ****i will chase him down and rob him of a stage win too.


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## ChilliConCarnage (Jun 1, 2006)

LostViking said:


> OMG - If this is true, 2011 will be an amazing season for Riis Cycling fans!


Yes, the huge throng of Riis cycling fans. I'm sure there are dozens of them!


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

I wonder if the value of my '99 Riis team telekom bike is going up on this news!


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## enac (Aug 24, 2007)

jd3 said:


> With this tour, Specialized have hit the top of of the bike brand publicity chart. I'm sure they want to keep it that way.



Yeah so did SRAM, with some very very very mixed results.


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## Lazy Spinner (Aug 30, 2009)

My predictions are:

Contador to Santander/Sungard (look for Navarro and some ex-CdE Spainards as well)

The Schlecks to Radio Shack for 2011. RS "folds" after the season (and LA's Ironman at Kona) but the Brunyeel organization forms the nucleus of a new team registered in Luxembourg beginning in 2012.

Menchov to Katusha

Vino has a last hurrah season at Astana. Astana folds after 2011.

Nearly every other Pro Tour squad has young guys ready to move up. Garmin will aggressively pursue an additional GC talent in case Ryder turns out to be this year's Wiggins or VandeVelde and just rode out of his mind for one Tour.


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## euro-trash (May 1, 2004)

goloso said:


> He was focused on winning the overall and thats it. His record speaks for itself.


I'm not going to disagree with anything you posted, but do keep in mind he is only 24. That's huge.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

WeakMite said:


> Astana is going after Menchov now... but so is Katusha.
> 
> velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/contador-astana


Makes sense, with Gesink getting better over time, Rabo would want their own countryman to be leading the team.


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## SilentAssassin (Jul 29, 2010)

rydbyk said:


> Outfoxed Lance the last two years? Meh. Lance was far from being in his prime these last two years.
> 
> I too would love to see the brothers Schleck on RS. I might actually then go to Radio Shack and buy some unnecessary transistors or electronic equipment that I have no idea how to use. How are they still in business again???


Cell phones. They sell a lot of cell phones and cell phone plans, and their advertising demonstrates that they want you to buy cell phones from them.


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## yurl (Mar 31, 2010)

STARNUT said:


> $10 says spartacus goes over to BMC....
> 
> Starnut


no doubt BMC would love spartacus. the swiss hero on a swiss team. but can he get along with cuddles?


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*great move for Alberto*

savvy DS in Riis
3 of the best motors Fabian, Jens and Stuey with tons of GT savvy
conti gets many more tour palmares


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

*It's a crazy world*



atpjunkie said:


> savvy DS in Riis
> 3 of the best motors Fabian, Jens and Stuey with tons of GT savvy
> conti gets many more tour palmares


+1

And the five or so fans of Riis Cycling (CSC/Saxo Bank/Specialized?) will be cheering
While other more "popular" team's fans will be making excuses
for why their top GC guys - who they swore up and down would crush Conti - will be crying 
(all over those transistors and junk they bought at a certain soon to be defunct ham wireless parts store) 
when their highly-payed and marketed riders don't even podium at GTs.

Two teams from little Denmark and Luxembourg seem set to dominate the TdF for the foreseeable future.

It's a crazy world, ain't it?


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

atpjunkie said:


> savvy DS in Riis
> 3 of the best motors Fabian, Jens and Stuey with tons of GT savvy
> conti gets many more tour palmares


If Fabian stays, which he did want earlier, but I think he's looking for more $$$s. And rightfully so.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

MG537 said:


> As per the cyclingnews article this morning we may get to see a cobbled classic TdF dream team form for the 2011 season. I can just see the headlines. Team Sungard-Specialized dons the yellow jersey for 18 days during the 2011 TdF.


Not impossible, but far from certain. Contador sees no need for a strong DS. Riis would like a replacement for the Schlecks, but he'd prefer to work with a more cerebral talent. 
I'd think Contador and his brother will want a team solely dedicated to him. They might even make ditching Fabian part of any deal. Barring that, they'll keep entertaining offers from teams willing to commit to monogamy.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

spade2you said:


> I disagree, respectfully. In the case of Lance, there wasn't much tactical about being a stronger rider.
> 
> I wouldn't say he neutralized Andy, but kept him marked and in his sights. More or less, I think he had slightly better luck than AS.
> 
> BTW, anyone think the Schlecks moving to a new team might be a Sastre/Wiggo move? Something about winning and changing the formula strikes me as a questionable move. You didn't see LA leave JB after a win or two. Call me overcautious, but you don't mess with a winning formula.


It's the "New Coke" formula. It will work, really. While the Astana team did better than expected, they were hardly the team controlling the race. They were a step back from he had in the past. An upgrade will serve him well.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Blue CheeseHead said:


> It's the "New Coke" formula. It will work, really. While the Astana team did better than expected, they were hardly the team controlling the race. They were a step back from he had in the past. An upgrade will serve him well.


Astana was head and shoulders above saxo bank in the mountains.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

den bakker said:


> Astana was head and shoulders above saxo bank in the mountains.


Not having Frank was a big hit for Saxo, still - their guys killed it to go as far as they could for Andy.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

AJL said:


> Not having Frank was a big hit for Saxo, still - their guys killed it to go as far as they could for Andy.


Does not really change the fact that their helpers did not provide the good does it? Who should have been navarro on saxo bank?


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

I see no reason why Conti would have any interest at all in getting Sparticus off the team.

They each have their own niche, Conti wants Grand Tours - Sparticus wants the classics and to wipe everybody out in time trials. Conti was not at his best during the final iTT at this year's TdF - a Conti in good form along with Sparticus on a TTT - awesome. Makes no sense to not want Sparticus on your team - that's almost as stupid as saying you don't want Jens on the team - if that was a condition, I'd say keep Jens and let Conti go to another team!


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

LostViking said:


> I see no reason why Conti would have any interest at all in getting Sparticus off the team.
> 
> They each have their own niche, Conti wants Grand Tours - Sparticus wants the classics and to wipe everybody out in time trials. Conti was not at his best during the final iTT at this year's TdF - a Conti in good form along with Sparticus on a TTT - awesome. Makes no sense to not want Sparticus on your team - that's almost as stupid as saying you don't want Jens on the team - if that was a condition, I'd say keep Jens and let Conti go to another team!


cancellara is not cheap and you can normally only spend money once....


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

*"Show me the money!"*



den bakker said:


> cancellara is not cheap and you can normally only spend money once....


Now that I could understand - Sparticus needs to receive tribute from the bank (Saxo or otherwise) - I hope Riis' new team has deep enough pockets to keep both.


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

LostViking said:


> +1
> 
> And the five or so fans of Riis Cycling (CSC/Saxo Bank/Specialized?) will be cheering


I always thought they were relatively popular, if only because they've had more than their share of popular riders over the years. But because riders have such short contracts and change teams so quickly, and because teams have a much harder time monetizing their popularity (compared to stadium-based/broadcast-revenue-sharing sports), I'm not sure that matters much.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Undecided said:


> I always thought they were relatively popular, if only because they've had more than their share of popular riders over the years. But because riders have such short contracts and change teams so quickly, and because teams have a much harder time monetizing their popularity (compared to stadium-based/broadcast-revenue-sharing sports), I'm not sure that matters much.


fwiw the two only protour jerseys out of some 100 riders this morning were saxo bank. One old CSC was well. So I guess I met 60% of the fan base


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

den bakker said:


> fwiw the two only protour jerseys out of some 100 riders this morning were saxo bank. One old CSC was well. So I guess I met 60% of the fan base


@ChiliConCarnage - "Yes, the huge throng of Riis cycling fans. I'm sure there are dozens of them!" 
Carnage seems to think there are not many Riis Cycling fans out there (CSC, Saxo). 

But I see the same thing - lots more people wearing "vintage" CSC jerseys and "soon-to-be vintage" Saxo jerseys than most other teams - perhaps with the exception of Cervelo Test Team - which could also be because they happen to have a cool jersey 

Andy, Sparticus and Jens (to just name the current team) have all been pretty populare riders - so I suspect there are a lot more Riis Cycling fans out there than Carnage realizes. :thumbsup:


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

There were probably more fans when Bobby J was on the team. Wasn't the Z-Man on CSC at one point (gah, I guess the memory is the first thing that goes).


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

den bakker said:


> fwiw the two only protour jerseys out of some 100 riders this morning were saxo bank. One old CSC was well. So I guess I met 60% of the fan base


Yeah, CSC are the most popular ProTour jerseys worn around my area... I'd say at least 70% of the time I see a (non- retro) "Pro" jersey, it's CSC or Saxo.
(Saw a Saxo Swiss Nat'l champ jersey last week- not that I'd rock one- but it was still cool to see!)


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

CSC and Saxo bank kits are good looking, I would wear one.

The light Blue/yellow from astana is hideous, and so are many others.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Tons of Jens fans alone, never mind Sparticus or the Andy and Frank show.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

AJL said:


> There were probably more fans when Bobby J was on the team. Wasn't the Z-Man on CSC at one point (gah, I guess the memory is the first thing that goes).


I guess you restrict this to a pure american perspective?


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

den bakker said:


> I guess you restrict this to a pure american perspective?


No no, leave us out of this.


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## Italophile (Jun 11, 2004)

AJL said:


> There were probably more fans when Bobby J was on the team. Wasn't the Z-Man on CSC at one point (gah, I guess the memory is the first thing that goes).


Not to mention Tyler Hamilton, who was bloody heroic (his blood or somebody else's ) on that lone breakaway with a broken collarbone in the Tour while wearing CSC kit.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

Contador confirmed today that he signed with Saxo-Bank-Sunguard for the 2011 season


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## roadie92 (Jan 21, 2008)

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/494062/riis-welcomes-contador-and-saxo-bank-s-continuation.html

Bert is going to Saxo Bank!


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

AJL said:


> There were probably more _American_ fans when Bobby J was on the team. Wasn't the Z-Man on CSC at one point (gah, I guess the memory is the first thing that goes).


Fixed it for you.
Saxobank, as well as CSC, has always been more accessible than most of the other European teams. I think this in no small part due to the higher proportion of riders who not only speak good English but also that they are quite articulate to boot. Jens Voigt , Fabian Cancellara, Andy Schleck and Frank <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Sean/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <woNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"> <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->Høj all speak easily understood English and don't just spout generic soundbites. Couple that with the number of Australian and American riders who have been on the teams at one time or another and it's easy to see the attraction. Cervélo are similar in this regard too with Hushovd, Haussler, Hammond & Lancaster.


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