Mergers and acquiescence

Radioshack Leopard

As I’ve written already, mergers are all the rage. All sorts of team combination are being talked about. Currently there don’t seem to be any rules regarding team mergers. Should we stand back and let teams deal unhindered or is it worth ruling on this?

This is subject where the answers are in short supply but let’s think through some of the issues at stake. Perhaps the most common meaning of the word “mergers” relates to the corporate use, whereby two companies are combined. It’s here that things are interesting because there are clear rules and laws to ensure corporate mergers and takeovers are handled smoothly. They’re probably not perfect but if two companies want to talk about a combo, then this is usually done in strict secrecy. Should the news leak then all parties involved usually have to give full details or at least some kind of holding statement. Sometimes the shares of the companies involved can be suspended.

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Fignon, one year already

Laurent Fignon passed away one year ago today. A talented and exciting rider, the Frenchman would go from the neo-pro shown above to win grand tours and classics alike. For me his free thinking and straight talking set him apart, he was much more than a successful racer. If you’re unfamiliar with him, his autobiography … Read more

Chris Froome’s journey from Nairobi to Salamanca

Chris Froome

Yesterday Chris Froome took the overall lead in the Vuelta a España, the first time he’s lead a stage race in the pro ranks. But it’s not the first time he’s worn a red jersey in a grand tour.

He joined the Barloworld team in 2008 and rode the Tour de France in their red colours. You might remember Robbie Hunter winning the sprint into Montpellier, the first African stage winner in the Tour de France. You might remember John-Lee Augustyn rolling down a mountain. Team mate Moisés Dueñas was ejected for EPO use. But amongst all of this Froome finished his first grand tour and better still, he took a promising 14th place in the final time trial.

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Shorts

Many more readers come to this blog during the week as opposed to the weekends. So in case you missed some things over the weekend, here are a few short items to catch up on.

Green edge jersey

Greenedge will unveil their new jersey but last night there was a storm in teacup over the design. The image comes via Mark Beretta. The design certainly doesn’t look inspiring but I don’t think it’s the real jersey. A well-informed correspondent has emailed to say the design isn’t finished and as a couple of others pointed out, the team is set for a proper launch on the eve of the Tour Down Under.

Taste is always subjective but when designing a jersey, it’s not just how cool it looks at the café stop. It must be visible, both when racers look for team mates but also for TV viewers on helicopter shots. Visibility and identification are what matter, only yesterday in the Vuelta and the GP Plouay I heard TV commentators getting Sky and Garmin-Cervélo mixed up thanks to their black kit. As you probably know the job of a commentator isn’t easy, with images on a small monitor but at the same time they’re broadcast pros. If they can’t spot the difference, how can an average viewer? Each false reference to the team is a valuable loss of publicity.

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Advertise with The Inner Ring

The website’s been well supported by Strada Wheels and Neil Pryde Bikes in recent times and I’ve been pleased to feature their advertising on here and grateful for their support. But right now the site is ad-free. The blog is fun. All the interaction with readers has been great. The support received already has more than … Read more

The German Superteam

Thüringer Energie Team

Marcel Kittel won yesterday’s Vuelta stage in a bunch sprint. The neo-pro is having a great year, he took several stages in a row at the Four Days of Dunkerque and then took consecutive wins in the Tour of Poland. Now he’s got his first grand tour stage win. And apparently he’s not even a pure sprinter, he can time trial and might develop into a classics contender.

But instead of speculating on the future, let’s go back in time. Until last year Kittel was riding for the Thüringer Energie Team in Germany. Here, he was on the same team as USA Pro Cycling Challenge prologue winner Patrick Gretsch. And he was joined by none other than John Degenkolb and Tony Martin too.

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Friends in high places

Russian leaders

Alexander Kolobnev has been in Russia since he tested positive in the Tour de France. We’ve not heard much more. Under the anti-doping rules the deadline for his hearing has expired and the Russian cycling authorities risk a fine for any more delays.

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Green Edge in World Tour?

Bannan Greenedge

New Aussie team Green Edge is patiently naming its riders. In a story on cyclingnews.com, it appears they are aiming for a full house of 28 riders and so far they have confirmed 11 riders. They’re Travis Meyer, Cameron Meyer, Jack Bobridge, Stuart O’Grady, Simon Gerrans, Simon Clarke all Aussies. Plus Canadian Svein Tuft, Eritrean Daniel Teklehaymanot and a trio of Dutchmen in Pieter Weening, Sebastian Langeveld and Jens Mouris.

Sneaky manager Shane Bannan says “there’s no point in looking at this group or any future signings for a headline act“. Some solid riders there but less than 300 ranking points in total, meaning if they were in the World Tour today they’d rank lower than Vacansoleil, Ag2r and Quick-Step. Based on this you’d be forgiven for thinking the team is planning a modest start.

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Max team size explained

The coverage of Astana, Andrei Kasheckin and Roman Kireyev on this blog has involved the rule on team size. Whether by email, twitter or comments, readers have been asking “isn’t the upper limit 30 and not 28?”

I’ve tried to answer this individually but on the basis that if someone asks a question aloud then maybe others are thinking about it too, here’s the answer:

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More questions than answers over Kireyev, Astana and the UCI

Astana team

The photo above lists Astana’s official team line up this year (click to enlarge). They started with 27 riders. In May they signed veteran Andrey Mizurov, making it 28 riders. On 1 August they added four stagiaires who can ride in addition. Then on 2 August, Andrey Kascheckin joined, meaning a rule-busting 29 riders. On 22 August Roman Kireyev disappears from the team.

Today there is news that Kireyev has suddenly retired due to a back injury. Having recruited one rider too many, Kireyev’s retirement is very convenient.

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