The last of the Ardennes classics gets decided by a cobbled climb. Michael Albasini has powered up the Rue Naniot with 2.5km to go and Rui Costa, Samuel Sanchez and Wout Poels are going to get across while Romain Bardet and Arnold Jeannesson will not. Albasini’s move and Poel’s efforts to get across were the moment the race was won.
Team Sky’s annual accounts have just been published. Here’s a look at their budget, spending, wage bill and the behind-the-scenes change in team ownership.
It’s been a winning year for Ag2r La Mondiale with Jean-Christophe Péraud’s second place in the Tour de France but so much more including Carlos Betancur’s win in Paris-Nice plus the team prizes in the Giro and Tour de France and they might have won in the Vuelta had Domenico Pozzovivo, Carlos Betancur and Alexis Vuillermoz been present and in-shape. Nevermind the speculation, they’re third on the UCI’s team rankings today.
But how much does it all cost? Having looked at Team Sky’s accounts recently here’s a look at the numbers for a French team.
2013 was a great year for Team Sky on the road and in the accounts department. A second Tour de France win was obvious but behind the scenes they took on board a substantial new sponsor and signed an agreement to fund the team through to the end of 2016.
Team Sky have announced that Sergio Henao has been “taken off Team Sky’s race schedule” following “out-of-competition control tests”. The story first appeared in La Gazzetta Dello Sport where British journalist Daniel Friebe picked up on it. Within minutes Team Sky put out a press release.
Little is known and it leaves many scratching their heads while others are happier to fill the vacuum with speculation and more. But at the risk of thinking out aloud, let’s try to review some of this.
Ian Stannard (Team Sky) launches his sprint with 300 metres to go. It’s a long range effort but just enough to distance Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) by a few metres and take an advantage which he can keep to the line. This was the moment the race was won.
It was a thrilling race that was worth a winter’s hibernation with outcome that wasn’t certain until Stannard’s cheeks puffed in relief as he beat Van Avermaet by a wheel.
What’s the secret of Team Sky’s success? One element is money as the squad has one of the highest budgets in the sport.
Sky are the only major pro team to publish their accounts and the latest set have just been filed. So here’s a look at the numbers from the headline budget down items like the spend on travel, rider transfers and equipment.
AICAR test in place – Dutch doping amnesty – Steven de Jongh passes go – Europcar to quit? – Big teams for Bongo – Grand Tours and breakaway cities – ASO vs RCS
The weekend brought news that Sean Yates was leaving Team Sky. First it was for doping as London’s Telegraph ran the front page headline “Exclusive: British Cycling Star Quits Over Doping” next to a big picture of the big man. Hours later the team put out a contrary press release saying Yates “wants to move on, for purely personal reasons” adding there were “no admissions or disclosures that would have required him to leave the team”. The Telegraph also reported that Steven De Jongh is leaving but there’s no word from the team yet.
It’s all confusing. Yates just happens to retire the moment the team are weeding out those with a suspicious past and if you’re joining the dots, don’t worry because The Telegraph said it was over doping. Either the press release or the journalist was wrong.
Still whilst Sky get the front page treatment for trying to respond to the scourge of doping, other teams are trying alternative approaches and some don’t appear to be doing anything. We should be watching them as closely as we follow Team Sky’s declarations, no?
