With the list of teams for 2012 in place, several squads are registered in surprising places. New Australian team Greenedge stands out at first as it is listed as an Italian team, see the screengrab image above.
But if that sounds odd, the Farnese Vini team seems to be registered in an empty plot of land in a north London suburb.
Mark Cavendish’s contractual future was finally settled last week when he signed a contract with Team Sky, which was duly announced yesterday. I gather Sky sent him a formal contract last July just after the Tour but the world’s fastest man did rush to sign it.
The ease with which he wins is impressive. I’m trying to avoid hagiography but all the same, when we see black and white images of the greats of the sport from the past, Cavendish is on his way to joining them with sprint wins. But will he have it all it all so easy in 2012? Several factors suggest sprinting might be more open. Let’s take a look.
A lot has been made about the trend of teams to adopt blue and black colours for this year. It’s almost symbolic of the sport’s bruised and battered status. But there are practical considerations, fans watching on TV can struggle to struggle to identify riders and teams. Indeed Peter Stetina joked about Team Sky and … Read more