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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Can Cavendish ride the Tour of Britain?

Vuelta abandon

A quick precision on the rules. This afternoon Mark Cavendish has abandoned the Vuelta a Espana this afternoon. With Matthew Goss leaving the race, it’s not ideal for the team nor the riders concerned, especially since both want their say in the World Championships in Denmark.

Some fans were asking on Twitter if Cavendish can now do his home event, the Tour of Britain starts soon and it would be an ideal stage race to build for the Worlds. But there’s a rule forbidding riders who abandon a race from starting another…

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Valverde on the comeback

Valverde racing

An alert reader has spotted that Alejandro Valverde is building up for his comeback to the pro peloton. The photo above comes from newspaper La Opinión de Granada. The Spaniard has been suspended for his involvement in the blood doping network uncovered by Operation Puerto but is training hard for his return with Movistar next year (note the team issue Pinarello with Campagnolo’s electronic gears and the Nalini clothing).

Not content with training hard, he’s been taking part in organised rides. Perhaps mindful of his suspension in the amateur ride above from July he didn’t have a race number… but started with the others and went on to cross the finish line first.

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Astana’s vanishing rider

Spot the missing person?

Following yesterday’s story of Astana hiring Andrei Kashechkin in breach of the UCI’s rules, it seems there’s been some behind the scenes work to fix things. A rider has vanished the list of Astana riders overnight.

The story so far is that Kashechkin should not have been allowed to join Astana as the squad was already at the upper limit of 28 riders. But the UCI approved the transfer from Lampre, issuing the requisite paperwork in time for “Kash” to start the Vuelta. In defence, the UCI apparently told L’Equipe that they were led to believe Vinokourov had retired… but Vino denies this, indeed the UCI never removed Vinokourov from the team listings or its rankings.

Although I’d be interested to know how this mess occurred, it’s created an embarrassing situation for Astana and the UCI.

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UCI and Astana in circular firing squad

Circular firing squad

A story from L’Equipe that’s worth translating. There’s now a power-struggle inside the Astana team to decide its future.

It begins with the inclusion of Andrei Kasheckin, the Kazakh rider had a mid-season transfer from Lampre to Astana in order to ride the Vuelta. But L’Equipe claims the move should never have happened as Astana’s roster is full with 28 riders, the maximum allowed under the rules. Adding Kasheckin would mean 29 riders, more than allowed. Yet the UCI approved Kasheckin’s transfer and racing licence a few days ago.

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Vuelta guide online

Vuelta logo

The Inner Ring Vuelta guide is online, see the link at the top of the page or click here. Similar to the Tour de France guide, it contains profiles of every stage, a list of riders and more info.

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