Levi and Lance

hombredesubaru said:

hmmmmm....

Is Levi's contract for two years with Gerolsteiner?
Will he move back to Discovery?

I've been wondering the same thing. I also wonder whether Lance will be involved in team decisions or whether he goes from cycling all together. It would be a great catch to get him on Discovery.

davidbod said:

I've been wondering the same thing. I also wonder whether Lance will be involved in team decisions or whether he goes from cycling all together. It would be a great catch to get him on Discovery.

LA tried (not too hard, but some) to recruit Leipheimer last year. I think Leipheimer would find it unattractive to return to DC, because Popovych would be somewhat favored and Leipheimer would have to share and have Popo favored in all likelihood by Bruyneel. LL knows his work would be cut out for him to establish even equal joint leadership of the Tour. Leipheimer has to share with Totschig (sic) at Gerolsteiner, but Leipheimer knows he's stronger than that rider probably.

Plus, DC is not the type of team that "hedges" with respect to Grand Tour co-leadership. It has one leader, and that will be Popo.

If Bruyneel recruits in a major way, it will be someone who will be a good climber and good ITT and who would be content to be the leader of DC in the Vuelta, but who would help Savoldelli out as mountain domestique in the Giro. It would be somebody with the climbing capabilities of Menchov (although Menchov could be even stronger in ITT), but it may not be Menchov. Menchov is certainly going to be available, and the guy is eager to do well in Grand Tours, so knows Bruyneel would be a good fit. However, I don't believe Bruyneel thinks Menchov is ideal.

What Bruyneel really wants for the Giro is a younger and more ambitious version of Ace and who shows greater leadership (not technical cycling capabilities, but inspiring others, etc.) capabilities than Ace. Somebody along the lines of: (1) Alberto Cantador (but he is not sufficiently proven and may be too wedded to Saiz personally), or (2) Valverde (but he cannot be pried from Balears, even though he would have to share going forward with Menchov and is currently subordinated to Menchov for the Tour).

Bruyneel needs more climbers who can help Savoldelli next year in the Giro and other climbers who can be built up to address the sooner-or-later loss of Beltran and Ace to age. Bruyneel may be considering cutting one or more of the following to "make room" for more climbers: Creed, Cruz, Mikhaylov, maybe even McCarty.

You may very well be right. The only problem with that logic is if Popo is not ready to be a real tour contender. Then you need someone else nearing the end of their career to fill the gap, or wait in the doldrums until Popo is a real contender.

That person is Ace.

Bruyneel's not looking for Leipheimer as the next LA. ""After Lance, there is no American leader for the moment who can replace him," Bruyneel said. "Either we will find him in the future or in the meantime we will have some other leaders." He named Yaroslav Popovych ... and Paolo Savoldelli.... "Maybe Azevedo too, with a bit more freedom," Bruyneel said, referring to José Azevedo, 31... "We'll look for some new guys also," Bruyneel added."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/08/sports/BIKE.php

You might also argue that Savoldelli could be a stopgap - after all, he won the Giro without much help in the mountains, is close to the end of his career (so younger riders could 'grow' while he takes the pressure) and is a proven guy... not that he is sure to win (but then again, once Armstrong is gone the whole shebang will open up again)...

Powerful Pete said:

You might also argue that Savoldelli could be a stopgap - after all, he won the Giro without much help in the mountains, is close to the end of his career (so younger riders could 'grow' while he takes the pressure) and is a proven guy... not that he is sure to win (but then again, once Armstrong is gone the whole shebang will open up again)...

Interesting logic.
Somewhere Bruyneel said they think Popo can win the Tour or podium...in a few years he said.
So in the meantime, yeah I think soem Americans are gonna get cut. Danialson will have to live up to the hype. I hope it doesnt wreck him.

So Disco could stand a GT rider, in their waning years, but a proven quality.
Hmmmm.
Simoni?!?!
Of course not in a million years given his trash talkin mouth but it would be hilarious to see him in Disco colors.

DC is focused on the Tour. Obviously, Simoni's performance there has been dubious at best. DC's goal is to win two of the three TdFs from 2005 through 2007 inclusive. That means LA this year, and Popo in 2006 or 2007, would be preferred.

But that depends on Popo's performance. Simoni is definitely off Lampre, so you never know - stranger things have happened.

I wonder how Simoni would do if he trained exclusively for the tour - although I do not think that he would do that (we Italians tend to want to do well in the Giro, but then again that depends on the sponsor paying the salaries!).

I think we also need to be careful considering Popo a sure Tour winner. He did well in a Giro, and has not been looking so good since... as Discovery I would buy Karpets if I needed an Eastern European (important market for Discovery TV here in the Old World).

Lol simoni to DC in a million years. Thrust me! T dekker needs to go to an other team in a few years. Rabo is not a stage racing team. That's what dekker is so some more years to mature and then to an other team!

Powerful Pete said:

But that depends on Popo's performance. Simoni is definitely off Lampre, so you never know - stranger things have happened.

I wonder how Simoni would do if he trained exclusively for the tour - although I do not think that he would do that (we Italians tend to want to do well in the Giro, but then again that depends on the sponsor paying the salaries!).

I think we also need to be careful considering Popo a sure Tour winner. He did well in a Giro, and has not been looking so good since... as Discovery I would buy Karpets if I needed an Eastern European (important market for Discovery TV here in the Old World).

hombredesubaru said:

Simoni?!?!
Of course not in a million years given his trash talkin mouth but it would be hilarious to see him in Disco colors.

Why not? He will be perfect in replacing the main trash talker of the peloton 🙂

Dimos said:

Why not? He will be perfect in replacing the main trash talker of the peloton 🙂

Ouch!
You beat me to the punch my friend. Too funny!!

Yes, buy Karpet now at a retail karpet outlet before his price goes up.

Why so many cycling teams funded by floormakers anyway.

...or Vino...... eurosport.co.uksport lng2 spo18 evt9394 sto729625.shtmlOpen ↗

hombredesubaru said:

Ouch!
You beat me to the punch my friend. Too funny!!

Yes, buy Karpet now at a retail karpet outlet before his price goes up.

Why so many cycling teams funded by floormakers anyway.

whiteboytrash said:

...or Vino...... eurosport.co.uksport lng2 spo18 evt9394 sto729625.shtmlOpen ↗

Vino would be a great get!!
He is an attacking rider, he's clean, he can do it all in the classics and the GTs--even if he doesnt win a Tour, he can podium and he is so aggressive that he gets really high press coverage--which is what sponsors want.
Plus, I think teams now--given the Lance factor--are looking at riders not as athletes only--obviously as athletes first--, but a spokespersons, their looks, their personal deportment, their lives etc etc. So Vino would be great.

What are the odds?

Vino is not strong enough in the ITTs to be DC's choice for a GC contender, because DC only goes for the GC win ultimately. Simoni also will be viewed as having by far inferior ITT skills and as not being a good fit. DC views GC contenders as having to be reasonably good at both ITT and climbing. Savoldelli and Popo are both strong ITTists and TTTists. Even Savoldelli's climbing skills are borderline for DC Grand Tour leadership, but that is offset a bit by his great descending skills.

Neither Vino nor Simoni has enough good years left to be nurtured by DC at this point into a Grand Tour winner, and they don't hav the potential to do that. 😉

DC is looking for somebody who is younger, and who can cover the Vuelta (and/or be backup for the TdF in case Popo has problems). They are also looking for more climbing backup for Savoldelli in next year's Giro, I would assume.

musette said:

Vino is not strong enough in the ITTs to be DC's choice for a GC contender, because DC only goes for the GC win ultimately. Simoni also will be viewed as having by far inferior ITT skills and as not being a good fit. DC views GC contenders as having to be reasonably good at both ITT and climbing. Savoldelli and Popo are both strong ITTists and TTTists. Even Savoldelli's climbing skills are borderline for DC Grand Tour leadership, but that is offset a bit by his great descending skills.

Neither Vino nor Simoni has enough good years left to be nurtured by DC at this point into a Grand Tour winner, and they don't hav the potential to do that. 😉

DC is looking for somebody who is younger, and who can cover the Vuelta (and/or be backup for the TdF in case Popo has problems). They are also looking for more climbing backup for Savoldelli in next year's Giro, I would assume.

TdF Blog website notes:

"Eurosport quotes an article in le Parisien (premium content) that Discovery Channel is looking to sign T-Mobile's Alexandre Vinokourov, winner of Thursday's stage to the top of Mont Ventoux at the Dauphiné Libéré. Vinokourov is at the end of his contract. No one involved would deny the report. Discovery had previously touted Yaroslav Popovych as Armstrong's likely Tour de France successor, but Armstrong had also said there were other riders the team was interested in, “some on other teams.” "There exists a list of riders, but we can't tell you if Vino is on it or not," Armstrong's agent Bill Stapleton told the paper. "Ask Johan," quipped a coy Armstrong sending the newspaper's reporter to see team manager Johan Bruyneel who in Sphinx-like fashion replied "every great rider at the end of his contract interests us."
Vino himself says he won't make a decision until after the Tour."

I still don't believe Vino will be pursued vigorously by DC. Vino wants to win the TdF, and, except as a stop-gap measure until Popo matures, DC is not looking for somebody at the end of their career. Even Vino admits he only has a very few years left.

Vino's courting DC, not the other way around.

From procycling:

"Alexandre Vinokourov has told Belgium’s Het Nieuwsblad newspaper that he is prepared to leave the T-Mobile team at the end of the season if he does not receive a significant improvement in his salary. “I will take all offers into consideration, even one from Discovery Channel if I get one,” said Vinokourov, who said that any decision on a possible move will be delayed until after the finish of the Tour de France."

Now, if he really had a DC offer, would he have to say that? 😄

musette said:

Vino's courting DC, not the other way around.

From procycling:

"Alexandre Vinokourov has told Belgium’s Het Nieuwsblad newspaper that he is prepared to leave the T-Mobile team at the end of the season if he does not receive a significant improvement in his salary. “I will take all offers into consideration, even one from Discovery Channel if I get one,” said Vinokourov, who said that any decision on a possible move will be delayed until after the finish of the Tour de France."

Now, if he really had a DC offer, would he have to say that? 😄

If he wanted to go to Doscovery, would he say "EVEN one form Doscovery"
not really flatering
WTF!?!

Duplicative post removed.

It's a "come get me" signal. He has to say "even" DC because he is stil at TM. Can you imagine a worse domestique for JU -- somebody thinking about, and advertising, leaving JU's team by the end of the Tour and wanting to win a TdF for himself in the next few years (the few years he acknowledges he has left)? 😄