Green edge

O’Grady brings experience to GreenEDGE
Having ridden the Tour de France 15 times, with stints in the yellow jersey and two stage wins, plus having competed at five Olympic Games, including a gold medal in 2004, Stuart O’Grady is bringing his immense experience to the GreenEDGE Cycling team. GreenEDGE is aiming to become Australia’s first UCI World Tour licensed team in 2012 and for the 38-year-old O’Grady it is a dream come true. “To ride for an Australian team has been a dream of mine since I turned pro way back in 1995. I wasn’t sure such a team would come around before I retired but I’m glad it has,” O’Grady said. “I’ve been racing for a long time and seen the evolution of Australian cycling from guys like Phil Anderson, Neil Stephens and Patrick Jonker to myself as part of the generation that followed and now we’ve got an impressive group of young riders coming through. “For a country where cycling is a relatively small sport the progress in such a short period of time has been incredible.” But for O’Grady joining GreenEDGE wasn’t an easy decision. “I’ve spent quite a few years supporting the Schleck brothers (Frank and Andy) at the Tour de France and Fabian (Cancellara) in the classics and doing that job alongside Jens Voigt we’ve been like a family. It’s been a privilege racing with those guys and leaving Leopard-Trek to join GreenEDGE has been the hardest decision of my career,” the South Australian said. Last week the team announced that multiple track world champions Cameron Meyer and Jack Bobridge, along with 2010 Australian road champion Travis Meyer, will form part of the team and the guidance of O’Grady will serve the younger riders on the team well. According to GreenEDGE Cycling General Manager, Shayne Bannan, having O’Grady on the team will play a critical role in guiding the younger members of the team and building a squad for the big one-day races. “He can teach our guys stuff on the road that simply can’t be communicated from the team car sitting behind the peloton,” Bannan said. “And you don’t stay at the top end of any sport for as long as Stuart has without doing something right. He won a silver medal at the Olympics in 1992 when Travis Meyer and Jack Bobridge were only three-years-old so there’s a lot he can teach our younger guys.” O’Grady also sees his experience as his major contribution to the team. “There’ll be a lot of young guys on the squad and Shayne (Bannan) understands the need to have someone to guide them,” O’Grady said who has played the role of captain on the road for the past few seasons for his previous teams at the Tour de France, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. “There’s no point having the biggest and shiniest ship in the ocean if you don’t have a captain to steer it and I’ve think I bring plenty of experience at steering the ship.” Despite openly taking on the role of guiding the younger members of the team O’Grady hasn’t lost his ambition to win. “I’ve still got ambitions in the big one-day classics, particularly Paris-Roubaix. I know the notebook Fabian Cancellara uses in Roubaix because we came up with it together. There’ll be plenty of races the younger guys can go for but that’s my major personal goal,” he said. O’Grady is the only Australian to have won Paris-Roubaix, the world’s most famous one-day race across the cobblestones of northern France, which he took out in 2007. greenedgecycling.comgreenedgecycling.comOpen ↗

Neil Stephens is involved with Green Edge.

Neil Stephens who cycled for the ONCE team managed by Manolo Saiz [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/IMG]

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by limerickman [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Neil Stephens is involved with Green Edge.

Neil Stephens who cycled for the ONCE team managed by Manolo Saiz [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/IMG]

He was also riding for Festina during the Festina affair.

Quote:wikipedia July 27, 1998: Neil Stephens, a Festina rider at the Tour, admits taking performance enhancing drugs but claims that he thought the EPO injections were vitamin C and E supplements.

Quote: cyclingnews.com Neil Stephens admits to drug taking Neil Stephens who has consistently denied taking any performance-enhancing drugs has now admitted that he probably did but though they were just vitamin supplements. He has issued a statement from his home in Spain which also alleges illegal treatment by Lyon police. Stephens has now been forced to admit that the evidence presented to the investigating police in Lyon during the enquiry into Festina's systematic drug taking, shows clearly that he has been using EPO. He now faces a minimum 6 months ban for cheating. He will begin the suspension (if it is imposed) from the time he made the confession to police (July 22). For Australian cycling fans this means that the coup by Phill Bates, organiser of the Cycling Classic in October to get Stephens to ride for one of the competing teams, will be thwarted. Stephens told the Lyon police that the team doctor Erik Ryckaert had said he was taking vitamin C and E supplements in addition to some minerals. He faces no criminal charges because the police are more concerned with the international drug trafficking side of the affair rather than the drugs in sport issue. autobus.cyclingnews.comjul28.shtmlOpen ↗

I'm prepared to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Let's hope this is a clean sheet.

Tour de France stage winner joins GreenEDGE Cycling The signing of Dutch cyclist Pieter Weening, a Tour de France and Giro d’Italia stage winner, to GreenEDGE Cycling has boosted the team’s prospects of being the first Australian team to gain a UCI World Tour licence. Weening’s win at the Giro d’Italia came this year across the famous dirt roads of the Strade Bianche, and he also held the race leader’s pink jersey for four days, while his win at the Tour de France, the last by a Dutchman, came on the first day in the mountains in the 2005 edition. GreenEDGE Cycling General Manager, Shayne Bannan, says the nature of Weening’s key victories shows his versatility and value to the team. “Being able to win at the two biggest tours in the world doesn’t come by chance, particularly when you look at the quality of the victories across such difficult terrain,” said Bannan. “Pieter brings great climbing qualities for our grand tour ambitions and also has plenty to offer in the one day classic, where we’ll be aiming to make a mark. “A key factor in going after Pieter and getting him to sign with the team is he’s at a great point in his career. He’s been in the professional peloton for eight seasons yet is only 30 years of age. This is the perfect balance of experience while still being his prime.” Having turned professional in 2004 and spending his entire career with one of the world’s biggest teams, Rabobank, Weening is looking forward to new opportunities. “As a Dutchman it was a privilege for me to ride for my country’s biggest team and I want to thank Rabobank for the 12-years I had with them and the opportunities they gave me to develop as a rider,” Weening said. “But it’s now time for the next stage in my career and joining GreenEDGE is a great new opportunity for me to help build a team and pursue my own ambitions. “I’m also looking forward to being part of a team from Australia, which is one of the most exciting cycling countries in the world. They can’t be producing so many promising young cyclists without doing something right.”

Of greatest concern at this point for Green Edge, right now, is the fact that they need a lot more riders with UCI points to get through the World Tour licensing process.

O'Grady (4 points) and Weening (56) are good old hands and Bobridge (1) and the Meyers (106) will be at the top of the sport in a couple of years, but that doesn make a lot of current UCI road points between them. It is pretty obvious that Cavendish will go to Sky and Renshaw is now confirmed for Rabobank. Goss (217) is probably the only possible high profile rider (with significant points) available.

Of course it is a pretty weird year in which almost all of the UCI points on offer have been taken by just three riders (Gilbert, Evans and Contador).

Who else can they get?

Rising Dutch star joins GreenEDGE Cycling Sebastian Langeveld, the winner of this year’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, has joined GreenEDGE Cycling and the Dutchman comes with big ambitions in the major one-day races. In April the 26-year-old finished fifth in the Tour of Flanders, the biggest event on the Belgian sporting calendar, and according to Shayne Bannan, GreenEDGE Cycling’s General Manager, he is perfectly suited to the cobblestoned classics. “When you look through the list of young riders that are potential winners of races like Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, Sebastian’s name is right up the top,” Bannan said. “We want to build a strong team for the spring classics because they are such dramatic races that are at the heart of cycling’s long tradition. And we believe, given time and the right support, Sebastian can be successful in these races.” Bannan says GreenEDGE Cycling isn’t a short-term project aimed at getting an Australian team in the Tour de France and the signing of Langeveld reflects the team’s overall objectives. “Obviously riding the Tour de France is high on our list but we are building a team that will be around for a long time and can fight on all fronts throughout the season, which is what makes Sebastian such an important signing for us,” Bannan said. “He’s on the verge of the best part of his career with plenty of years in front of him. I believe we can provide him with the best support available, on and off the bike, to help him to achieve all his objectives.” Langeveld has spent the past five seasons with the Rabobank team on the back of three years in smaller Dutch teams, Skil-Shimano and Van Vliet. He doesn’t shy away from his ambitions and is looking forward to being one of the leaders of the team when it makes its debut in the 2012 season. “I enjoyed my time at Rabobank and they have helped me get to this point in my career. But I’m ready for the next step. I’m ready to take on more of a leadership role and GreenEDGE Cycling gives me that opportunity,” Langeveld said. “From when I started racing I’ve always dreamt about the spring classics, particularly the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and coming from the Amstel Gold Race. Joining GreenEDGE is the best move for me to be able to make these dreams a reality.”

GreenEDGE Gerrans Simon Gerrans holds a unique place in cycling history as the only Australian winner of a stage at all three grand tours and will form part of another piece of history as a member of the inaugural GreenEDGE Cycling team in 2012. Having ridden for both the Cervelo Test Team and Team Sky in their debut season’s Gerrans is an old hand at joining new teams. The Victorian said the first step in assessing whether or not joining GreenEDGE was the right move for his career was to look at the people involved and in doing so was filled with confidence. “This might be a new team on paper but it has been 20-years in the making by people like Shayne Bannan and I know the amount of preparation he does to get things right,” Gerrans said of the team that is making a bid to become the first Australian team in cycling’s top division, the UCI World Tour. “In some ways joining GreenEDGE has a coming home feeling to it as many of the people involved, like Shayne and Gerry Ryan, have been a big part of my career for more than 10-years.” GreenEDGE general manager, Shayne Bannan, says the stage wins by the 31-year-old in the Tours of France, Italy and Spain have come not just through his strength but his race smarts and determination, which makes him an important rider on any team. “Simon is now in the prime of his career with a proven ability to win on the big stage, which made him a target for us right from the start,” Bannan said. “The other big plus with Simon is the example he’ll set for the rest of the team, particularly the younger guys. “As an under-23 rider it was touch-and-go as to whether he’d make it as a professional cyclist. But where others would have raised the white flag Simon found a way and has become one of the most complete riders in the peloton.” In addition to his many wins, Gerrans has shown himself to be a contender in the hillier one-day races at the beginning of the season with top-10 finishes to his name in all three of the Ardennes Classics. “I’ve always targeted the Ardennes Classics and after finishing third at the Amstel Gold Race this year I’m looking forward to preparing specifically for these races again with the backing of GreenEDGE,” Gerrans said. “To win Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone or Liege-Bastonge-Liege would be something special. I know everything would have to go absolutely right for me to be able to achieve that and I’m doing everything I can to give myself the best chance.” Having recently won the Tour of Denmark, with the support of his current team, Gerrans was quick to thank Team Sky for the two seasons he has spent with the British team. “I’ve had a really good two-years at Sky and it’s been a privilege to ride with a team that has set the benchmark on professionalism,” Gerrans said of his current team. “I’m looking forward to riding the rest of this season with Sky and have appreciated the team’s understanding in why I made the decision to join a new Australian team.” Among the major targets still to come for Gerrans this season are the Grand-Prix Ouest-France (a UCI WorldTour race to be held on Sunday 28 August), which he won in 2009, and to form part of the Australian team at the UCI Road World Championships to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in late September.

Clarke on GreenEDGE of success Former national U23 road champion and junior world track champion, Simon Clarke, is the latest of a crop of talented young Australian riders to join GreenEDGE Cycling. The 25-year-old is currently riding with Astana but will move across to GreenEDGE when it makes its debut in 2012 and says he’s looking forward to working with the people that helped him get his career to where it is now. “I spent six years as apart of the Australian Institute of Sport, which was run by Shayne Bannan, so having the possibility of returning to an Aussie set-up like that but as a professional team is an opportunity that couldn’t be missed,” Clarke said. “The launch of this team has been a dream and a work in progress for Shayne for the last 20-years and having been part of his development program in the past, it’s going to be great to be part of this dream coming true. 
“It’s also a great honour to be part of a groundbreaking Australian team.” Hailing from Melbourne, but spending the racing season based in Varese, Italy, Clarke believes the attention to detail Bannan showed in his time with the national team will serve his own development well. “The level of thought and planning in assessing every possible angle of the team and its productivity will ensure a state of the art set-up that will bring great success to Australian cycling and let me reach my best,” according Clarke. GreenEDGE General Manager, Shayne Bannan, knows Clarke well and has given him plenty of responsibility in the past that fills him with confidence about his future. “At the 2009 UCI Road World Championships Simon was one of the guys with the job of protecting our team leaders, Cadel Evans and Simon Gerrans, and did a great job at such a young age in one of the hardest world championships in recent memory,” Bannan said. “There were a couple of times we thought he was done but then appeared at the front of the peloton with fresh water bottles for our leaders, with Cadel eventually winning the race and Simon finishing tenth. It’s the sort of fighting spirit we want in the team and know he can deliver.” Although Clarke is yet to notch up his first professional win, now in his third season, he has been making impressive progress. He got the 2011 season off to a strong start at the Tour Down Under followed by the Tours of Qatar Oman where he was in a number of breakaways proving to be one of the protagonists of those races. And in his debut Tour of Flanders he was in a long breakaway with Sylvain Chavanel, who ultimately finished second, showing that he has a strong future in the major one-day races. 
“Next year I hope to be able to be competitive in the big one day races, particularly the Ardennes classics, and to gain the experience of the Grand Tours – Italy, France or Spain,” Clarke said.

Well it looks like they have 300 plus points now and if they get Goss that would be 550 plus which should easily be enough. Also looks like they've chosen some riders with the intention of expanding the cycling brand lesser cycling areas which would be looked on favourably by the UCI.

Its now confirmed that Goss has signed with Green edge. They should be close to haveing the points they need now, so thats one hurdle out of the way

Belgium’s Keukeleire joins GreenEDGE GreenEDGE Cycling has bolstered its international stocks with the recruitment of 22-year-old Belgian Jens Keukeleire. Considered one of Belgium’s most promising young riders, Keukeleire has spent the past two seasons with the Cofidis team, winning the 3-Daagse van West-Vlaanderen (3-Days of West-Flanders) and the Nokere Koerse for the French outfit last year. “I had two fantastic years at Cofidis but it was time to make the next step in my development as a rider,” Keukeleire said. “I still have a lot to learn. I need to get stronger and to improve my training, my technique and my tactical skills. GreenEDGE is giving me the platform and time to improve and develop on all those areas. “Because I know the position and knowledge of Australian cycling it was not a hard decision. “It will be great to learn from riders like Stuart O’Grady and Robbie McEwen, who I have enormous respect for. “I look forward to working with the highly qualified staff and to be part of a great group of riders.” The characteristics Keukeleire has displayed in the early part of his career are a mix of a young O’Grady and McEwen, which is reflected in his ambitions. “I want to become an all round-sprinter, who is able to survive a hill or hard finale, and a classics specialist,” said Keukeleire, who won four races in his first professional season. “But I know I have a long way to go. That’s why GreenEDGE is the best team for me right now. They will bring me to a higher level and I am sure I will pay them back with results for the belief they have in me.” Developing young Australian riders is one of GreenEDGE’s priorities but the team’s General Manager, Shayne Bannan, has also made it clear he wants a balance of internationals who will push the Australians and add to the culture of the team, which he says makes Keulekeire a perfect fit. “When I was part of the national team I saw Jens race against our under-23 squad and he made quite an impression on me, so I’ve watched him closely in his first two seasons as a professional,” Bannan said.

”His early results show that he is a big talent, particularly in the one-day races that we’ll be targeting in our first few seasons. “The Belgians are born with these races in their DNA so Jens understands exactly what we’re trying to achieve. “He’s still very young so there’s no expectation that he can go out next season and win one of the major spring classics but he has the potential to do so in the future.”

cyclingnews.commajor sponsor unlikely for greenedgeOpen ↗

Hmmmm, might be a fly-by-night outfit on the order of Cervelo Test Team. Can likely see a major Chinese component to GreenEdge's roster in the coming year or so.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by tonyzackery [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

cyclingnews.commajor sponsor unlikely for greenedgeOpen ↗

Hmmmm, might be a fly-by-night outfit on the order of Cervelo Test Team. Can likely see a major Chinese component to GreenEdge's roster in the coming year or so.

Any newest news now ?

The Shayne Bannan led and Gerry Ryan funded organisation was today among the top 15 teams assessed on 'sporting value' by the International Cycling Union (UCI). This evaluation takes into account the contractual agreements signed for 2012 with the best 15 riders before October 20, 2011. GreenEDGE has now signed 27 riders for the 2012 season with a maximum of 30 allowed. These include Milan-San Remo winner Matt Goss, Tour Down Under champion Cameron Meyer plus veteran Australian stars Stuart O'Grady and Robbie McEwen. A team's sporting value is partially determined by results obtained in 2010 and 2011, by riders which are included in the 2012 team’s squads. Sporting value is an important step in obtaining UCI ProTeam status, with ethical, financial and administrative criteria also coming into play prior to the final decision being made. Any team within the top 15 has satisfied the criteria while a further five will undergo a more detailed assessment to fill the final three places. GreenEDGE is one of four new formations to qualify on sporting grounds with the Lotto Cycling Project, Omega Pharma-Quickstep and RadioShack-Nissan also making the top 15. The 15 UCI top teams based on sporting value (by alphabetical order): 1. Astana 2. BMC 3. Garmin-Cervelo 4. GreenEdge (new) 5. Katusha 6. Lampre-ISD 7. Liquigas-Cannondale 8. Lotto Cycling Project (new) 9. Movistar 10. Omega Pharma-Quick Step (new) 11. Rabobank 12. RadioShack-Nissan (new) 13. Saxo Bank-Sungard 14. Sky Procycling 15. Vacansoleil-DCM Teams ranked 16 to 20: 16. AG2R La Mondiale 17. Geox-TMC 18. FDJ 19. Euskaltel-Euskadi 20. Europcar The next official announcement will be made sometime after the November 1 deadline, when the UCI will reveal the ProTeams with a valid 2012 UCI WorldTour licence.

sbs.com.auGreenEDGE a sporting chanceOpen ↗

Green Edge given Protour license!!!!

This is great news for Australian cycling

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Scotttri [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Green Edge given Protour license!!!!

This is great news for Australian cycling

Absolutely, looking forward to seeing them line up at the TDU next year.

Me to, might even see if I can convince the minister for war and finance to take a trip down there for the race

This is likely a great relief for the riders. I'm sure the memory of Pegasus' failed launch was fresh in the minds of riders signed onto the new team. While the two different teams went about things entirely differently, the Pegasus opus still had and has to make riders signed onto new team a bit jumpy until everything's writ in stone. Here's hopin' they have a great year......and get to spank Sky a few times. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/IMG]