Patrick Lefevre: Good-bye Michael Rogers?

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 18:30:20 -0700, sonarrat <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

But right now, the only thing left on people's minds is what can
boom-boom Boonen achieve next year. "Ach, Boonen just has to remain
himself," said Lefevre. "Next year we will build a strong team around
Tom. We don't need pseudo-stage racers any more in this team."

Rogers is a two-time world champion.

JT

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So? Still only the tt. And he only got to wear one of the jersey's for
a week thanks to dumb ass Millar. Belgian sponsors care about 3
things. Ronde van Vlanderan, Paris Roubaix, and once upon a time the
gp eddy merckx. Lump in KBK, LBL for fun and life is prettty good.
Frankly, they don't have the bodies to really support a stage race
programme, let alone a psuedo stage racer.

sonarrat wrote:
<snippage>

Quoted message said:

"Next year we will build a strong team around Tom.

Hmm.

-Sonarrat.

</snippage>
one wonders how a certain Paulo Bettini feels about this comment.
Granted he's no stage racer but he's done no small amount of work for
the QS image, winning WC's and classics and all that.

Andrew Karre said:

I thought this was a rather odd comment, too. He seems to have gotten
quite a satisfactory return from Rogers by most measures. Perhaps
Lefevre has just been reading RBR and has been convinced that little
stage races like Paris Nice et. al. are nothing more than overblown
industrial park crits. Why bother?

Andrew

Or maybe I'm just reading it wrong and he's [censored] about Jose Antonio
Pecharroman.

-Sonarrat.

sonarrat said:

Andrew Karre said:

I thought this was a rather odd comment, too. He seems to have

gotten

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

quite a satisfactory return from Rogers by most measures. Perhaps
Lefevre has just been reading RBR and has been convinced that

little

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stage races like Paris Nice et. al. are nothing more than overblown
industrial park crits. Why bother?

Andrew

Or maybe I'm just reading it wrong and he's [censored] about Jose Antonio

Quoted message said:

Pecharroman.

-Sonarrat.

Idd, Pecharroman, Garrido and Mercado. Rogers and Sinkewitz are one of
his favourites (coming from his Mapei GS III team).

Kenny

To my ears, his remark about 'pseudo GC riders' was obviously about a
minsinvestment like Pecharroman. I don't hink he meant Mercado, who last
season went in breaks and wins stages.

They strongly believe in Rogers, and the continuation of his progress wrt.
GC. The difference is Rogers is somebody they already know from the younger
ranks.
Pecharroman was a real transfer, and they probably gave him a contract
fitting a Grand Tour-contender.

Bart Van Hoorebeeck said:

Pecharroman was a real transfer, and they probably gave him a contract
fitting a Grand Tour-contender.

Pecharroman was a big gamble. I think Lefevere quickly realised that he'd
bought an expensive lemon. Rogers, Mercado and Sinkewitz have won races, Van
Goolen hasn't done a whole lot yet, although he has shown some promise.
Garrido? I had to check that he was on the team roster. They've also got
Paolini, who is good when he's in form, but not lately. But if you can leave
out riders like Bettini, Zanini, Bramati and Lotz and still win Roubaix,
you've got a fairly good classics team.

Jeff

Is Verbrugghe a pseudo-stage racer or a man for the Walloon week?

Jenko

He mentioned Mercado too in P-magazine as one of the riders who did not
performed yet in comparison to his wage. His reaction on the fact that
Mercado did win a Tour stage was: "Yeah when he was already 30' behind
in the GC". But it's obvious Pecharroman is biggest problem.

Kenny

Jeff Jones said:

Bart Van Hoorebeeck said:

Pecharroman was a real transfer, and they probably gave him a

contract

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

fitting a Grand Tour-contender.

Pecharroman was a big gamble. I think Lefevere quickly realised that

he'd

Quoted message said:

bought an expensive lemon. Rogers, Mercado and Sinkewitz have won

races, Van

Quoted message said:

Goolen hasn't done a whole lot yet, although he has shown some

promise.

Quoted message said:

Garrido? I had to check that he was on the team roster. They've also

got

Quoted message said:

Paolini, who is good when he's in form, but not lately. But if you

can leave

Quoted message said:

out riders like Bettini, Zanini, Bramati and Lotz and still win

Roubaix,

Quoted message said:

you've got a fairly good classics team.

I don't think we saw the real strength of the team yet. The team
always did everything to get Boonen in good conditions in the final but
most of the time he was isolated then. Luckily he has a superb form.
Without this superb Boonen, the start of the season would have been
catastrophic.

Kenny

"Jeff Jones" <jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> schreef >

Quoted message said:

Pecharroman was a big gamble. I think Lefevere quickly realised that he'd
bought an expensive lemon. Rogers, Mercado and Sinkewitz have won races,

Van

Quoted message said:

Goolen hasn't done a whole lot yet, although he has shown some promise.
Garrido? I had to check that he was on the team roster. They've also got
Paolini, who is good when he's in form, but not lately.

Garrido was in the Pecharroman deal, the luxury domestique. Makes it all
more sour probably.
Remember last year they recruited stone-old Dufaux just for Virenque. That
looked odd, but Ricardo did his thing once more and Dufaux was of some help,
although not very visible. But there it was all acceptable.

Van Goolen is rather invisible and seems to be in stagnation, although most
observers always saw a Tour Top 10 in his abilities. Given Belgium's
performance there in recent DECADES, that's something to live for.
Verbugghe is the same kind of rider but then from the 'lost VDB generation',
and it surprised met that Lefevere with alls his smack about lazy [censored],
took him on board. He got time to grow at Lotto, did 2 good seasons and then
faded, while at the time it looked he had even more in him. A gamble, but
the contract probably reflects his last seasons.

Paolini has had his share of problems, but it is time to get back there. Or
he might become one of those (often Italians) who give brilliant sparkles at
a young age and then pursue their career in mediocrity. Remember Petito from
the Ronde? When he was a neo, he looked the next big thing. Pozzato might
be in that league too. He was very useful yesterday, but that kind of remote
launching should be below his abilities really.

Jenko said:

Is Verbrugghe a pseudo-stage racer or a man for the Walloon week?

Jenko

He is not a stage racer. Maybe he could make a 7th or 10th place in
the Giro, but that is ofcourse a pseudo-stage race spot, given the fact
that Bettini ended 7th in 98 and Sgambelluri 10th in 99.

He has to do it in Wallonia and prologues. Normally he should be able
of doing well at San Sebastian, Zurich and Lombardia too. However i
don't think he'll never win a classic again.

Kenny