Leinster

Sagan to Saxo is a done deal.

Peter Sagan ha firmato con Tinkoff | BDC-MAG.com | Bici da corsa


Nico Roche out of Saxo, possibly to Sky.

Nicolas Roche on way out of Tinkoff-Saxo; move to Team Sky under consideration - Sticky Bottle


Any other news on the grapevine?

LansingWes

Trek's signed Bauke Mollema to a two year deal. I expect they'll drop at least one Schleck. Mollema inks two-year deal with Trek Factory Racing - VeloNews.com

CharlyAlfaRomeo

I know Sagan kind of likes grabbing random wheels on the way to the line but this seems like a sideways step for him, perhaps a step back.

Hope the money is good, and I'm sure it is, but I don't think this will net him any more wins than he gets now.

Giacomo 1 

Oh yeah, I agree.

Maybe even less wins. Oh wait, he didn't have any in the TDF even though he had a team solely focused on him.

It's all about Contador and the GC over there...

I like the Bauke Mollema move for Trek, its time for a different direction GC wise...

Leinster

I don't think Mollema will get Trek any more GT wins than Andy. He's a wheel- follower. Andy at least attacks when he has the legs (which is admittedly less and less these days).

I've seen it said that Tinkoff thinks he's going for a 3 jersey teams next year. Certainly Sagan can nail the green on his own, but with him sprinting twice a day, that basically would have them a man down of 9 trying to fight for yellow, and forget about Majka going for polka dot and still hauling Contador to the finish line in the mountains.

eddiepliers 

It seems like Andy Schleck is in negotiations with Team Europecar.



Cycling Transfers 2015 - - Team Information - By: CyclingFever.com

patrickgm60

Thanks for the link; hadn't seen that transfers site before. Under "End of Career," Thor Hushovd and David Millar join Jens Voigt. : (

LansingWes

I wonder how well he'll fit into their Rolland/Voeckler mix. Rolland did mention focusing on only one Grand Tour in a season Tour de France: Rolland to race one grand tour in 2015 | Cyclingnews.com. Maybe they're thinking Andy can lighten the load but I don't think he has the form anymore.

Leinster

I can see Andy making a play for the Vuelta or Giro and putting his eggs in one of those baskets. He's struggled with injuries since 2011, but for 3 years before that he was as good as anyone in the mountains at the Tour. If he gets a clean run at a season, he can maybe have a real go at winning another GT. He truns 30 next year, so has a good couple of years left.

You have to wonder who Trek's GC rider will be then. They've one of the biggest budgets in cycling, and the only time they've won a GT, (Horner) they promptly let that rider go at the end of the season.

jyl

Sagan's team was so disappointing all year. Think of all the times Sagan was in the leading bunch with 10 k to go and totally isolated, not a single other lime green jersey with him. He is a huge talent but even Sagan needs some team support. At TS, I think he'll concentrate on the spring classics where Contador is not a factor.

busygizmo

As mentioned earlier Trek has Mollema. Seems like a consistent top 10 candidate but not much else.

As far as Andy goes it seems like the Vuelta is the race he should concentrate on, tons of climbing and usually short time trials. The Giro is usually hard on riders that don't handle the rain and tough road conditions well. Not sure how well Andy does in the heat but I assume OK since he's done well in July before.

Concerning Sagan we'll see how this goes. Hopefully for him this isn't another "grass is greener over there" switch. Unless we are talking about OPQS there aren't many teams capable of of controlling races like that. Look at how the classics shook out. Unless you drop every sprinter in Milan-San Remo he'll be a a disadvantage there. At Flanders he has to hope Boonen and Fabian don't drop him and if he gets to the finale with Boonen it could go either way. Same at Roubaix and there more sprinters like Degenkolb and Kristoff can factor. It's going to be tough for Sagan since everyone knows how good he is they aren't likely to tow him to the finish and other teams will work against him. I think he has a bright future but he'll need to keep getting stronger.

Leinster

Oleg Tinkov, president of Trollheim; Exclusive: Tinkov on signing Peter Sagan | Cyclingnews.com

Leinster

I'd wear the new Garmindale Gabba. Understated sponsor logos, but visible.

Giacomo 1 

I am liking the looks of Team MTN Quebeka.

They have some strong riders, some of whom I believe haven't seen their best days yet, and really could a force in the sprints and the classics.

Theo Bos, Mathew Goss, Boasson Hagen and Tyler Farrar could make the sprints interesting for this team, and Boasson Hagen and Farrar, who might be more of a classics threat these days, could be competitive in the one day races and short tours.

Cervello bikes and pretty cool new uniforms to.

Ken Brown

The merged team is mostly Garmin but their colours will be Cannondale. I loved the old Garmin colours but I guess I can't have everything.

Leinster

The race jersey isn't bad either. Cuts down on the neon green, keeps the argyle pattern.