julian

There is a t in what, not that I care!
You guys can quit your backpedaling.

botto 

when you're in a hole, you should stop digging.

julian

No hole, big announcement Thursday and you let semantics get in the way.

erader

julian you are one argumentative cuss. maybe you should hit a meeting .

ed rader

botto 

you certainly don't let facts get in the way.

cjbruin

All speculation and banter aside, I'm interested in the details of the announcement. I lost all of my respect for Vino when he got all chesty about how he definitely would be with Astana when his suspension was over and how JB would be gone if he didn't want him.

I think he will end up being the dog who caught the car when everyone who is anyone leaves Astana and he's left with a "team" that won't get invited to a lot of races. Talk about naive, JB basically saved the team and rebuilt it's reputation. That will all be undone if things happen the way I think they will.

Allen H

+1

Too bad a catfight broke out here, instead of useful info based on the header.

Timing is interesting (though I saw elsewhere that JB already said he was finished with Astana after the Tour - which I'd guess is more Astana's doing than JB's), still during the Tour?

cotatrials

I didn't think Lance was getting paid by Astana to ride this year, and may have even used some of his own (as in personal sponsors like Nike) money to keep Astana going through the tour............. You can not work for someone if you are paying them..... they work for you...

bigskymacadam

good read. got a nice chuckle outta this.

bigfred 

The timing of this doesn't surprise me in the least. They (LA, JB & their sponsor) will get a whole lot more air time and press by announcing during The Tour as opposed to after it's all over. So, no surprise there. And, at such a late stage that there is little Astana could do to effect the rest of their Tour.

gregf83 

What has Bruyneel or Lance done that is despicable? Seems like the whole Astana team was put through the wringer this year. I don't understand why setting up a new team with stable financing should be a surprise.

erader

bruyneel supporting lance over contador because lance and bruyneel will be starting their own team is despicable.

lance hemmed and hawed and said he would contest the giro and then later proclaimed himself co-captain of astana for the TDF with the help of bruyneel is also despicable.

ed rader

gregf83 

Has anyone been harmed in the slightest by these supposed despicable actions? Contador appears to be getting plenty of support in this tour and looks to have a solid grasp on the yellow jersey and a second tdf win. Other than people with delicate sensibilities I don't hear anyone complaining.

erader

pedro delgado, former tour winner and friend of contador says that the inner fight on the team has caused a lot of unnecessary stress on contador, and i think that's putting it mildly.

when lance had his own team he believed that only one guy was in charge, and that was him. he would never stand for another team member in any way trying to usurp his leadership. so lance is totalling disrespecting contador and the team....except he has most of the team including the director on his side.

oh, but lance is doing it for the love of the sport and of course for those suffering from cancer....somebody please pass me the vomit bucket .

ed rader

bigfred 

Ed,

A quick question: Do you believe; everything you read in the press? ,nothing that you read in the press? ,or, subjectively what you feel like believing?

gregf83 

I suppose the difference is that Lance earned the right to control his team and call the shots. Clearly, Contador is not yet in that position.

julian

He hears voices. We don't know if they are from the press, from other sources or perhaps from his nightmares.

Mooo

This ought to be good.

Hezz

Do you think that if Lance and JB started a new team that the UCI would give preference to them for Astana's license spot over Vino running Astana. They only issue about 20 licenses right. Or will they grant a few more if they feel the teams have a solid management and financial backing.

julian

Who is going to ride for Astana when they have trouble paying the bills and a character like Vino is running the show?

bigskymacadam

is it thursday yet? i want to know who the primary sponsor is.

bigfred 

There are apparently 18 current ProTour team licenses. I do not know if UCI can/will adjust that, but, would be surprised if they excluded a JB/LA led team from such. The other option is that the "New Team" register as a Pro Continental team which as a wild card allows the various race organizers to invite them. Most (race organizers) would of course, because, it will boost the interest in their races and increase the value of them. Barloworld and Cervelo Test are examples of the later.

erader

of course i don't believe everything i read. i used to be a member of the press .

let me ask you something: am i the only person who thinks like i do? there's plenty of people who agree with me....guys like delgado, sean kelly etc.

ed rader

erader

contador has won three grand tours, one of five champions to ever to accomplish that feat plus he is demonstrably the strongest man in this race.

and you say he hasn't earned the right to lead a team !

ed rader

bigfred 

Ed,

There's more to being a great "leader" than just "winning" and you're well aware of that. There are plenty of "winners" out there that still needed strong team "leaders" or "captains" to help them accomplish the goal.