Well, we all have a sneaky liking for Stinkoff and Uncle Bjarne, even if he is a former doper who has never been punished, nor forfeited his title, despite admitting that he was doping when he won.... but somehow his name never comes up in the doping rants, and he is still securely running his team, despite terrible odds this year.
And the good news is that SaxoBank Tinkoff have, at long last, been confirmed as having a Pro Team licence for next season, which starts in just five weeks' time - so I bet that Uncle Bjarne is heaving a massive sigh of relief.
Bad news for the Dark Lords of Katusha, though: they don't have a licence, despite having Joaquim Rodriguez on the team. Oh, woe for the Dark Lords!
So our roster for next year looks like being:
Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Cannondale (Ita) [currently Liquigas-Cannondale
Lampre-Merida (Ita) [currently Lampre-ISD
Omega Pharma-Quick Step (Bel)
Orica-GreenEdge (Aus)
Sky Procycling (GBr)
Vacansoleil-DCM (Ned)
Movistar Team (Spa)
AG2R La Mondiale (Fra)
Argos-Shimano (Ned)
Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spa)
FDJ (Fra)
Garmin-Sharp (USA)
Lotto-Belisol (Bel)
Former Rabobank (Ned)
RadioShack-Nissan (Lux)
Saxo-Tinkoff (Den)
All we need now is to see the new kits!!
Other news: Frankie's hearing has been set for the 19th December, and we all have our fingers crossed that he is cleared, or given a fine, or - at worst - a short and backdated suspension, so that he can get on with a family christmas without this horrible issue hanging over him. It's desperately unfair to drag this case out for so long, when it isn't a banned substance, and when he hasn't actually been banned from cycling, either by the team, or by the UCI. He voluntarily stopped riding. Sigh.
I am really, really surprised (and disgusted) at the Luxembourg cycling authority taking so long to get this sorted out: why, only last year they were holding Andy and Frankie up as being ambassadors for Lux, etc etc, yet they leave him dangling under suspicion for months like this.
And finally, many thanks to Barbara for the link to the video of The Road Uphill, an hour and a half of enjoyment, watching our Leopards at the Tour last year. Before they were swallowed up by the Shack, and it all went horribly wrong.
Still, maybe next year will be better?
Thanks for the compliment Coug, now I feel a bit strange and think I need some time off in the naughty corner..... So here you go: http://inrng.tumblr.com/post/37713496218/voeckler
ReplyDeleteThis time it's not in red and not connected to the disgusting tongue, but still not so nice (for me that is)to watch before bedtime.
Barbara.