So Bruyneel needs to figure out which cyclists will be riding on the Radioshack Nissan Trek Tour de France team. So far, he's only promised Fabian Cancellara a spot. I figured I'd help him out. Here is my 'Dream RSNT TdF Team' (minus the Schleck brothers, of course):
Chris Horner (GC), Jan Bakelants (KM), Matthew Busche (DS), Fabian Cancellara (AR), Jakob Fuglsang (AR), Linus Gerdemann (DS), Yaroslav Popovych (DS), Joost Posthuma (DS), Jens Voigt (DS)
Hope this team works out for Bruyneel! :)
Bruyneel: Only Cancellara is assured of Tour de France spot
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bruyneel-only-cancellara-is-assured-of-tour-de-france-spot)RadioShack-Nissan team principal Johan Bruyneel has used his regular Telesport column to slam what he sees as his team's poor overall form in 2012 and warned his star riders that complacency won't be tolerated ahead of the Tour de France in a month's time. And despite insisting earlier this week that he understood Frank Schleck's reasons for withdrawing from the Giro d'Italia last weekend, Bruyneel couldn't resist having another veiled dig at the man from Luxembourg.
"It is unacceptable," Bruyneel said of his team's overall progress this season. "Results this season have been very, very thin and with only two wins my team scores far below expectations. Only in the first months of the season, when I had Fabian Cancellara, did I see a good team.
"Frank and Andy Schleck have so far not lived up to the status of leaders. I was very disappointed last week that Frank left the Giro d'Italia. Hindsight is that his injury was more serious than at first sight appeared. Yet in recent years I have seen many more great riders seem more dead than alive and still pick themselves up and absolutely have to have the will to continue. I sometimes miss that a bit.
"There is Fabian Cancellara, and after him nobody is sure of a place in the squad for the Tour de France. Both Schleck brothers know that. They have no license. So far I still have no vision of my Tour cycling team with both Schleck brothers in it."
In other news...did you hear that World Champion and amazing sprinter Mark Cavendish got beat by a first year Giro d'Italia rider??? WTH??? At least, he acknowledged that his team set him up well, and he just couldn't do it. :(
Cavendish "angry" at defeat in Giro D'Italia stage 18
A dramatic finish to stage 18 of the 2012 Giro d'Italia produced a moment that has become all too rare in the sport of road cycling over the last few years - a defeat for Mark Cavendish in bunched sprint to the line when he has been set up perfectly by his team. The Team Sky rider was beaten into second place and denied a fourth stage win in the race by an astonishing display from Farnese Vini-Selle Italia's Andrea Guardini.
The 22-year-old Italian produced a devastating burst of speed in the closing stages, sweeping round the outside and taking Cavendish by complete surprise. The British world champion grimaced and punched his handlebars as he crossed the line in second place despite enjoying more help from his teammates than Guardini was afforded and despite having a clearer run.
"I wasn't angry with him [Guardini], I just don't like losing to anyone," Cavendish, who leads the overall points classification, said afterwards.
"He had more energy than me and was simply the fastest rider out there today. In the middle section of the sprint I lost some of my strength. If I hadn't been knocked over by Roberto Ferrari at the end of stage three I'd be in a better position than I am and now I need to fight to hang on to the [red] jersey."
A few hours later after the dust he wrote on his Twitter account: "Pretty angry to be beaten when my team set me up like today. I was lazy and left the sprint 50 metres too late. Andrea Guardini was fast!"
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