First, despite different rumors, Alberto Contador will race again with Saxobank and Bjarne Riis when his suspension is up. I'm glad to hear this. Saxobank has been very supportive in all of this mess and they deserve a great rider like Contador.
Contador returns with Saxo Bank
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-returns-with-saxo-bank)It's official: Four-time grand tour winner Alberto Contador will return to racing with his former team Saxo Bank in August. A three-year deal was announced on the team's website on Friday. Once Contador's suspension ends on August 6, the Spaniard will return to competition with the squad owned by Bjarne Riis.
"A lot of speculation and rumour have surrounded Alberto Contador and his future in the past months, but both our sponsors, the team and Alberto have shared the same wish to continue and build on our relationship," Riis said. "All along throughout these last two tough years we have stood by Alberto, so to be able to announce his return to the team is something I have been really looking forward to. Now we can put an end to these speculations and start focusing on building the team for the coming years."
Contador had been rumoured to sign with Astana or Omega Pharma-QuickStep recently. The latest speculation even had him changing teams with the Schleck brothers, in order for them to come back to Riis and for him to return to former team manager Johan Bruyneel. But the Spaniard himself had never raised any doubts on his team preference during the last months.
"The decision to return to Team Saxo Bank has actually been pretty easy, and my first priority was always to rejoin the team and to continue working with Bjarne Riis and the rest of the team. The support I have experienced from them in a very difficult situation was extraordinary. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the bike, and my aim is to repay that support, hopefully with some great results," Contador commented.
The 29-year-old is currently serving a doping suspension due to a positive result for Clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France. He will most likely return to competition at the Eneco Tour and hopes to win the Vuelta a Espana later this year.
Then of course we move on to more RadioShack Nissan news...I mean without all these RSNT articles, I'd have nothing to blog about:
Andy Schleck crossed the finish line on Stage 5 of the Critérium du Dauphiné almost 14 minutes down. He sits at almost 30 minutes down overall. So is this a preview of this year's Tour de France? Or is it that he isn't at his prime yet?
Schleck: I’ve abandoned enough times already this year
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-ive-abandoned-enough-times-already-this-year)At this stage in his career, Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) is well-versed in downplaying concerns about his condition in the weeks leading up to the Tour de France and on Friday, he duly looked to put a brave face on another disappointing day on stage 5 of the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Schleck reached Rumilly almost 14 minutes down on stage winner Arthur Vichot (FDJ-BigMat) after he was distanced over the top of the day’s great difficulty, the Col du Grand Colombier. Unlike his nondescript showings earlier in the race, however, on this occasion there was at least some mitigation for Schleck’s display given injuries he sustained in his heavy fall in Thursday’s time trial.
While Schleck broke no bones in that crash, he did suffer a heavy blow to his ribcage and right side, and said that he felt the effects of his road rash every time he tried to climb out of the saddle.
“I didn’t have too many problems when I was riding in the mountains – I had my place in the peloton and I was able to ride along and I didn’t suffer too much,” Schleck said from the steps of his team bus afterwards. “The problem was after corners, when I had to get out of the saddle and accelerate. So I ended up doing more or less 90% of the stage sitting down.”
Asked if he had considered abandoning the Dauphiné in the wake of his accident, Schleck admitted that he had already deprived himself of too many racing days this season. Illness forced him out of Paris-Nice after just two stages and he subsequently withdrew from the Volta a Catalunya.
“I’ve abandoned too many times this year already,” he said with a half smile. “Earlier in the season, you can ask yourself what’s the best option. But now the Tour is in four weeks so it’s a case of no turning back. You have to go straight on.”
Given his litany of seemingly miraculous resurrections of condition in the final throes of his Tour preparation, Schleck prefers to ignore the perennial wailing and gnashing of teeth that accompanies analysis of his June performances.
“The most important thing is that I’m getting the kilometres in and doing some mountains,” he insisted. “It’s also good that I didn’t break anything yesterday and I rode the stage today. It wasn’t possible to do something today. Maybe it will be better tomorrow, but in any case I’m happy to be here.”
Saturday sees the Dauphiné peloton tackle the Col de Joux Plane en route to Morzine. With six ascents on the menu, it’s the toughest stage of the race, and Schleck acknowledged that he would like to have at least one day rubbing shoulders with his Tour rivals in the mountains.
“If I get to the foot of the Joux Plane near the front and without the same problems that I had today then I’ll try to stay with the best,” he said.
The best so far have been Cadel Evans (BMC) and Bradley Wiggins (Sky) – the Tour champion and the man thought most likely to steal his crown come July. Perhaps in a reflection his own more gradual approach to the Tour, Schleck tipped Wiggins for Dauphiné victory but wondered if the Briton had reached top form too soon ahead of the Tour.
“From what I saw of the time trial yesterday, Evans isn’t 100 per cent yet, whereas Wiggins is on top of his game. I don’t think there’s anyone who can beat Wiggins here given the way that he’s riding,” Schleck said, before casting a cautious eye towards July.
“It’s very early though, so I still think Evans is the favourite for the Tour. Maybe it’s Wiggins on paper at the moment, but I think there’s a long way to go. I don’t think Wiggins can go any faster in a time trial than he did yesterday. It’s very early.”
Almost 30 minutes down in 129th place, Schleck will certainly be hoping that is the case.
In RSNT news, Chris Horner has said that the Schleck brothers are the GC riders for the Tour. After his crash last tear, I was hoping to see Horner as a contender, but he would also make an amazing Domestique.
Horner staying stateside ahead of Tour de France
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/horner-staying-stateside-ahead-of-tour-de-france)RadioShack-Nissan's Chris Horner is eschewing the normal Critérium du Dauphiné or Tour de Suisse preparation races for the Tour de France, choosing instead to remain home in San Diego, California to train in hopes he will be chosen for the team in July.
Horner has had to rehabilitate a minor back injury he had after his unsuccessful attempt to defend his 2011 Tour of California title, but is back on track for July. "The muscles tightened up on me, and I needed some rest," Horner told Cyclingnews. "I strained something that happened in the past and it flares up from time to time. I had to take a week to relax and I'm back on the bike so everything's fine, and it certainly isn't affecting my ability to train."
The down side of being home is that his teammates are showing themselves in the June races to the directeurs sportif who will decide the team for the Tour de France, while Horner will have to rely on their belief in his form and his abilities.
"I've been riding well all year, and I'm on the same program as last year where I went straight from the Tour of California to the Tour de France, so I'm not too worried about it. But it's something for the directors to decide."
Having placed ninth in the 2010 Tour and close to the main contenders, were it not for a crash, in the 2009 Giro d'Italia, Horner's climbing and time trialing abilities would make him a general classification contender for most teams, but in RadioShack-Nissan he knows his only role is that of a support rider for the Schleck brothers.
"Andy and Fränk Schleck are definitely the GC guys for the team. Where I stand in the Tour is [as support] in the mountains. I want the team to win the Tour de France. My goals have always been with what serves the team."
The results so far this spring have not promised that the Schleck brothers can contend for the win, however, in particular over the course of the more than 100km of time trialing they will face in July. Horner says that if Andy Schleck wants to win, he will have to win in the mountains.
"Everybody knows that Andy has to win in the mountains, [Bradley] Wiggins has to win in the time trial, and [Cadel] Evans can do both," Horner said.
Wiggins is currently holding a commanding lead in the Critérium du Dauphiné, but until tomorrow's mountainous stage it is unknown how he will fare when the climbers get on their own turf.
"It will be interesting to see if Wiggins goes really good in the mountains now, or if he's going to rely on the time trial. Cadel can climb with the best if he isn't the best, and he can time trial close to Wiggins as well. If you look at Andy from two years ago, nobody could climb with him, and he didn't lose massive time in the time trial. If he can get the form from two years ago when he won the Tour he'll be the hands down favorite."
Horner has ridden in service of several team leaders: from his days with Evans at Predictor-Lotto, to Astana with Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong and on to RadioShack with the Schlecks. He contrasted the leadership style of these men, underscoring RadioShack's belief in Andy Schleck for this year.
"The only race I've done with Andy are the Classics, but I think everyone on the team likes him and understands how good he is. I think it will be easy for him to have the whole team behind him. I've been on teams with Cadel, he's more quiet and just doing his part and the team has to do their part. With Alberto he was more forward with what he wanted and expected, so that was simple. I've ridden enough with Andy to know the team believes in his abilities. I wouldn't be surprised if it was [Fabian] Cancellara that really controls the team and puts them where they need to be."
Cancellara was critical to Horner's success at this year's Tirreno-Adriatico. Horner led the race into the final time trial, where he was overtaken by Vincenzo Nibali. "When I raced with Cancellara at Tirreno-Adriatico, he made my job really easy. He really took over and controlled the team and put them where I needed them to be, and when it was time to do my job, I did my job. So I wouldn't be surprised if he had a big impact on what the team does during the Tour de France.
"When we had the cobbled stage in the Tour de France (in 2010) it was Cancellara who was really controlling the Saxo Bank team and keeping Andy out of trouble in the cobbles and crosswinds sections before we got into mountains. You could clearly see that Cancellara had a dominant role in the team looking after Andy."
Andy Schleck is currently suffering the after-effects of a crash in the time trial, which concerns Horner more than his time losses prior to that point in the Critérium du Dauphiné. "Of course the crash in the time trial is a concern, but him easing up in the stages is not a concern. He's not riding 100 percent and getting dropped out the back, he's sitting up and saving the form. What we see is absolutely no concern in terms of what I think he will be prepared to ride like in the Tour de France."
His teammate's current troubles are a stark reminder of Horner's own devastating crash in last year's Tour, where he suffered a concussion and rode to the finish in a daze. Even more harrowing was the blood clot that later surfaced in his lungs and could have proven fatal. The clot meant he had to spend six months on blood thinners, during which time he could not race.
"It wasn't that I lost fitness, it was that I couldn't afford to crash - and if you race your bike, you are going to crash. I could train with precautions, but it wasn't an option to race. The first race back in Tirreno went well, The Tour of the Basque country was OK, and although the Tour of California was kind of a nightmare in the time trial, other than that, clearly my form was every bit as good if not better than the other guys in the race.
"Now it's up to the directors and of course Johan to decide if I go to the Tour."
At age 40, going on 41 in October, Horner still isn't ready to say this will be his last Tour de France if he is chosen for the team. "No, I don't think so. Certainly there is power left in the legs, and that's all that concerns me. You can always work around any other problems, but when the legs quit going fast then that's when your career's over."
His comments echo those of his teammate Jens Voigt, who is just five weeks older than Horner. Who will retire first? Horner let out a hearty laugh. "We've joked about that before. I would be afraid to say. I was quite impressed with Jens at the Tour of California and from what I saw at Tour of Luxembourg. I've wanted to be teammates with him for many years, so it's been quite a pleasure for me to spend even a small amount of time with him as teammates during my career."
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