[Teams] Vino I Will Return to Astana, or Heads Will Roll

[yello]

Armstrong & Bruyneel "free to form their own team".

Now tell me, in all seriousness, how this is NOT going to effect Astana for the TdF. I reckon it's heading for implosion.

 

[John the Monkey]

Now tell me, in all seriousness, how this is NOT going to effect Astana for the TdF. I reckon it's heading for implosion.

Gosh, I hope not, that would be awful for such a nice bunch of lads.

 

[simon_brooke]

Go Vino!

Actually I can't help finding this funny. Vino sets up a Kazakh national team with himself as leader, and pulls in all his old friends from T-Mo - including, presumably, the (er'hrrm) backup staff. Vino then over-indulges in the products of the backup staff and gets himself suspended. Armstrong decides to come back to racing and, obviously, looks to join the team with the best backup staff...

Vino is absolutely on the ball here. If Kazakhstan is paying for a Kazakh national team, how come there are no Kazakh riders? It is his ball, and he can take it home. Meantime whoever his Lanceness had found to cough up for his new team '100% Ego' obviously didn't like the taste of the cough medicine.

I used to enjoy watching Vino racing. Not because I thought he was a good sportsman - he was clearly never a team player and would never ride for anyone but himself - but because he would mix it, stir it up, break up other people's strategies, and generally cause chaos. He hasn't changed, he's just moved from causing chaos on the road to causing chaos in the board room.

And it's a great spectator sport!

 

[Skip Madness]

Vino is absolutely on the ball here. If Kazakhstan is paying for a Kazakh national team, how come there are no Kazakh riders?

There are ten Kazakh riders in the Astana team - Assan Bazayev, Valeriy Dmitiriyev, Alexsandre Diachenko, Maxim Iglinskiy, Dmitriy Muravyev, Bolat Raimbekov, Sergey Renev, Roman Kireyev, Berik Kupeshov and Andrey Zeits.

 

[rich p]

There are ten Kazakh riders in the Astana team - Assan Bazayev, Valeriy Dmitiriyev, Alexsandre Diachenko, Maxim Iglinskiy, Dmitriy Muravyev, Bolat Raimbekov, Sergey Renev, Roman Kireyev, Berik Kupeshov and Andrey Zeits.

Don't be silly, Skip, that's a bunch of Scrabble tiles!

 

[simon_brooke]

There are ten Kazakh riders in the Astana team - Assan Bazayev, Valeriy Dmitiriyev, Alexsandre Diachenko, Maxim Iglinskiy, Dmitriy Muravyev, Bolat Raimbekov, Sergey Renev, Roman Kireyev, Berik Kupeshov and Andrey Zeits.

And how many of those will ride in the Tour de France?

Exactly one.

 

[Will1985]

It hardly matters as Bruyneel, Armstrong and co will move off to set up Nike-Livestrong or whatever it was rumoured to be. Contador will go somewhere else like Caisse d'Epargne, and leave the cheat Vinokourov to flounder with his fantasy team attending unpublicised continental races.

The sooner it happens, the better.

 

[Will1985]

And how many of those will ride in the Tour de France?

Exactly one.

Even then it is political. If Bruyneel had his way it would have been Horner.

 

[Skip Madness]

And how many of those will ride in the Tour de France?

Exactly one.

But this undermines the argument that the Kazakhs aren't getting a good return on their investment. If it was just run as a Kazakh national team they probably wouldn't be at the Tour de France at all.