The Signings and Transfers Thread 2015

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Do you mean, uninterested?

I know what I mean. You daffodil.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Take it outside you two.

You can fark off as well.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Oh OK, if you say so.

It's not worth it, something to do with something, buy you a pint, something else - I'm not accustomed to your southern ways of how it works but I hope that covers it

 

[themosquitoking]

It's Friday night, everyone has had a couple of pints and no one is leaving here until we find out who threw that hecking glass.

 

[tug benson]

Team sky


New signings:

Michal Golas, Benat Intxausti, Michal Kwiatkowski, Mikel Landa, Gianni Moscon Alex Peters and Danny van Poppel.

Contract renewals:

Ian Boswell, Philip Deignan, Sebastian Henao, Peter Kennaugh, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Mikel Nieve, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Xabier Zandio.

Under existing contract:

Andrew Fenn, Chris Froome, Sergio Henao, Leopold Konig, David Lopez, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Wout Poels, Salvatore Puccio, Nicolas Roche, Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas and Elia Viviani.

Departing riders:

Nathan Earle, Bernhard Eisel, Danny Pate, Richie Porte, Kanstantsin Siutsou and Chris Sutton.

 

[Hont]

Cav to MTN Qhubeka/Team Dimension Data sort of confirmed...

http://www.skysports.com/cycling/ne...et-to-finalise-move-to-mtn-qhubeka-on-tuesday

 

[Hont]

Departing riders:
...Kanstantsin Siutsou.

I'd missed that. Where's Siutsou going?

 

[Berk on a Bike]

I'd missed that. Where's Siutsou going?

Maybe he doesn't have a ride for 2016 yet. Explains his breakaway exploits at the Worlds yesterday. Shop window and all that...

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Seven-time Finnish RR champion Jussi Veikkanen will ride his last pro race this weekend and then join the backroom staff at FDJ

 

[dragon72]

Cav to MTN Qhubeka/Team Dimension Data sort of confirmed...

http://www.skysports.com/cycling/ne...et-to-finalise-move-to-mtn-qhubeka-on-tuesday

Cav's career continues in downward trajectory since the HTC-HighRoad glory days. Sure, he bagged a good number of wins in 2015. But sadly I don't think he'll ever be considered the undisputed fastest bicyclist on the planet again like he once was. He can moan all he wants about grand tour sprint stages finishing slightly uphill; his best is now behind him. A move to MTN Qhubeka kind of confirms it.

 

[mjr]

Craddock from giant to cannonballs http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/09/news/craddock-to-cannondale-garmin-in-2016_385208

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Cav's career continues in downward trajectory since the HTC-HighRoad glory days. Sure, he bagged a good number of wins in 2015. But sadly I don't think he'll ever be considered the undisputed fastest bicyclist on the planet again like he once was. He can moan all he wants about grand tour sprint stages finishing slightly uphill; his best is now behind him. A move to MTN Qhubeka kind of confirms it.

I'm always somewhat amused by the dismissal of Cavendish. He's 30 years old and he's achieved incredible results. He's perhaps the best GT sprinter ever. But apparently that's not good enough for some people. He will continue to win a good few races, not as many as he used to, but quite a few. And that's certainly worth the investment from a smaller team looking to move up, especially when he comes with his own dedicated sprint train (including Renshaw and Eisel).

The only thing is that I wish it wasn't Qhubeka, which seems to be moving further and further away from its supposed core mission of developing African cycling.

 

[lyn1]

I'm always somewhat amused by the dismissal of Cavendish. He's 30 years old and he's achieved incredible results. He's perhaps the best GT sprinter ever. But apparently that's not good enough for some people. He will continue to win a good few races, not as many as he used to, but quite a few. And that's certainly worth the investment from a smaller team looking to move up, especially when he comes with his own dedicated sprint train (including Renshaw and Eisel).

The only thing is that I wish it wasn't Qhubeka, which seems to be moving further and further away from its supposed core mission of developing African cycling.

Do you know if their core mission has changed since they were established, or has it always been the one stated on their site?

"MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung’s goal is to give talented African riders a path into the pro peloton while raising funds for Qhubeka."

This suggests there is no need for this to be an African team or even predominantly African. Nor do they need to specifically recruit established African riders already in the pro peloton, as long as they provide sufficient places for developing African riders. At the recent Worlds, Smith made the point that he was not looking to sign any of the best u23s, because they were not African and he was only able to sign developing riders from Africa..

 

[dragon72]

...plus I have to say, it was only recently with the bigger profile (thanks to Ciolek, EBH etc.) that I became aware of Qhubeka (the organisation, not the pro-cycling team) and that I became aware of what they're about which is providing bicycles to Africans. Now I reckon with the Cav signing, there'll be many more people aware, and that's no bad thing.

 

[dragon72]

He will continue to win a good few races, not as many as he used to

I wasn't Cav-bashing. Just saying that his best days are behind him. Which is kind of what you said too.