Bjarne Riis commented on his former captains, Contador, Basso and Hamilton
Bjarne Riis will continue with his managerial role with Team Saxo Bank-Sungard in the coming season. The Dane commented on his former team captains through the years, rating Alberto Contador first and Ivan Basso at the second position.
Riis started cycling professionally in 1986 and rode with the teams Roland, Lucas, Toshiba, Castorama, Ceramiche Ariostea, Gewiss-Ballan and Team Telecom, before announcing his retirement towards the end of 1999.
He has 18 World Tour appearances to his credit, 7 Giros, 9 Tours and 2 Vuelta participations make him one of the few players to reach that level.
His best performance, however, came during the Tour de France 1996 as he won the event, beating the German cyclist Jan Ullrich by 1 minute and 14 seconds. Riis also has two Giro d’ Italia and four Tour de France stage wins under his belt.
The Dane reached new heights of his career as he decided to take on a managerial role. He is now considered to be one of the best professional managers and is assisting Saxo Bank-Sungard with his expertise.
Riis, now 47, rated Contador as the best cyclist of all times. He said, “Alberto is just the perfect match in all fields: he has talent, he has a unique physical presence on a bike, he has an unparalleled focus and a work ethic without equal. He also knows
how to relax”.
He further added that Contador reminds him of the great cycling legend, Eddy Merckx.
Bjarne mentioned that Ivan Basso is the second best rider after Contador; he is professional, structured and serious.
He briefed, “Before Alberto, I had never met anyone who was as structured, serious and professional as Ivan. He trained so much that it bordered on the extreme. Sometimes I tried to hold him back a little because it was too much”.
After Contador and Basso, Riis rated Tyler Hamilton as his next favourite because of his overall performances throughout the professional career. He commented about Tyler, “He has a big heart. He is a good man”.
Saxo Bank manager also revealed that Andy Schleck needs to be more serious towards his approach in order to ensure the overall win at the Tour de France.
Riis is looking ahead for a positive start to 2012 and is keen to beat the strong RadioShack-Nissan-Trek squad in the coming season.
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