Saxo Bank, Garmin play shuffle
Transfer season continues to develop but it’s at a stage when deals have to be made before it’s too late. Saxo Bank and Rabobank have been at the centre of the process, as the former team hosted the runner-up to the Tour de France and soon after acquired the winner of the Tour de France, while the formation of the Schleck Brothers’ Luxembourg-based team and the dissolution of the Cervelo TestTeam have made serious waves as well.
Saxo Bank made a master stroke in signing Alberto Contador, which saved the team from the loss of Andy Schleck and his brother Frank. The Schlecks took along a large contingent of their best supporters from their former team to form a new Luxembourg-based squad. Saxo Bank continues to make up for the loss and looks to have already established its very different 2011 incarnation as a major team in itself.
25-year-old Austalian David Tanner is the latest acquisition for Saxo Bank, coming off a great season with Fly V Australia.
"David is a fantastic, mature, and powerful all-rounder with a winner's instinct and team mentality that matches the team,” said Bjarne Riis, Saxo Bank team manager. “Saxo Bank/SunGard is basically a good fit for him and I'm looking forward to taking part in developing his big talent."
"I'm very excited about this huge opportunity and obviously, coming to one of the best teams in the world is going to be an exciting experience and a great honor for me,” said Tanner. “I'm looking forward to working together with Bradley [McGee], Bjarne, and the rest of the staff and riders who can make me even stronger."
The Australian team has managed a masterful move of their own. Coinciding with the departure of Tanner, Fly V Australian signed world silver medallist Svein Tuft from the ProTour team Garmin-Transitions. The Canadian pro cyclist was offered a contract in the hope of strengthening their application to begin the 2011 season as a ProTour team. Tuft is coming off a good season with stage wins and top five finishes in the Enoco Tour and the Tour of Denmark.
Tuft is the second signing from Garmin, but team general manager Chris White continues to chase big names, specifically mentioning Heinrich Haussler and Brett Lancaster of the Cervelo TestTeam. It’s a rare thing for a Pro Continental team to take riders from a ProTour team, but White believes he can match the sporting standards in time for the application. He has already acquired the proper funding with the help of Pegasus Racing.
With two down to Fly V Australia, Garmin has signed six riders out of the Cervelo Test Team, more than making up for the deficit. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters has acquired Thor Hushovd, one of the best sprinters in the world, as well as the other’s title sponsor to his team. Garmin-Transitions will become Garmin-Cervelo in 2011.
"We will have a strong Classics squad without a doubt," said Vaughters to Cyclingnews. "There is still Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen who will want to win the Classics, though."
Garmin has been at the forefront of the anti-doping movement, founded four years ago with a strict code of ethics. Vaughters doesn’t expect there to be any problems with the new Cervelo riders, since they come from a team which was a member of the Movement for Credible Cycling, an even stricter organization than the World Anti-Doping Association. He also doesn’t expect the riders to struggle for prominence, seeing them as complementary rather than soloists.
"Tyler [Farrar] is a pure sprinter, he's very good at knocking around with 180 guys, while Thor is a sprinter for a select group. I see more overlap between Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler, but those two have already proven to be really effective teammates. It will be really important to establish a strong team bond early in the year, and if we can do that we can win a lot of races. It will be a challenge, but I like a good challenge."
Tags: