A jövőben a Paceline-os Chris Brewer és Cathy Mehl is az Astanat erősíti a továbbiakban, jeleleg Johann oldalán, majd később az Astana hivatalos honlapján.
Már csak Liz Kreutz és a fórum hiányzik és szinte minden a régi :-).
Az alábbiak szerint igencsak érdekházasságnak tűnik a dolog. Nem kell ide feltétlen bizalom, mint írod. Szerintem a következőek a motivációk a két fél részéről:
1 - Klödi kirúgása igencsak drága mulatság lett volna Johannak, nyilván az Astana lenne ez esetben a vétkes fél, és fizethetne vastagon a szponzor. Biztosan van valami olyan pont Klöden szerződésében, ami az esetleges kártalanításról szól... A két ismeretlen kazah versenyzővel ezt még meg lehetett csinálni, de Klödi meg túl nagy név ahhoz, túl jó szerződéssel...
2 - Klödi nem talált volna olyan csapatot, ahol csak megközelítőleg is annyit kereshetne, mint itt, ezért inkább maradt. Emlékezzünk, mekkora pénzekkel érkezett a szponzor anno, és egyből egy rakás keresett versenyzőt szerzett meg, az akkori hírek szerint 3-4-szeres fizetésekért, mint más csapatokban. És Klöden volt az egyik nagy név.
Az más kérdés, hogy ez Klöditől nem biztos, hogy jó döntés volt. Savo pl tudott váltani, mert jött Johann, pedig gyanítom, ő se kereshetett keveset az Astanánál. Klöden karrierje szempontjából ez szerintem hibás lépés volt, csúnyán fogalmazva ezzel elkártyázta a tehetségét. Contador és Leipheimer mögött legjobb esetben is csak harmadik számú hegedűs lesz, ha még nem rosszabb... Ne legyen igazam!
A First Endurance nevű vitaminokat és táplálékkiegészítőket gyártó céggel szerződött a csapat, egészen pontosan az Optygen-HP nevő készítményt fogják használni. Ez az izmok oyigénfelvevő képességét javítja.
Talán mondanom sem kell, honnan volt meg Johannak a cég telefonszáma - ezt a terméket is használta a Disco. :-) Egyébként a Gerolsteiner és a Priority Health csapat is használja a cég készítményeit
Igen, ebből nagyon úgy tűnik, hogy csak muszájból alkalmazza. Csak azt nem értem, hogy Klödinek voltak ajánlatai ásoktól is. Nyilván kell legyen valamilyen szintű bizalom, ha megegyeztek.
Ugyanakkor egyértelmű, hogy a botránymentes év a cél, szinte az eredménytől függetlenül.
Köszi az interjút! Igazán érdekes, nem az a sablon szöveg, ami általában megjelenik a sajtóban. És választ kaphatunk a miért éppen Albuquerque? kérdésre. :-) "Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy" - nem hangzik rosszul. :-)
Bruyneeel-interjú (forrás, az angol fordítást az egyik kedves Pacelineos fórumozó készítette)
Bruyneel: After sitting three weeks I go crazy
It was a special year for Johan Bruyneel. He wanted Ivan Basso to win the Tour, but it was Alberto Contador. Then he announced his retirement. But since October, he is back as a manager of the battle at scandal laden Team Astana.
"Everyone says now: Astana yes, a scandal laden team. I cannot change what has happened. I can only ensure where Astana finally goes. I am not bothered by the image of Astana. The hullabaloo lookers are like that," says Johan Bruyneel (43) to his mother Georgette and to his growling and coughing brother Alain who manages the parental jewelry business in Izegem. He spent the time between old and new there with his Spanish wife, Eva-Maria, and his three-year-old daughter Victoria. "It is the first time this year that he has been here" observes his mother. 'Sometimes he calls to say that he meets in Brussels. But that's not Izegem."
This seems to be the final destination for the former neighbor of ex-Real football player Ivan Helguera. 'In these short twenty years, much here has changed. I barely even know people. In 1994 I went to Spain, when it was still a cheap investment. First, I lived between Alicante and Valencia, then I went to Valencia. Spain is a good place to live. The weather is a determining factor for me. I would no longer be able to live in Flanders. In winter here is always the feeling that they have forgotten to switch on the light. I live in the mountains, at a thousand meters altitude. When I left it was minus two, but there is always a predominantly blue sky. "
But we have to talk concerning the bizarre year you came to have. In spite of everything that happened you were flying high as Sports Director. Figuring moderately, this was the best season ever. 39 victories, nobody did better. First and third in the Tour. This was better than in the Armstrong age. The difference between Armstrong and Contador is still six Tour victories, but Alberto is also a winner and a leader. He has the character of a champion. "
But that was not enough to snare a new American multinational [sponsor]. "In early 2007 we knew Discovery Channel would cease. The CEO was abondoning. Still I had faith. The general situation of this sport, however, is against investors. There were many contacts, but it always ended with: what are the guarantees you can give? None. I was around 95 per cent with an American sponsor. He visited twice in the Tour, but I could not assure him that he would ride the 2008 Tour. End of story. And then there were the doping scandals."
If even Lance Armstrong no longer can raise money in the United States. "Nobody just gives away ten million euros. Such an investment must produce. Tell me what new cosponsor is to be added? Not a single one. Then, we have an amount between one and three million euros. In the first place, no new scandals may emerge. Each top performance is being questioned. Today's perception will not change overnight. "
Over the last nine years you had absolutely no positive case, but with Ivan Basso as an Operación Puerto client, you were still wrong. You caught the spell-blazings of colleagues on the neck. 'That was already normal. Cooperation with Armstrong and the dominance of the team already invitied jealousy. The transfer of Basso was a mistake, even though he had been acquitted by the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) when I recruited him. The big boss, Billy Campbell, was a fan of Basso. From March, I felt plenty wrong with Ivan. That can happen with new relationships. I didn't know Basso. As I also do not know Andreas Klöden. With people with whom I have worked since 1999, I know how they think. With Lance Armstrong, I was never surprised. "
Then you decided to walk away from it when that candidate-sponsor stopped the negotiations. 'The idea grew even before the Tour. On the first rest day I beckoned to Dirk Demol. I asked him to take over the flag. At that moment Contador was still not a Tour-winner candidate. Over the duration, you are purified, are saturated. I hated nothing about the job, but the fire was gone. Seven Tour victories of seven with Armstrong, then a lesser year, now again well-aimed.Then you to wonder: what more can I do? Another Tour win with Contador? And then? "
A few weeks later you emerged at Astana. Is that your definition of stopping at the zenith? "I have stopped. I have no more contact with the riders. So Leipheimer asks me for his course diagram. That is not my job, sorry. We have a very strong team, but my challenge no longer lies on the sports field."
Could you not live without that course world? "I am not a man now to sit at home. After three weeks I become crazy. Since fifteen this is my life. In those 28 years you get specialized. Then the opportunities go away. Or you take the time to form yourself in a different world. Twice I have stopped. The first time in August 1998, as a professional rider. Three weeks later Lance Armstrong hangs on the line. This time the call from Ekimov for Astana came two weeks later."
Then you pull into a wasps nest like Astana. From America to Kazakhstan. "I first have to see if they mean serious business. That was logical after such a catastrophic stopping of the Tour. In 2006 they could not start, though in June they had leaped into the breach for Vinokourov and Kashechkin. Now [2007], they had to leave. Their conviction was crucial for me. Especially the passion of Minister of Defense, Danial Achmetov, pulled me over the line. Cycling is his hobbyhorse. As chairman of the national federation he builds a brand new track of 150 million dollars. A jewel. Akhmetov has a set up a cycling structure. There are 5000 riders, sixteen cycling schools, a number of clubs, two semi-professional teams and Astana. The engagement continues now until 2010. That bad start must be gotten rid of.'
Or have you gone for the presence of hard dollars? There are rumors that you can create a lot of money. "Money certainly plays, but I do not do this on that basis alone. The challenge attracted me. We are starting from less than zero. There was a lot of work to be done. I fortunately had the knowledge, personnel and the structure of Discovery Channel. Eventually I drew eight riders in with me and about twenty personnel. "
What were your instructions? 'Nothing. They told to me that they trusted me. I got one hundred percent carteblanche. It is a transitional year. Performances are actually not the priority. I hope for a calm, scandal free season. Astana has the same need as the entire cycling sport. In spite of the annual budget of 12 million euros, I have not even guarantee that we ride the Tour. You have, however, the perception of the past two years [working] against Astana. "I never do choose easy challenges. With opposition I function my best. Like with Armstrong. The biggest mistake we made with Lance is in creating the myth nobody could keep pace in the mountains during his Tour preparation. Had we allowed the media, then everyone would have seen how he worked himself to death. 75 percent of the suspicion would have been omitted. Such secrecy was our psychological weapon for the opposition. Armstrong rode l'Alpe d'Huez six times. Had he done it well, however? Armstrong was a superchampion character who overcame cancer. How do you set a course against such a man? Through that myth, he won the Tour in 2003 when there were pehaps five better than him. Nobody dared attack him. " That mysteriousness is omitted from Astana. It must be that way everywhere. In the meantime, much good has happened. The biological passport for the teams is a mutual gift from heaven. We must no longer be shooting each other, but look each other in the eye and say: this is a problem, how do we solve it? We must be rivals in the competition, but partners outside of it."
What guarantees do you have that the stain of Vino and Kashechkin is not at work under the skin in Astana? "I have particular guarantees on paper. I do it in my own manner. If it does not succeed, then I withdraw my decisions and move on. I do not think it will go that far. This must become a team with the Johan Bruyneel philosophy. I bring my baggage of the past nine years with me. This does not become a copy of Discovery Channel. The general situation of the sport does not allow it."
Like Riis you tapped the Danish doping hunter Rasmus Damsgaard. Is it not awful that an employer must march out 300,000 Euros to be able to trust its employees? 'Of course, but we have no other choice. The Damsgaard system is currently the best. He is already at work for us. The contracts with the riders are quite strict. A positive case is not necessary to end an agreement."
With Andreas Klöden you have an additional tour rider. Do you not fear a new Basso case now that Werner Franke claims the whole Tour team of T-Mobile doped in the 2006 Tour? 'Klöden tells me that he has nothing to mend. He has, I believe, never been involved in an affair. One of the UCI conditions was that I take over all of the current rider contracts. We are heavily armed against possible things from the past. If it appears that Klöden really was involved in something, then we react appropriately. "
On the way you lost Dirk Demol who chose for Quick Step-Innergetic and Stijn Devolder. "This was an enormous disillusionment. From day one, he was at the height of the Kazakh project. In the Tour, he knew that he would become the first team leader. Apparently, his thoughts changed. I respect his decision, but it did pain me. I also could not say: 'wait for me'. Everyone's contract was ending."
With Discovery Channel the screen also fell over Lance Armstrong and cycling. "I have a lot of contact with him. So I was in New York in December for my book (We Might as Well Win, ed.), which will appear in April. With the Tour victory of Contador we have added two more chapters to it." "Lance was on tour for the American troops in Iraq. He offered me his apartment. I do not think that he will ever return to this world. One day he can perhaps be a presidential candidate. He is too busy with his "Proposition Fifteen." He wants to collect ten billion dollars in the next ten years for cancer research. "
How does a Kazakh team obtain training camp in the American Albuquerque? "I am already there longer. In Albuquerque, they are working to design a new city. Mesa del Sol. with 35,000 new homes for 100,000 people. Centrally comes the Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy, funded by the State of New Mexico. This should become the College for the American cycling talent. It must be finished sometime next year."
A new challenge, if you stop once more. I have stopped. Then still very much on the high point.
Igen, ha jól emlékszem még az USPS weblapján is 14-e volt. :-) Gondoltam jobb előbb, mint később. Egyébként a weblapján szemérmesen elhallgatja a születési dátumát, szóval igazi rejtély Benoit...
Ősi Yeti népszokás a Kalendárium. A szurkolók megemlékeznek egy-egy kedvencük születésnapjáról, és utána _nem_ mennek el Skandináv lottót játszani. Hogy el ne vigyen a Nagy Bajkáli Lovas Yeti lássuk, miről is nevezetes a mai nap. :-)
Ezen a napon szabadalmaztatták a görkorcsolyát (1863), és hajtották végre az első sikeres vakbélműtétet (1885). E napon született Sir Isaac Newton (1643), Jacob Grimm (1785) és Louis Braille (1809).
De az Astana-fanok számára mégis inkább azért jeles nap a mai, mert születésnapját ünnepli az a versenyző, aki egyedüliként nevezheti hazainak a csapatot: Benoit Joachim. Az immáron 32 éves Luxemburgi kerekes talán kevésbé sikeres, mint a Schleck fivérek, ennek ellenére időről-időre bajnokságot tud nyerni akár időfutamban, akár mezőnyversenyben. Ráadásul már a neve is kész rejtvény, első (második, harmadik :-) ) hallásra komoly kihívás eldönteni, melyik a keresztneve. :-)
Még az előző munkahelyén, de már akkor is a kazah szurkolók kedvence (vagy fordítva? ) :-)
Off: de Kortról mindig az jut eszembe, hogy hamis reményeket keltett Idában. Egyszer küldtem egy képet neki, ami a liberty csapatát ábrázolta, amint felül semmi sót mutatnak be a tour de lankawin. A képen de Kort hátulról látszott, ezért jól érvényesült a szép hosszú, formás lábszára. Ida egész fellelkesedett, hogy ki ez hosszulábú fiú. Sajnos akkor elkövettem azt a műhibát, hogy küldtem egy olyan képet is, ami szemből ábrázolja a kissé zűrzavaros arcberendezésű hollandit. :-)
És amilyen rendes, megígérte,hogy a honlapjára a holland mellett angolul is felkerül majd minden, hogy jobban megértsék.
Baycrits series 3-1-2008
First of all, I wish everyone a very happy new year, all the best for 2008. From now on I will try to write everything in Dutch and English so that hopefully some more people can understand what I write on my website. I started the year with some friends in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, where i have been since halfway october, the start of the Herald Sun Tour. I rent an appartment with my teammate Aaron Kemps there and I will stay here until just after the Tour Down Under. I didn't have a very big night out for new years because on the first of january I already had to be at the airport in Bundaberg at 8am to fly to the Baycrits series. A series of 5 different criteriums of an hour around the bay of Melbourne. The Baycrits are known to be very hard because of a high quality field, short tight circuits and extreme heat. Some of the riders that ride here are O'Grady, Cooke, Wilson, Sutherland, Brown, Walker, Davis and a whole heap more good pro's. These crits are a very good training for the more important races of the season like the Aussie Nationals and the Tour Down Under. The first crit was in Williamstown, a square ciruit with 2 hard corners and 2 easier ones. It went very fast straight from the gun and it didn't slow down anymore until we made it to the finishline. I wasn't sure about my form before the race but I soon found out it wasn't that bad after all and I went with a couple of breaks. One of the more serious ones was in a group with Matt Wilson and Allan Davis about halfway into the race. It didn't last though and we got caught again and it looked like it was going to be a mass sprint. Only Baden Cooke was strong enough to stay in front of the bunch by himself and winning the race. I was somewhere halfway the bunch, not mixing up in the sprint at all. Today's second crit was a hard one in Portarlington with a circuit that was basically half uphill and half downhill, a real test for form. About halfway into the race the bunch really started to split up and more and more guys kept dropping out. In the last bit of the race there were only about 30 riders left. As the race went on I started to feel better and better. Unfortunately I punctured with around 10 laps to go. You are allowed to take a lap out for a wheel change but standing still for a lap while in full final really breaks your rhythm. It took a while for me to get going again and I got caught up in the back of our little bunch. Only the last two laps I started to go alright again but the bunch shattered and I past a lot of riders in front of me to make it to 10th in the race. The results are not too important for me although ít's nice to know that I've got pretty good form. This week of racing and another 2 weeks of training should get me more than ready for the Tour Down Under. See ya
Nem kellett sokat várni a csapat idei első győzelmére, már január 1-jén megszületett. A dolog egyetlen apró - mondhatni jelentéktelen - szépséghibája, hogy nem versenyző, hanem az egyik szakvezető követte el. :-)
Történ vala ugyanis, hogy Sean Yates, a deres hajú brit mester nyerte a Southborough és környéke újévi nyílt 10 mérföldes időfutamot. A versenyről annyit tudtam kideríteni, hogy - nem túl meglepő módon - egy 10 mérföld (~16 km) hosszú egyéni időfutam. :-) A rendezvény koedukált volt, azaz inkább egy újév-köszöntő fesztivál, semmint vérkomoly sportesemény. Erre utal az is, hogy a rajtlistán gyanúsan sok az ismétlődő családnév - többen családostul fesztiválozhattak - példának okáért Yates-ből is akad négy is. Az eredmény akár papírformának is mondható, legalább is Sean indult utrolsónak, azaz ő volt az elsőszámú kiemelt.
Mondhatni magasan van a léc fiúk számára, nem lehet azt mondani, hogy a főnökség csak elméletben tudja a szakmát. :-)
Valóban remek hír, jobban nem is kezdődhetne az év! :-)
A megkésett hírekből is lehet csemegézni, mégsem hintette be sóval Johan az elődje művét, Alexandr Shefer megmaradt direktornak. Mögötte se akármilyen karrier van...
Gallopin egyelőre háttérben maradt (szorult?), de Watson mester elől nem lehet elbújni. :-)
