It has been a busy week with plenty of developments to get tongues wagging. While I'm watching the ticker and keeping an eye on the eurosport.com streaming of the Vattenfall Cyclassics race, here are some of the notable stories of the last week.
Unibet Disbands
We start with the announcement that Unibet.com will be disbanding at the end of the 2007 season. This was the kind of news that many felt was inevitable and, sure enough, the reason given was due to the exclusions from the season's Grand Tours and other Pro Tour events. The injustice surrounding this case should have caused much greater outrage than it seems to have done, in my opinion.
Team Roamfree Are the Aussies coming
Rumblings from Down Under that a sponsership deal has been brokered to throw $20 million at the formation of a possible Australian Pro Tour team with the aim of having it in place by the 2009 season. Now, there's nothing like positive thoughts to make dreams come true but the statement on the Cycling Australia website probably epitomises optimism with this : It’s official - Australia is going to enter the Tour de France. This would have come as a surprise to ASO officials, I'm sure.
Zabel & Valverde "Unwelcome" in Stuttgart
Although World Championships committee president Susanne Eisenmann announced that Eric Zabel and Alejandro Valverde would not be welcome at Stuttgart due to their connection (Zabel because of admissions of EPO use in the 1990s and Valverde because of allegations of involvement in Operacion Puerto), both men are still targetting the event. It's still very much a case of will they or won't they. I'm pretty sure, though, that being told they are unwelcome will be little deterrent if they are selected by their respective national teams.
Andreas Kloden Looking For a Team
If ever there was a guy who has deeply regretted signing with a team it must be Andreas Kloden. I would be surprised if T-Mobile showed any interest in welcoming him back given their determination to fly the anti-doping flag. Surely any rider coming from the Astana debacle will be tarred with the same brush of suspicion.
Where Will Devolder Go?
Meanwhile, Stijn Devolder is a much sought after man. With Discovery Channel not around next year, the grab for valued cyclists has begun and the word is that 4 teams have raced over to Devolder, grabbed him by the arm and called "Mine!". Apparently QuickStep - Innergetic are favoured to win his hand in cycling for season 2008.
Crash, Bang, Wallop!
The usual litany of woes that make up the risks of being a professional cyclist continue with another week of injuries to report. Matty White copped a fractured skull while out training - it seems the canine breed has nabbed another scalp. Eric Baumann (T-Mobile) broke his shoulder in a training accident. And most graphically, Rigoberto Uran suffered multiple fractured elbows in an accident while on a descent in the Tour of Germany. Cycling Fans Anonymous has a more complete list of the scrapes and bruises.
Winners for the Week
Jen Voigt (Team CSC) - Tour of Germany
Juan Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) - Vuelta a Burgos
Xavier Tondo (LA MSS) - Volta a Portugal
John Gadret (AG2R Prevoyance) - Tour de l'Ain
