We take a look at the early comings and goings as the cycling transfer season gets under way.
A look at the first week of transfers
A crucial time in any season, August 1st marks the date where professional teams can begin to sign riders for the coming year.
Cycling’s international governing body (the UCI) mandates this ‘transfer window’ and as a result, creates an intense period where rumour and speculation often get mixed up with fact.
Despite August 1st being the date circled on the calendar, teams and riders are free to talk at any point throughout the season, meaning that deals inked during the transfer period have likely been in negotiation for a number of months.
GreenEdge
New on the scene for the 2012 season are the Australian outfit GreenEdge. Headed up by Shayne Bannan, the ambitious team has styled itself as a prospective ‘national’ team on the road, making it an attractive option to the army of Aussies in the peloton.
The first men to be announced by the squad were the long-rumoured trio of
Jack Bobridge and brothers
Cameron and
Travis Meyer – all three plucked from Garmin-Cervelo.
The news did not come as a surprise to many given the presence of former Garmin Sports Director and fellow Australian Matt White within a team that plans to slot straight into the WorldTour.
Bobridge is the reigning Australian national champion and along with 2011 Tour Down Under winner Cameron Meyer, will expect to feature prominently on the track at the 2012 Olympic Games.
With the team expected to sign somewhere in the region of 25 men it is no wonder that every rider with an Australian license has been linked with a move – the question is who will sign next?
Quick Step
One of the most intriguing pieces of news to break as far as transfers are concerned was not that of a rider, but the announced merger between two Belgian teams.
The split between the two title sponsors of Omega Pharma-Lotto looks to have created two squads for next season as Lotto branch out on their own while Omega Pharma join forced with Quick Step.
The creation of a Belgian ‘super team’ of sorts looks to be backed up with some swift and shrewd early signings from Patrick Lefevre’s outfit, albeit largely not of Belgian descent.
The team were quick to snap up the
Velits brothers (Peter and Martin) from HTC-Highroad. The Slovakian twins have ridden together for their entire career and have forged a strong reputation, particularly Peter who surprised everyone to take third place at the Vuelta Espana last Autumn.
Joining the brothers in signing two-year deals are top Polish talents
Michal Kwiatkowski and
Michal Golas. The 21-year-old Kwiatkowski moved up to the WorldTour for 2011 with RadioShack and a pair of third places in the Three Days of De Panne and Three Days of West Flanders marked out the prospect as the real deal.
Equally significant to the team are the signatures of existing riders, as Belgian superstar
Tom Boonen, French national champion
Sylvain Chavanel and Grand Tour prospect
Kevin De Weert all re-affirmed their commitment to Lefevre.
HTC-Highroad
You could almost hear mobile phones begin to start ringing as owner Bob Stapleton announced that HTC-Highroad would cease to exist at the end of the season.
The death of the most successful cycling team in recent history has flooded the market with two-wheeled talent. Naturally speculation is rife about the future of sprinter Mark Cavendish, yet the destination of a number of riders is just as intriguing.
Up-and-coming talent such as Tejay Van Garderen and John Degenkolb will no doubt spark a flurry of interest, as will the future of powerful stage race contender Tony Martin and Milan-Sanremo winner Matt Goss.
RadioShack
RadioShack are another team looking to the future and have been quick to bring in fresh faces for what will be the team’s first full season without Lance Armstrong on the roster. Arriving ahead of a new phase for Johan Bruyneel’s team are
Tony Gallopin and
Gianni Meersman. Both men are speed merchants and make the step up from Pro-Continental outfits Cofidis and FDJ respectively. The loss of Gallopin showed how transfer season can be less than harmonious with Cofidis manager Eric Boyer unable to resist a jibe at counterpart Bruyneel.
Staying put
Often as important as who will depart to pastures new, a number of big-name re-signings were quickly announced as teams looked to stave off competition and nail down their roster for the coming 12 months.
Arguably the most significant signature from those choosing to stay on is that of
Cadel Evans. The Tour de France winner raised eyebrows during this very period in 2009 by opting to move to the upstart BMC Racing team. That decision has paid off handsomely and it was no surprise to see the Australian re-up through 2014.
During the Tour de France Team Sky were handed a big boost with the announcement that
Geraint Thomas had agreed to extend with the team until the end of 2014. Thomas was not the only Brit to nail his colours to the mast, with
David Millar signing an extension to his own deal at Garmin-Cervelo.
More to come
Youth is also being handed a chance as teams vie for the signatures of the next generation of talent. Among those announced as turning pro for 2012 are the punchy Frenchman
Roman Bardet (Ag2r) and the first Eritrean rider to join the WorldTour ranks,
Daniel Teklehaymanot (GreenEdge).
With huge question marks over the future of Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) – owner of 14 wins this season – as well as Tour de France star Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), Cavendish and a whole host of others, the transfer momentum shows no sign of slowing up.
With riders putting pen to paper with every passing day stay tuned to
Skysports.com for all the big announcements.
