Kreuziger, Contador, Schlecks, Cancellara on the move
The transfer market has unofficially opened ahead of the Tour de France and Italy’s top team, Liquigas, is reshaping, according to newspaper Tuttosport.
Roberto Amadio’s Liquigas team will centre around two riders in 2011: Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali. The future of the sponsor was confirmed and both of the riders’ contracts were renewed through 2013 during last month’s Giro d’Italia.
Italy’s Basso won the Giro d’Italia and is preparing for his return to the Tour de France next month. In the next two years, he will help Italian Nibali win the Tour de France.
Czech Roman Kreuziger has a contract through 2011, but the Tour de France contender has plans to join Garmin or Astana. Regardless which team, Kreuziger’s Liquigas team-mate Aleksandr Kuschynski is destined for Astana.
Tour de France champion Alberto Contador may leave Astana for Caisse d’Epargne, who is without a general classification leader following the suspension of Alejandro Valverde. Contador would take with him two faithful team-mates, Jesús Hernández and Benjamin Noval.
Caisse d’Epargne General Manager Eusebio Unzúe has to find a new sponsor as Caisse d’Epargne is on the way out at the end of the year. The replacement could be Banco Santander, which is already one of the sponsors of Contador’s friend, F1 pilot Fernando Alonso.
Spaniard David Arroyo, in pink for five days at the Giro d’Italia, may be freed by the arrival of Contador and ride as a helper to Basso and Nibali at Liquigas.
Italian Franco Pellizotti will leave Liquigas one way or another. He has a suspension hanging over his head due to dodgy biological passport readings, but he is interested in becoming the classification rider for Lampre if the case is cleared. Lampre-Farnese has lost Gilberto Simoni to retirement and Damiano Cunego will likely leave to Sky.
Liquigas’ sprinters Daniele Bennati, Francesco Chicchi and Fabio Sabatini have contracts up for renewal. The team is only interested in keeping one and Katusha is interested in signing Chicchi as a replacement for Robbie McEwen.
Manuel Quinziato and Alessandro Vanotti contracts are also up, but Amadio is ready to renew them. Daniel Oss, Peter Sagan, Valerio Agnoli and Sylvester Szmyd are all confirmed for 2011.
Bjarne Riis also needs to renew contracts, but has to find a replacement sponsor first. American company SunGard is first in line, but it needs to confirm quickly or Riis wil lose his stars. Fabian Cancellara may join Cadel Evans’ BMC Racing team and the Schleck brothers – Fränk and Andy – are possibly setting up a new Luxembourg team with Kim Anderson.