Personal sponsor Christina Hembo buys existing Continental team, will sign more riders soon
Michael Rasmussen’s personal sponsor Christina Hembo has sidestepped the difficulty of setting up a new squad around the Danish climber: she’s simply gone out and bought an existing Continental team. The former Female Entrepreneur of the Year pledged her continued support to the rider after an anticipated contract with Saxo Bank-SunGard failed to materialise, and tomorrow is set to announce details of the setup.
Hembo became Rasmussen’s personal sponsor earlier this year, and said that she would cover the wage payments due to him once he signed with a team for 2011. Despite this, and despite the fact that he was in discussions with the Saxo Bank-SunGard team for several months, he was unable to secure a contract for 2011. The new arrangement should ensure that he can race at a decent level in the season ahead, even if Grand Tours will be out of the question due to the team’s Continental licence.
Hembo has not yet revealed which team has been purchased, but said in a statement that it would be named Christian Watches rather than Christina Racing, the previous title Rasmussen raced under.
She designs watches and wants to avoid any confusion about what the title sponsor of the team does.
Further details will be announced at tomorrow’s press conference. She has indicated that more riders will be signed to the project in the weeks and months ahead.
Rasmussen is a double winner of the Tour de France King of the Mountains competition. He held yellow in the 2007 edition of the race and appeared almost certain to win, but was sent home after it emerged that he had lied about his whereabouts prior to the race. He served a two year ban and while he returned to racing in the autumn of 2009, has been unable to work out a deal with a ProTeam. This has led to suggestions that he has been blacklisted by the UCI, something the governing body denies.
Buying team could sidestep some logistical issues
The stated intention of Hembo and Rasmussen to set up a team was dismissed by several observers at the end of last month, including HTC Highroad’s Brian Holm.
He told Sporten.dk that he considered it a publicity stunt. “You can almost only smile at such plans,” he said. “If Hembo works really fast and gets ten million Kroner, then maybe a wildcard for the Tour of Luxembourg or Hessen Rundfahrt is an option.
“It is not an easy task to start a cycling team due to the whole organisational setup. Just for starters, you need to have cars, bikes, masseurs and mechanics. And it’s hard work each day. That is how they do it on the small Danish team Glud & Marstrand or Team Concordia. Also, riders are not easy to find at the time of season when most have contracts for 2011.”
Hembo wasn’t impressed and said she believed Holm shouldn’t be passing judgement. “I actually thought that Brian Holm was a sports director or sports commentator…I think that maybe he should keep quiet.
“We have had the pleasure to be with Michael Rasmussen in the last few days. We are working with the team and will be soon ready to announce something. I’ve read that Brian Holm calls it a Jutland marketing trick. But Holm will [soon] be wiser,” she stated then.
The months ahead will determine how successful the team is, but things certainly seem to be moving forward.