[EN] Without much difficulty Team CSC defended its position as the best team in the Protour. The main opposition didn’t come from the other teams, but from behind the green table. In a long line of confessions team manager Bjarne Riis cleared his conscience by admitting that his Tour victory in 1996 wasn’t obtained in a purely natural way. The Dane, who was suspected by many followers anyway with his nickname ‘Monsieur 60%’, confessed to what everyone already knew.


Nonetheless this was used against him. A team manager of the best team in the world didn’t have a clean past, so in the renewed hunt for doping sinners, Riis was considered an example of evil. Main sponsor CSC however decided to continue the ideology of Riis and his team. The choice to let Rasmus Damsgard, a worldwide expert in the field of doping prevention, have full access in the team’s ways was widely applauded, and eventually even copied by other teams.


With a fully cleared conscience the team can look to the future. And the future looks bright. The foundation of the team is rock solid with world class riders like Sastre, Cancellara, O’Grady and Schleck. In any type of race the black, red and whites can line up a balanced squad that can always aim for the victory. Because of this foundation Riis didn’t have to make any big purchases. The inventory of Discovery offered some interesting possibilities, but the Dane rather picks riders who are not just good, but are also great team mates, willing to sacrifice, honest and obedient.


That’s why McCartney, a strong rider of 34, was brought from the Discovery Channel team. The same can be said of Gustav Larsson, who isn’t bad in the mountains either. Two other signings, Bradley McGee and Jurgen van Goolen, had some difficult years, mostly due to injuries, but they are exactly the kind of riders Riis likes to add to his team. When they feel reborn and are injury free, the team will offer them every opportunity to show their potential. Lasse Bochmann and André Steensen will join the team in May, which will ensure that the Danish roots will be kept. Bochmann is a strong rider who does well in hilly races, André Steensen is the next best thing in Danemark, and with only twenty years of age he’ll have plenty of time to show his potential as the great general classification rider that the experts think he is.


Opposed to these signings the team lost two of its Americans in Zabriskie and Vandevelde (both Slipstream-Chipotle). Despite their value for the team, together with the loss of Roberts (Team Kuota) and the retirement of Michaelsen (now director sportif at CSC), they will hardly be missed. To show that the method of Riis doesn’t always work, is illustrated by Martin Pedersen. The young allround rider was brought to the team as a future king in the hilly classics. After a first good year, the chemistry got worse in 2007, so Pedersen took a step back to Team GLS.


In the cobblestone classics Riis can count on a group of about twelve riders (Arvesen, Bak, Breschel, Cancellara, Goss, Haedo (Gent-Wevelgem), Johansen, Klostergaard, Kroon, Ljungqvist, Lund, O’Grady) and half of them can also do well in the hilly classics together with Sastre, the Schleck brothers, Kolobnev, Voigt, Van Goolen and Sørensen. The squad for the Tour is also almost decided with the Schleck brothers, Sastre, O’Grady, Cancellara, Voigt and three more spots for the riders in shape at that time. Because of the Olympics, the Vuelta could be neglected a bit. Sastre isn’t sure about riding the Vuelta yet and Riis puts more emphasis on doing an excellent Giro. The team will have possibilities there with certainties like Chris Anker Sørensen, McGee, Arvesen and Larsson and possibly also Sastre, who could use it as a preparation for the Tour.


In
Gustav Larsson (Unibet.com), Jason McCartney, Jurgen van Goolen (Discovery Channel), Bradley McGee (Française des Jeux). In May André Steensen en Lasse Bochmann (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) will join the team.


Out
Lars Michaelsen (retired), Martin Pedersen (Team GLS), Luke Roberts (Team Kuota-Senges), Christian Vandevelde, David Zabriskie (Slipstream-Chipotle)