by Simon Crisp
A while ago, a certain Mario Cipollini gave an interview where he bemoaned Andy Schleck's desire to effectively 'fight' Alberto Contador after the latter's morally dubious attack when the former's chain was dislodged from its chainring in the 2010 Tour de France. Cipollini described how he would have attacked Contador 'every time he stopped for... Continue Reading →
A slightly deceiving title maybe, as this is about which teams riders hold the best palmares. Thus, all those Cavendish wins for Sky are promoted to OPQS, and so on. It's all in visual form, so here we go: Please note you can greatly expand the images by clicking on them! Grand Tours, World Championships... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? RadioShack are a US electrical retailer, Leopard are the teams management company. Nationality: Luxembourgian. 2012 Ranking: 12th Past Stars: Daniele Bennati, Oliver Zaugg, Linus Gerdemann, Jakob Fuglsang Selected Team Palmares: 1st, Tour de France 2010, 1st, Liege-Bastonge-Liege 2009 (Andy Schleck), Stages, Tour de France, (Andy Schleck, 2010, 2011x2, Frank Schleck, 2006+2010, Yaroslav Popovych,... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Europcar are a hire care company working across Europe. Nationality: French 2012 Ranking: Were not in WorldTour 2012 Past Stars: Pierik Fedrigo, Sylvain Chavanel Selected Team Palmares: 2012 Tour de France King of the Mountains (Thomas Voeckler), Stages, Tour de France, (Thomas Voeckler x 4, 2009, 2010, 2012x2, Pierre Rolland x 2,... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Lotto is the Belgian national lottery, Belisol make windows and doors in Belgium. Nationality: Belgian 2012 Ranking: 11th Past Stars: Cadel Evans, Philippe Gilbert, Robbie McEwen, Chris Horner Selected Team Palmares: Stages, Tour de France, (Andre Greipel x 4, 2011, 2012x3, Jelle Vanendert, 2011), Stages, Giro d'Italia (Andre Greipel x 2, 2008, 2010,... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Astana is the umbrella name for the Kazakhstan Cycling project sponsored by an aglomoration of Kazakh companies. Nationality: Kazakh 2012 Ranking: 11th Past Stars: Alexandre Vinokourov, Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer, Oscar Pereiro. Selected Team Palmares: 1st, 2011 Vuelta a Espana, 1st, 2012 Tirreno-Adriatitico, Stage, Giro d'Italia 2010 (all Vincenzo... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Katusha is an conglomerate of Russian companies who sponsor the 'national' cycling team, mainly sponsored by Itera and Gazprom. It also supposedly means a type of rocket launcher. Nationality: Russian 2012 Ranking: 2nd Past Stars: Oscar Freire, Robbie McEwen, Gert Steegmans, Fillipo Pozzato, Ben Swift, Selected Team Palmares: 1st, 2007 Vuelta a... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Argos is a Dutch Oil company that operates in the North Sea, and has bases in the lowland European countries. Shimano are the Japanese cycle componentry powerhouse who make Dura-Ace, Ultegra 105 and the like. Nationality: Dutch 2012 Ranking: 1st, UCI ProContinental Ranking. Past Stars: Kenny Van Hummel, Jonathan Hivert. Selected Team Palmares: ... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Following the withdrawal of Rabobank, there isn't one - Blanco means, as you might expect, 'Blank', as the team uses the money Rabobank was contractually obliged to pay to continue whilst searching for a new sponsor through the Blanco branding. Nationality: Dutch. 2012 Ranking: 8th. Past Stars: Michael Boogerd, Denis Menchov, Michael Rasmussen,... Continue Reading →
Who are the sponsor? Garmin make GPS navigation equipment, Sharp make electrical items such as televisions. Nationality: American 2012 Ranking: 9th Past Stars: Bradley Wiggins, Heinrich Haussler, Thor Hushovd, Sep Vanmarkce, Fredrik Kessiakoff, Svein Tuft, Magnus Backstedt. Selected Team Palmares: 1st, 2012 Giro d'Italia (Ryder Hesjedal) Stages, Tour de France (2011x2, Tyler Farrar and TTT, 2012, David... Continue Reading →
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