Saxo Bank team has a new title sponsor for next year. The worry is whether the large roster of stars have already signed somewhere else.

FC will wear the yellow as long as he can without his team putting much effort into defending it. They have to save what energy they have for Andy Schleck. Of course the money they make as a team keeping the yellow is substantial, as are all the point along the way.

Traditionally, all money won whether the winner of TdF or just primes is devided by the team at the end.
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Riis doesn't worry about his stars going elsewhere (the Schlek's will go to a new team and they will take Cancellara with them, Breschel is going to Rabobank) as Contador will sign for his new team and he will take some of the Astana team with him (De La Fuentes, Hernandez, Navarro).

I just hope that Google will create a team, as rumors say they will. They will have a nice budget and I bet they will bring some new technology into the course.

I hope that all the new teams will go for recognizable outfits. I mean, Radioshack, BMC and Caisse de Epargne all have a black and red outfit which makes them hard to recognize when the whole pack is together. Same goes for the black & white of Lotto, Saxo and Cervelo. Rabobank was always recognizable with the orange & blue and then all of a sudden Garmin decides to use the same colors too. Teams like Astana, Liquigas, Footon and Euskatel do a good job with unique colors, and AG2R has standard colors but in a (ugly but) recognizable pattern which makes them stand out too. With all the money those sponsors invest in the teams you would think they want to be as recognizable as possible right?
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Schleck made it interesting today....

TdF #3 for Alberto Contador
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and some interesting transfer news: Luis Leon Sanchez to Rabobank.
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I'm so depressed now that it is over...eagerly awaiting next year.
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I'm missing it as well, but I'm actually getting some work done in the morning now. :-)
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Contador is moving to team up with Riis’ new team for 2011 with Cancellara! What a power team. Schleck's are supposed to move to a new Lux. based pro team. If Riis can keep the rest of the talent, they will be unstoppable.
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Breschler will leave Saxo too, he will go to the Rabobank team, just like Luis Leon Sanchez. Menchov will most likely leave for Astana or Katusha
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Does Katusha have Denis Menchov kind of money? Menchov can be a TdF winner with the right schedule and team. He is tough as nails and you can never count him out. Between Vino and Menchov they will be a mighty grand tour team.
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Katusha = Gazprom. And Gazprom is probably Russia's richest company. So yeah, Katusha has more than enough money to sign Menchov.
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Gazprom does have a lot of money, but sponsored Minardi, so who knows how deep their pocket is. They really try to hire Russians and a Russian language based team would be a benefit to them. Karpets, Pozzato, McEwen, and Kirchen are all big names, but not like Menchov.
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Not Tour related...but I did go out and pick up a Trek 1.2...my first bike in about 20 years!
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Which one is that? Any pictures?
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It's aluminum frame / carbon fork entry level bike.

Image
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You can't go wrong with aluminum frames for going fast. When done right, they are quite comfortable. Which of Trek's frame geomerty's did you get. I was reading on the Madone, they offered 3 different geometry's. Is it Ultegra components?
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I am old and no longer race (or even run to the buffet). I have a Trek pilot that is very comfortable and has a nice frame flex. Dunno about the rest of the trek line, but the pilot is a very nice road bike.
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Congratulations Andy Schleck for winning the 2010 Tour de France!!!! But seriously, even though I despise Contador because he is a flaming jerk, this really looks like his food was contaminated. I don't want his victory to be taken away if he was not actually doping.
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I'm just curious if the claims of plastic tainting are true or just pile-on rumors.
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Seriously, the doping agents were out in full force during the Tour de France. If Contador was doping during the race or leading up to it, he would've been caught. Not saying he didn't dope now, but why would you take away his TDF title if he was busted long after the race?

That would be like taking a 2004 NCAA football title of USC away when Reggie Bush was busted for cheating in 2005.
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hello, the blood sample is from the TDF! The test results just came out, but his positive test is from the race.
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