Canberra Team - Tour down under 2012...

[BlacknRed]

Hmm... just want to through it out there...

What would it take to get a team strong enough to ride the Tour Down under in 2012?

Is there enough deapth to achieve this?

Are there already teams from Canberra that compete in the TDU?

What type of cyclists would the team need, sprinters, mountian climbers, other?

Are there cyclists that would like to be part of a team racing in the TDU in 2012 and beyond?

Other points of interest on this topic?

Interested to hear your feedback.

[SimonD]

Given that it's a Pro Tour race now, maybe a $10 million sponsorship deal. Breedy, you got any spare cash?

[SimonD]

BTW, welcome back, Scarantula. It's a bit old school in here today, with Jason M returning too. I think I'll start some trouble...

[BlacknRed]

Yeah, after this morning’s coffee, I’d thought I'd jump onto the forum. I reckon we could pull a team together for 5mil :-)

ha ha love the spider :-)

[SimonD]

V-Mobile riders these days have a transfer fee. But I hear Sparkles is available for fairly cheap.

[SimonD]

But back to your original questions, which are interesting...

Is there enough depth to achieve this?
Maybe almost. But the pro riders are spread far and wide. A strong group are coming through from junior development at ACTAS: Haas, Matthews, Phelans etc.

Are there already teams from Canberra that compete in the TDU?
The only Aussie team in the TdU is the AIS team, UniSA.

What type of cyclists would the team need, sprinters, mountian climbers, other?
Recently the sprinter types have been the GC winners. There is only really one significant (for pros) hill, but you've still got to get your guy up it. With controlling breaks which can put someone in a winning position, and leading out the finishes, you have to have quality domestiques on hand. Before it became ProTour it was often someone who got in a decisive break who got the GC, eg Gerrans.

Are there cyclists that would like to be part of a team racing in the TDU in 2012 and beyond?
Yes, but we'd probably have to get out of C grade first.

Other points of interest on this topic?
Yes, we were wondering why they call you the Scarantula.