Cycling Team Changes, Vuelta A Espana Results

George Hincapie to BMC, Leipheimer Ready For Tour of Missouri

Sep 4, 2009

British rider Chris Horner of the recently retooled Astana team broke his hand in Stage 4 of Vuelta a Espana. Horner's done for the year. There are other status changes.

Starting with the 2009 Vuelta, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Espargne won the race, and was joined by fellow Spaniards Samuel Sanchez (second at 55 seconds back), Ezequiel Mosquera (fifth), Joaquin Rodriguez (seventh) and and Juan Jose Cobo (tenth). The Vuelta concluded Sept. 20th 2009 in Madrid with a final stage win for German rider Andre Greipel.

Now the focus of the cycling world turns to the impending World Championships. Among the contenders for the rainbow stripes are Americans Tejay Van Garderen in the under-23 classification, and Peter Stetina. Stetina will ride for Garmin-Slipstream in 2010. The worlds begin Sept. 22, 2009 in Mendrisio, Switzerland.

Hincapie, Leipheimer Change Squads, Schleck Stays Put

According to Velonews.com, George Hincapie has signed a two-year contract with Swiss-American team BMC, joining on with reigning world champion Alessandro Ballan (Lampre), Marcus Burghardt (like Hincapie, from Columbia-HTC), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank), Steve Morabito and Michael Shar (both Astana) and Simon Zahner.

Levi Leipheimer, still recovering from the broken wrist he suffered in the Tour de France, has signed with Lance Armstrong’s new Radio Shack team. He rode in the Tour of Missouri, which began Sept. 7, 2009 and told Velonews he likes David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) to win it. Zabriskie made good on Leipheimer's prediction, winning the seven-stage race after losing teammate Christian Vande Velde to a broken hand.

According to Velonews.com, the 2010 Tour of Missouri could be in jeopardy with the state's shrinking budget and skittish sponsors creating a perfect storm of doubt.

Beloki's Comeback Shifts Gears To Director

Once the Vuelta concludes, the team shifts and signings will begin in earnest. Joseba Beloki, whose career ended with a harrowing crash in the mountains of the 2003 Tour de France, has said he would like be a sport director for a team. Beloki was initially implicated in the Operacion Puerto doping scandal in Spain, but was quickly cleared by officials. He told VeloNews that all the titanium in his legs (he broke his femurs in the accident) made it impossible for him to regain his fitness.

Meanwhile Andy Schleck, who finished second in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France this season, told Spanish journalists he will remain with Saxo Bank and his brother Frank. It’s been rumored that Armstrong was recruiting Andy for the new Radio Shack squad.

So enjoy the rest of the Vuelta, cool fall riding and wait for the real cycling moves to start soon. There are as many attacks and breakaways during the off-season moves as there are in the peloton.

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