It hasn't been confirmed by the company's manaಌgement yet, but it seems German shampoo✤ producer Alpecin may be planning to sponsor a new WorldTour team as of next season. The company first showed its interest in pro cycling in February this year, when it chose Jan Ullrich as its media representative. It is also already the main sponsor of a cyclosportive event to be held in August this year.

At the start of the Tour de France in Belgium these days, rumours about the new team are getting louder.168澳洲5最新开奖结果: As already reported, the new outfit is said to aim at signing the Schleck brothers as well as many German pros, including Linus Gerdemann and Jens Voigt, all riding for RadioShack-Nissan at the moment. Its sports director Kim Andersen a🔥nd former pro Jörg Ludewig, currentไly the race director of the Alpecin Days-cyclosportive, are said to become its sports directors.

. "But where there's smoke, there's fire. Perhaps they'll offer me a combined contract - one more year as a rider and then join the management."

The world governing body of cycling also welcomed the ✱idea. "A new German teꦉam would be a good thing," UCI president Pat McQuaid commented. "It's a big market, and Germany is the most powerful country in the European Union. Cycling is very popular there."

Alpecin is also rumoured to be in talks with American equipment provider Tre🎶k, currently still in partner🐻ship with RadioShack. More potential sponsors are also said to be interested.

"All has to be ready by Septem💦ber," McQuaid added, which leaves very little time for the new sponsor to set up a proper structure and the needed formalities to register with the UCI. "It will hardly be feasible," said Brian Nygaard, currently spokesman for team Orica-GreenEdge, but who two years ago "worked day and night" to set up the Luxembourg Leopard-Trek outfit which included the Schlecks.

Talk of internal dysfunctionalities at RadioShack-Nissan have abounded since Fränk Schleck's abandon of the Giro d'Italia, his brother Andy's poor form at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Jakob Fuglsang's outspoken words about his desire to leave the team and USADA's doping accusations of team manager Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong.