Nicolas Roche believes the sale of his team, Saxo-Tinkoff, will lead to increased budgets for investment but will not have much impact on the day to day running of the squad.
By Gerard Cromwell
Although Russian businessman Oleg Tinkoff today announced the takeover of Nicolas Roche’s Saxo-Tinkoff team, the 28-year-old Irish international believes with former owner Bjarne Riis remaining as team manager, little will change.
“There’s not going to be a lot of changes to the way the team is run,” said Roche today from London where he attended the press conference announcing the sale.
“I think the main change is that the budget is not going to be as tight so the team will be able to invest in training camps, dieticians, technology, etc. But I don’t think it will change the way the team is run.”
Advertisement
The fact Riis steps away from the task of having to secure sponsors for the newly monikered Tinkoff-Saxo outfit next year means the Dane can now focus on the team itself.
He will therefore spend more time behind the wheel of the team car at races; something Roche is looking forward to.
“I think you could really notice every time Bjarne was in the team car this year. There was always something special. He’s really good on the radio and he has a great sense of tactics.”
“Obviously the legs have to do the talking on the bike but it’s great to have someone of his experience, who is able to analyse situations pretty quickly in the car.”
“Bjarne likes attacking. He likes to take risks to try and win races. It worked for me last year and I believe it’s nice to have someone who’s encouraging you to attack or do something crazy during the stage rather than just sitting and waiting or defending.”
Having chosen to ride the Giro d’Italia when the race kicks off in Belfast next May, Roche will have a different early season race program than usual.
“I’ll ride the Ardennes Classics but other than that but it’s a pretty new program for me. I’m going to start at the Tour of Oman and then go from there to the Strada Bianchi, Tirreno- Adriatico and the Giro.”
Related News
“At the moment, everything is based on the Giro and then, if everything goes right, the Tour de France. But that’s a long way away so we’ll see what happens after the Giro.”
On the day his much rumoured acquisition of the team was confirmed, Tinkoff was asked about the investigation of Riis by the anti doping authorities in Denmark. While he declined to comment, he said if he needed to deal with the issue at a future point he would do so.
News of the team’s sale came at a press conference held by the squad at the Google head offices in London this afternoon where Roche and Alberto Contador sat alongside Riis, Tinkoff and Saxo bank president Lars seier Christensen.
“Oleg Tinkoff will be the new owner of the team,” announced a relieved looking Riis to the media, after much speculation as to the team’s future when Tinkoff appeared to pull the plug on his support earlier in the year.
“We have made an agreement about Oleg buying Riis Cycling with immediate effect and Riis Cycling will now become Tinkoff Sport,” said Riis.
“Oleg owns 100pc of the team and will be sole owner. It also means that I will continue in a position as general manager for at least three years.”
“Tinkoff Credit System will become the main sponsor and Saxo Bank has agreed to become second name sponsor for 2014, when the team will be called Tinkoff-Saxo.”
“Again, this is a great day for the team. Oleg buying my company means lots of possibilities for the team, the added resources give us the possibility to create a team of absolute world class and hopefully fulfill our goals to be number one team in the world.”
“With this deal the long-term stability of the team is secured, and the team now has the funding and foundation to continue to be a major player on the World Tour and to further raise our ambitions.”
“Secondly I can focus on running the team's sporting department, giving much more attention to the actual racing itself and the training of our riders. I believe that today we have created a fantastic setup that enables us in the most optimal way to fulfill our ambitions in the future."
Advertisement
Topics
