Philip Deignan?

Fr D Maugire

Anyone have any word where Philip Deignan is bound for 2012, his contract with RadioShack is finishing and cannot see him being included in the merger with Leopard.

He was very visible in the Canadian races over the weekend, getting in two breaks in Quebec and dragging the bunch back up to the breakaway on the last lap in Montreal. Obviously putting himself in the shop window.

He also done a lot of work for Levi Leipheimer in Utah and Colorado. Would be sad to see him miss out on a contract for next season as I think he has a bit to offer yet. Needs to get back to where he was in 2009 and I dont think RadioShack was the right fit for him. Would love to see him ride with Garmin, think that would suit him better with Dan Martin.

elduggo

Likewise, hes one of the most honest riders out there. Hopefully his performance in the queen stage of the Giro will have gotten him noticed. Its a tough year with riders out of contract given all the team activity. I too would love to see him at garmin, or even the new greenedge team. Fingers crossed for him. Its a shame he won't be taking part in the worlds, though I know the course doesn't really suit him. It could have been a half-decent shop window. Hopefully it'll prove to be the case for Brammier anyway.

morana

Finglas Ravens are waiting to get his signature in the event he cant get apro contract!!!

ednwireland

morana wrote: »

Finglas Ravens are waiting to get his signature in the event he cant get apro contract!!!

i think hes still with the four masters

tawfeeredux

elduggo wrote: »

Hopefully it'll prove to be the case for Brammier anyway.

Looks like Brammeier has found a new team:

https://twitter.com/#!/Mattbrammeier85/status/110827606542266370

To everybody asking. I have found a home for 2012, a very nice home that i am very happy with. Hope i can tell you where some time soon!

Dura Ace

I was speaking to Philip on Friday. He has signed a contract with a pro continental team for 2012. He's happy with that as he'll have more opportunities to ride for himself than he's had with Radioshack. He can't announce the team yet.

ednwireland

Dura Ace wrote: »

I was speaking to Philip on Friday. He has signed a contract with a pro continental team for 2012. He's happy with that as he'll have more opportunities to ride for himself than he's had with Radioshack. He can't announce the team yet.

great to hear, thanks for that

Fr D Maugire

Dura Ace wrote: »

I was speaking to Philip on Friday. He has signed a contract with a pro continental team for 2012. He's happy with that as he'll have more opportunities to ride for himself than he's had with Radioshack. He can't announce the team yet.

Yeah good to hear he jas a contract anyway, I think the step down to Pro Continental will benefit him.

Let the speculation begin? I think a French or North American team or perhaps Endura racing in the UK.

I think it will be either Endura or United Healthcare, I agree that would prefer to see him go to Skil-Shimano or a French team as he would still have more opportunities to ride the big races.

morana

I am hoping for Skil-Shimano if they are PC

sammca

Suppose there is no chance of him aspiring to the Swords League in 2012.

Lusk Doyle

sammca wrote: »

Suppose there is no chance of him aspiring to the Swords League in 2012.

Martyn Irvine is quite enough thank you very much!

dave2pvd

I'm hoping for Team Type 1.

Good chance they will move up to ProTour very soon. Their race schedule seems to be heavily loaded towards tours, which appears to suit PD.

Junior

It's hardly Geox is it ? And I'd rather he didn't go to Team Type 1 the management structure there seems at best adhoc at worst a f*ckin shambles.

dave2pvd

Junior wrote: »

And I'd rather he didn't go to Team Type 1 the management structure there seems at best adhoc at worst a f*ckin shambles.

Huh? Not what I heard.

Junior

dave2pvd wrote: »

Huh? Not what I heard.

Speak to a former rider James Stout..

dave2pvd

Junior wrote: »

Speak to a former rider James Stout..

Just read up on some of the allegations.

Frankly, I don't believe it. Why? I know Phil Southerland. What has been alleged simply doesn't align with the guy's character.

But who knows? Hard to pass judgment based on hearsay.

Junior

It's worth speaking with James himself, with holding medication is beyond comprehension. But anyways we digress, Geox seems a likely home considering his old boss Sastre is there till the year end anyways.

dave2pvd

Junior wrote: »

with holding medication is beyond comprehension.

See, that's very hard to understand for me. Phil is a fella who genuinely feels that diabetic meds ought to be freely avail for all. He well knows how important meds are to racers. Anyway, like you say, we do digress.

Junior wrote: »

Geox seems a likely home considering his old boss Sastre is there till the year end anyways.

My thoughts also. He'd fit in well with Geox.

Donerkebab

http://www.uhcprocycling.com/

Fr D Maugire

Donerkebab wrote: »

http://www.uhcprocycling.com/

Well there is no mention of Deignan on the site that I can see, but I think the poster has inside info and is merely dropping hints. I also read somewhere else that UHC were signing a few former Shack riders.

Philip spent almost a month in North America during Aug/Sep so perhaps it is only logical that he signs with a US team as negotiating in Europe cannot have been easy whilst overseas.

UHC have a decent race programme and do quite a few races in Europe but it would mean there is very little chance of doing a Grand Tour. If he signs with a French team, there is a very good chance of doing the Tour. Maybe he wants to step away from the grind of GTs and aim for other races.

So UHC it is then.

dave2pvd

Fr D Maugire wrote: »

Well there is no mention of Deignan on the site that I can see, but I think the poster has inside info and is merely dropping hints. I also read somewhere else that UHC were signing a few former Shack riders.

Philip spent almost a month in North America during Aug/Sep so perhaps it is only logical that he signs with a US team as negotiating in Europe cannot have been easy whilst overseas.

UHC have a decent race programme and do quite a few races in Europe but it would mean there is very little chance of doing a Grand Tour. If he signs with a French team, there is a very good chance of doing the Tour. Maybe he wants to step away from the grind of GTs and aim for other races.

So UHC it is then.

You know, if it is UHC then I will be paying part of his salary, as they are my health insurance provider

Although lately, I have cost them a fortune with surgeries to fix a badly damaged shoulder. From, you guessed it: a bike crash. So, if they low-ball him with an insulting salary offer, I may be partially at fault.

dave2pvd

Has to be UHC:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/09/news/louder-gives-uhc-another-option-in-the-mountains_193150

“We’re making drastic changes,” said Tamayo. “This year (Rory Sutherland) had three or four guys going into the final climb every time, guys that were there to support him. Now we’ll have three guys that are capable of going after results themselves, so it will open up a lot more options for us.”

Tamayo said that Louder is one of a few pieces he is building around Sutherland this offseason. Dutchman Marc de Maar and a forthcoming signing he called “really big” are other cast members he is assembling for 2012.

“We had our weaknesses this year. The big one was in the mountains Rory would get isolated,” said Tamayo. “The guys we’re bringing in around him will push him. He’ll be even more motivated when things get hard in the mountains with teammates around him.”

Dura Ace

Are United Healthcare the same company as this large employer in Letterkenny?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0520/1224297354260.html

At his Q&A session, Philip did say that the team had a good programme of races in Europe. Does this suggest that it's a non-European team?

dave2pvd

Dura Ace wrote: »

Are United Healthcare the same company as this large employer in Letterkenny?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0520/1224297354260.html

Yes.

ROK ON

Thats gas.
As pro conti teams go, it may not be that bad a move. Those guys were prominent in some some reasonably decent races this year.
For me I hop Deignan gets a decent team with a decent programme to suit him. While not as strong as Dan Martin presently, I feel that in terms of one day races some of the same races suit him.
Hopefully by being a member of a smaller team he will be able to go for glory on smaller satge races given that he wont have being a domestique at GTs to worry about.
Best of luck to him

dave2pvd

Donerkebab wrote: »

http://www.uhcprocycling.com/

Yep. Someone knew the inside scoop.

McCartney and Deignan join UnitedHealthcare in 2012

Pro Continental team also signs Louder, Day and Thomson

Momentum Sports Group (MSG), owners and operators of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, has added horsepower to its roster by signing ProTeam riders Jason McCartney and Philip Deignan from RadioShack, and Jeff Louder from BMC Racing as well as domestic riders Ben Day from Kenda/5-hour Energy and Jay Thomson from Bissell. The second year UCI Professional Continental outfit will put a greater emphasis on international racing while maintaining its focus on performing well at the Tour of California, Tour of Utah and USA Pro Cycling Challenge in 2012.

“These kinds of riders have won races, and having them step up, we are looking forward to having new cards to play,” said UnitedHealthcare manager Mike Tamayo. “We welcome having more cards to play and several riders who could potentially be general classification leaders. It is my job to keep them focused and riding well together.”

McCartney returns to MSG having competed under its previous team HealthNet in 2003 and 2004, when he qualified for the Olympic Games after winning the pre-event trials in the road race. He went on to ride for Discovery Channel from 2005-07, Team CSC in 2008 and 2009 and most recently RadioShack for 2010 and 2011.

“We’ve kept in touch with Jason over the years and we have always been interested in him, knowing that at one point he could bring his leadership and experience to a team like ours,” Tamayo said. “Instead of being one of many guys on a team like RadioShack, he can focus on helping to develop a newer team and program.”

“We consider our team to be one of the top teams in the country and for so many years we ran a Continental team bringing up new guys and new talent such as Tyler Farrar, Ryder Hesjedal and Greg Henderson,” he said. “Back then we didn’t have the ProTour events and ambitions that those riders had so they came up with us to a certain level, they won races domestically for us, and then moved on to bigger teams. Now we are at the point where some of the guys can come back and continue to do the races they love in Europe and enjoy being apart of our team again.”

Deignan also joins the team from RadioShack and previously competed for Cervélo TestTeam and Ag2r Prevoyance. The Irishman competed in the 2008 Olympic Games and is best known for winning a stage in Avila at the 2009 Vuelta a España where he placed ninth overall.

“We spoke with Philip last year and he seemed like a very good fit to our team but at the last minute he got an offer from RadioShack and he was very respectful about telling us,” Tamayo said. “We kept in touch and had our eyes set on hiring him all year. He was top ten at a grand tour and because our team is continuing to grow we need riders like him that are young and have talent. He is the perfect rider for us to win races, we think he can take a leadership role on this team and we are looking forward to putting him in that position.”

Day and Louder sign up

Day’s domestic palmares is strong having won Redlands Bicycle Classic, San Dimas Stage Race and the Tour de Beauce. He is also a former Australian time trial national champion in 2003 and stage winner at the Tour Down Under. He intended to upgrade from his former Continental Fly V Australia team in 2010 to the proposed Pegasus Sports for 2011. However, the UCI refused to issue the team a ProTeam, Professional Continental or the Continental license it requested due to a lack of funding after the outfit failed to secure a main financial backer.

“Ben is a talented time triallist and a strong rider,” Tamayo said. “He can be competitive at stage races and he can ride at the front of a bike race all day, we have seen him do both. He is a versatile rider and we like that dynamic. I think he will be hungry next year because he was riding well with Fly V, went through the Pegasus debacle, and floundered this year. My conversation with him was very direct and I want him at his best. He is hungry and motivate.”

Tamayo also announced the signing of Louder, who will provide the team with an additional card to play in the overall classification. The Utah native also raced under HealthNet in 2006 and 2007 before joining BMC Racing in 2008. He is best known for winning the Tour of Utah and his resume also includes victories at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, Cascade Cycling Classic, and he won the mountain classification at the Tour of Missouri.

“We give our riders a chance to train properly, race properly and spend some time with their wives and kids,” Tamayo said. “Some of these guys were looking forward to that. It allows them to mentally prepare and focus. They were the twentieth rider on a team of thirty, but here they can be rider number three, four or five and will have a clear idea of what their schedules will look like.”

Tamayo also confirmed the signing of Thomson and Marc de Maar along with returning riders Rory Sutherland, Robert Forster, Boy van Poppel, Jake Keough, Karl Menzies, Chris Jones, Adrian Hegyvary, Davide Frattini, Jonny and Hilton Clarke and Brad White.

“Jay is the South African version of Brad White, when you tell him to get in the breakaway, he will get in the breakaway in one way shape or form,” Tamayo said. “He has a lot of horsepower and we also see him fitting in really well into our blue train for Robert Forster.”

UnitedHealthcare competed in a handful of top-level events overseas during its first season as a Professional Continental outfit including Tour de Langkawi, Volta a Algarve, Clasica de Almeria, Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, Settimana Internazionale di Coppi Bartali, Driesdaagse de Panne, Ronde van Drenthe, Giro del Trentino and Vuelta a Asturias.

According to Tamayo, the team’s goal is to continue to improve in overseas events while maintaining a strong focus on the Tour of California, Tour of Utah and USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

“UnitedHealthcare will always have a strong presence in the US and we will always focus on our best performances at California, Utah and Colorado,” Tamayo said. “That will mean building our schedules in order to have our guys at their best in those events.”

“We liked a lot of the races that we did this year and we are looking forward to a lot of the races again next year,” he said. “We will have a stronger and deeper team and the organization will be better able to handle the curve balls that come at us at a European level. We are looking forward to season number two over in Europe.”

ednwireland

interesting to see he nearly got a ride there last year

good to see him sorted for 2012 anyway

full gas

delighted for philip, but god have mercy on him bad enough having to ride a trek, for the last two years, his going to have to ride a boardman now , wishing him all the best anyhow

ednwireland

full gas wrote: »

delighted for philip, but god have mercy on him bad enough having to ride a trek, for the last two years, his going to have to ride a boardman now , wishing him all the best anyhow

was just thinking that cervelo trek boardman hmmmmm

Fr D Maugire

Back again with the same question as last year!!! Has Philip got a contract for 2013? Does anyone know if his UHC contract was for 1/2 years. I hope it was for 2 as he has had another below average season and it might prove difficult to find another team at a decent level.

He just never seemed to get going this year, he was doing ok at Claifornia but had a disastrous TT, I think he would have finished well up on the Mountain top finish there but instead paced Sutherland when he cracked.

Again he looked good at Utah but then got sick and abruptly returned to Ireland and hasnt raced since. For a guy who was supposed to be a team-leader, he doesnt have any results of note this year.

Overall the UCH guys did well this year and Rory Sutherland managed to bag himself a contract at Saxo Bank and to me anyway, Philip is at least on the level of this guy at his best but he just hasnt shown it for whatever reasons.

What is the news on Deignan as it's gone awful quiet.

RobFowl

Fr D Maugire wrote: »

What is the news on Deignan as it's gone awful quiet.

He's on a 2 year contract so UHC next year as well