Rider agent says they have until this month to confirm plans
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Paolo Bettini chats with Fernando Alonso at the 2013 road cycling world championships in Italy(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Fernando Alonso and World champion Rui Costa(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter Sagan with Fernando Alonso(Image credit: Ferrari)
Fernando Alonso and Peter Sagan (Cannondale)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Time could be running out for the Team Alonso project with one leading cycling agent telling Cyclingnews that from his experience they have until the end of this month to confirm their plans and begin to start signing riders.
The project, created by Formula 1 driver and cycling fan Fernando Alonso has been linked to a number of riders for the 2015 season, including Peter Sagan, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Tony Martin and current world time road champion Rui Costa. Former rider Paolo Bettini was drafted in to manage the creation of the team but few details have emerged with rumours that the project has stalled in recent weeks.
Everything is ready
However several months have passed since Alonso’s initial flirtation with the sport and in De Geyter’s view time is running out.
"If you go through the list of top riders in the WorldTour like Cancellara, Boonen and most of the top sprinters, they’ve all got contracts for next season. The top five at the Tour like Froome, Contador, van Garderen, Quintana, they’ve all got contracts. Nibali too. Most of them are blocked. One who is important and a top transfer for next season is Tony Martin. You could say that he’s one of the top transfers for next season.”
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
