Decision to change teams not difficult
After Gerolsteiner's David Kopp broke his arm in a training crash and abdicated his world championship spot as a consequence, another German, Matthias Kessler, has also decided to sit out this year's world's.
"I have ridden so many races this year," said the 27 year-old T-Mobile rider, who leaves for the Astana team next season. "My condition is simply no longer good enough that I would be able to be in at the finish of a 265 kilometre course. And that is what I would expect of myself, if I would start in a world championship [road] race."
About his decision to change teams in 2007, Kessler simply says it was time for something new, having started his professional career with Team Deutsche Telekom seven years ago.
"After eight years with Telekom/T-Mobile, it was simply time for me to try something new," is how Matthias Kessler described his decision to change teams.
"My decision to go to Astana was based on a lot of factors, and not just on the money, as has been said so often. I have been friends with Vino since his days at T-Mobile and naturally was pleased that he personally got in touch with me. And the whole team - which has nothing more to do with the old Liberty Seguros team - made a very good impression on me, so that it wasn't difficult to decide."
The Bund Deutscher Radfahrer (German cycling federation) has not yet announced which reserve riders will take the place of Kopp or Kessler.
