F
Frank Drackman
Guest
The title is obviously a bit of a stretch but after reading the Cyclingnews interview with Patrice Clerc I think that it is reasonable that Slipsteam will be invited to the 2008 TDF. There was one quote from Clerc really stuck out.
"But Clerc insisted on one important point, as the organisers of the Tour de France will do everything in their power to prevent doping scandals similar to 2007 in the future. "One of the team selection criteria, which will pre-empt all others, will definitely be of ethical nature," he added. "There will be a clear distinction with what I have seen these last three or four years, where the criteria were first of all of economical nature: our first bench mark will be doping-related. This measure will precede all other selection criteria."
Combined with ASO being eager to keep the exposure in the U.S. high to insure greater revenue from future broadcast contracts I think that Slipstream is a perfect fit. I believe that they have signed enough high profile riders to give their bit enough credibility.
The full article:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=features/2007/Clerc_post_TdF07
"But Clerc insisted on one important point, as the organisers of the Tour de France will do everything in their power to prevent doping scandals similar to 2007 in the future. "One of the team selection criteria, which will pre-empt all others, will definitely be of ethical nature," he added. "There will be a clear distinction with what I have seen these last three or four years, where the criteria were first of all of economical nature: our first bench mark will be doping-related. This measure will precede all other selection criteria."
Combined with ASO being eager to keep the exposure in the U.S. high to insure greater revenue from future broadcast contracts I think that Slipstream is a perfect fit. I believe that they have signed enough high profile riders to give their bit enough credibility.
The full article:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=features/2007/Clerc_post_TdF07
