Aldag: Ullrich Won’t Ride Tour, Basso Signing a Mistake, Puppies Aren’t Cute

By Jessica | Permalink | No Comments | January 13th, 2007 | Trackback

Jan Ullrich might not be a member of the T-Mobile squad anymore, but that hasn’t stopped T-Mobile’s sporting director Rolf Aldag from offering his opinions on the team’s former leader. When Aldag was asked recently what he thought the chances were that Ullrich would be at the 2007 Tour, Aldag said, “[They are] very slim. I can’t imagine that Jan Ullrich will ride the Tour. The effects and the message it would send out would be fatal. If I were one of the Tour de France organisers, I would not invite him in this suspicious situation. Nor [would I invite] Ivan Basso.”

Aldag went on to ensure that meetings of team directors would be uncomfortable, by saying he was disappointed by the Discovery Channel’s signing of Basso:

“Team boss Johan Bruyneel had his worst Tour de France in years after the retirement of Lance Armstrong. Perhaps he was under pressure, with the sponsor possibly threatening to pull out due to the lack of success.

“In that sense, he had little to lose. But we can’t allow him that [excuse]. Because at other teams there are enough sponsors who will pull out if the sport does not regain its credibility. Then, professional cycling would soon be history.”

You can almost feel the love. Don’t you want to be a fly on the wall of the next director’s meeting?

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