MTN-Qhubeka turned down Riis' offer sponsor them (with Saxo Bank) with manager Brian Smith saying "There has not been any negotiations on our part, but it is true that Bjarne Riis has inquired about the possibilities" and “For us it has not been possible to initiate a collaboration with Bjarne
Riis. Our new sponsor has values that are not consistent with his
history; Riis has previously doped. It was emphasized very clearly that
it would not be feasible, and it was solely because of Riis”.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/report-mtn-qhubeka-and-trek-turn-down-riis-sponsorship-offer/
Saxo Bank would be a nice sponsor but I want to see ???-Qhubeka (MTN has announced they will not sponsor the team next year) stay squeaky clean as an avenue for promising African riders to make it in the pro ranks and bring awareness (and money) to Africa.
Riis associated with that team? Personally that would be very hard to digest. I didn't like his presence on Tinkoff's team, but he and Saxo are nearly joined at the hip and he used to have a good handle on what made Contador tick. (When he was actively managing, not actively daydreaming in the team car.)
Ben
|