Cervélo Test Team rider Stefan Denifl has been offered the chance to race with Team RadioShack, but has indicated that he needs guarantees that the future of the squad is safe.
“I am of course honoured by such an offer,” said the 23 year old. “But I need to know the future plans of the team.”
According to the Krone.at website, once factor that might be making the Austrian uneasy is the current federal investigation into the team, which is partly based around multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. “I don’t want to lose my employer a second time,” he said, referring to the decision taken by the Cervélo company to end its backing of the Test Team this year.
Many of Denifl’s team-mates have already been handed places on other squads. World champion Thor Hushovd, Heinrich Haussler, Roger Hammond, Andreas Klier, Brett Lancaster, Dan Lloyd and Gabriel Rasch will all go to Cervélo Test Team, while Carlos Sastre and Marcel Wyss are moving to the new Team Geox. Others with places are Davide Appollonio, Ignatas Konovalovas and Xavier Tondo (Movistar), Theo Bos (Rabobank), Philip Deignan (Team RadioShack), Ted King (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Oscar Pujol (Omega Pharma Lotto).
Denifl is a strong climber and has several solid results so far this season. These include seventh place overall in both the Tour of Austria and the Bayern Rundfarht, as well as eighth overall in the Vuelta a Castilla y León. He is considered one of the most promising young talents in Austrian cycling.