(pic from Flickr user das jan)
The T-Mobile overhaul continued this week with Mattais Kessler and Andreas Kloden joining old buddies Walter Goodefroot and Alexandre Vinokourov at Astana. It seems like a mini T-Mobile reunion at the Kazak based team.
Kloden’s move to Astana must mean that he does not have many hopes for a high overall placing at the Tour since the team is pretty much Vinokourov’s. Kloden is used to playing support, but has shown flashes of brilliance this year and in 2004. If Vinokourov truly thought that this year was his last chance at an overall win, then getting Kloden on the team gives Astana a strong option in case Vino is genuinely done with the chase for the Yellow Jersey.
Andreas Kloden blasted Olaf Luwig for poor team management during the Tour de France. T-Mobile has never been know team tactics a point which was highlighted last year when Kloden and Ullrich reeled in an attacking Vinokourov. This year the blunders continued as T-Mobile seemed to have one of the strongest teams but would still execute the occasional blunder of chasing down a teammate. Overall T-Mobile probably executed better than in the in the past, but Kloden blames T-Mobile and Phonak for allowing Oscar Periero so much time, a move which could eventually give him the overall Tour title over Kloden if/when Landis is stripped of his title.
Kloden and Kessler’s move may not have been too much of a surprise to T-Mobile management since they did not reward the team’s performance in the Tour with better contracts. Some riders were even offered paycuts according to Kloden.
T-Mobiles shakeup must be long overdue since the team was notoriously known for paying huge contracts but not getting many results. Ironically this is all happening after a better than usual team performance at the Tour de France.