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[EN] Team Bruyneel, otherwise known as Discovery Channel, looked like being in a tight spot. Shopping for a new and better teamleader than the past Tour-heroes, he "stole" the most valuable candy-bar from the shop which wasn't received well by his colleague-shoppers. The threat to bar Bruyneel was based on inconsistency though. Colleague Giuseppe Saronni, Lampre's DS, was allowed to hire the tainted Fuentes-rider Caruso without any complaint made. So that resulted in a "storm in a glass of water" and Johan Bruyneel chuckled secretly.


This story could still turn against Bruyneel though, if the bubble between the Grand Tour organisers and the UCI bursts, and the Tour-organisation decides for themselves who's invited, and who's not, Bruyneel could find himself being the odd one out. Let's just say that Prudhomme & friends aren't real big fans of the Basso-Bruyneel duo.


Intrigue put aside, the American team has a selection to lick your lips over. For the team, Basso represents a cyclist who's probably the best classification-rider around. The Italian can be supported by very good classification-riders, like a slightly disappointed Leipheimer, who albeit, looked for the teamleadership at Discovery Channel himself.


The talented Contador is aiming for white, and judging by his capabilities he's well up for it. His health could pose a problem though, since he's had to come back from illness twice due to bloodclots in his veins. Bruyneel also had four brilliant "helpers" with Danielson, Popovych, Paulinho and Hincapie. Danielson would very much like to earn a Tour-place on the squad, as the DS promised him.


Hincapie doesn't really need to ride for general classifications in tours now and can resume his spring program like in the Armstrong age. Support will come from Brian Vandborg (CSC) and Thomas Vaitkus (AG2R), both excellent on the flat surfaces. On top of that, Vanborg posesses time trial abilities and Vaitkus is not half a decent sprinter. The late arrival of Davis (former Saiz' team) could ruin Vaitkus' chances in the sprint though.


DSC's representation in the classics is a little diminished now. The rebirth of Hoste led to renewed confidence at Predictor-Lotto. He moved on and took the promise of Vandenbroeck with him. Max van Heeswijk didn't feel fully appreciated and found a spot back home in Holland with Rabobank. Finally, Roger Hammond and Michael Barry made their choice and joined a renovated T-Mobile. Their only replacements are the earlier mentioned Vaitkus and Murn (Phonak), who's currently recovering from a bad car accident.


The only other shortcoming is the lack of a clear Giro-leader. Savoldelli is just that, but left the team for Astana. Then again, it shouldn't be hard to find a worthy replacement within this worldclass team. The rapidly becoming of age Brajkovic for example. Maybe Bruyneel breaks his promise and decides to send Danielson off to Italy, instead of the Tour de France. It's even imaginable that the projected selection isn't even neccesary for the Grand Tours because of the lingering conflict between the ASO and UCI. That would be a great disappointment not only for the team, but also for us.


New:
Antonio Cruz (Toyota United), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), Fuyu Li (Marco Polo Cycling Team), Steve Cummings (Landbouwkrediet), Alberto Contador, Sergio Paulinho, Allan Davis (Astana), Tyler Farrar (Cofidis), Uros Murn (Phonak), Tomas Vaitkus (AG2R), Ivan Basso, Brian Vandborg (CSC), John Devine, Gianni Meersman (neo)


Left the team:
Viatcheslav Ekimov (retired), José Azevedo (Benfica), Michael Barry, Roger Hammond (T-Mobile), Manuel Beltran (Liquigas), Leif Hoste, Jurgen Vandenbroeck (Predictor-Lotto), Max van Heeswijk (Rabobank), Benoît Joachim, Guennadi Mikhailov, Paolo Savoldelli (Astana)