Bjarne Riis “Whatever happens in the case, I lose"

Bjarne Riis didn't give a lot of interviews since June 30. Coming back from a vacation with his family, the CSC manager and 1996 Tour de France winner gave an interview with Danish daily newspaper B.T.

“Whatever happens in the case, I lose. I lose. I have lost my credibility, gotten beat, risked losing my team, and I have lost the best Cyclist in the world,” Riis told B.T. “When he was acquitted, I knew what I had to do. Because the problem is that the case in Spain isn’t over, even if people seem to think so. We don’t know what will happen, although I fear that everything will simply end in nothing; that a decision is never reached.”

Riis said that private reasons also played a role in his decision to part ways wit Basso: “I take so much time from my family,” Riis said. “I couldn’t defend it (to keep Ivan Basso in the team) toward them. They are the most important people in my life. I don’t spend enough time with my family as it is, and if Ivan was to stay, it would have demanded even more effort and time; time, I would have had to take from my family. At some point, I have to say ‘enough’”.

About the lack of solidarity among the Pro-Tour teams Riis stated: “I tried to encourage that there be more solidarity in the sport at the closure of the ProTour. But I have to face the fact that there is no such thing. Everyone is only thinking of themself.”

“I can only say that I have sent a clear signal to the world and to the Cycling community of where I stand on the matter. I feel it is my duty to do so, and I do so in my way. Then others will have to do so however they want.”

To restore the credibility of the CSC squad, Bjarne Riis intensified the anti-doping efforts on his team and Riis also plans to hire the well known Danish anti-doping scientist Rasmus Damsgaard.

“The cleaner the sport becomes, the better my team will become,” Bjarne Riis says. “That is my spark; it is what keeps me going.”

Asked about the rumours that Alberto Contador and Luis Léon Sanchez will join CSC in 2007, Riis told todociclismo.com that both riders would not come and that there are no talks with both riders. riis did say that two riders with a mixture of talent and experience would join the team but he would not say who these riders are.

Sanchez to fly to San Diego

Samuel Sanchez wants to improve his time trial skills in the windtunnel of San Diego. The Spanish rider knows that he has to get better results if he wants to play a larger role in the general classification of the grand tours. Sanchez will work on his position on the bike and the equipement and will be joined by his teammates of the Euskatel squad Igor Anton and Haimar Zubeldia. Former national Spanish ITT champion and Euskatel sports director Igor González de Galdeano will accompany the three riders.