Alexander Kolobnev to CSC

25-year-old Alexandr Kolobnev became a professional in 2002 and has spent the last two years with Rabobank. This season the Russian rider's best results are a victory in Vuelta Valenciana and an overall fifth place in Tour of Poland.

”I am happy to have signed with Team CSC for the next two seasons. It's been my preferred team all along, because I think it's a great place for me to improve as a rider. Being a part of Team CSC will be a new and very different experience for me, but I couldn't wish for a bigger or better challenge. I'm very much looking forward to meeting my new team mates in South Africa soon,” says Alexandr Kolobnev.

”I've watched Kolobnev from the sidelines since he became a pro and have considered him for the team for a long time now. He's a young talent, who has achieved some good results – both in the smaller stage races, but also in a couple of the classics. I would describe him as an all-round rider, who still has the potential to develop and find his specialty,” explains Bjarne Riis. 

Source CSC

Sergey Gonchar: "It’s not the old who die – but the idle!"

Sergey Gonchar had a season to remember, the 36 year old rider came to T-Mobile and won 2 Tour de France stages and grabbed maillot jaune and the maglia rosa for a couple of days. Gonchar told t-mobile-team.com: "My switch to T-Mobile raised a few eyebrows, with some people questioning whether at my age I still had it in me to contribute to the team. Well, we have a nice saying in the Ukraine: “It’s not the old who die – but the idle!“ If you hold on to your dreams and are willing to work hard to make them come true, age doesn’t really matter. That applies to professional cyclists as well."

The former ITT world champion had a good start with T-Mobile: "My season got off to a smooth start and I quickly gained momentum. I found my rhythm already at my season debut at the Settimana Ciclista Coppa e Bartali and was firing-in-all-cylinders at the Circuit de la Sarthe in early April - I just missed narrowly out on the overall win there. Fortunately, I was able to race at this high level for a long time."

About the Giro Gonchar said: "Even though the Tour was supposed to be the focus in my race program, I experienced some great moments at the Giro already. I got hold of the pink jersey after stage 5 and seven respectively. Olaf Pollack and myself played pass the parcel with it over three consecutive days,  that doesn’t happen too often! Unfortunately I had to abandon with crash injuries on stage 16, however, with one eye on the Tour de France that was definitely the right move."

With two stage wins the Tour de France was an absolut highlight for Gonchar: "What I experienced in France was, quite frankly, beyond words. So much happened. The way we dealt with the pre-race bombshell, and the way we bounced back as a team. ‘Matse’s win in Valkenburg, which gave us a lot of confidence. My victory in the ITT in Rennes, snatching the yellow jersey and keeping it for three days. But also some tough times in the Alps, where I was ill and even had to take anti-biotics."

Gonchar continued by saying: "It remains a sort of mystery how I came back so strongly to win the second chrono on stage 19. I remember our team manager telling me that morning that he was counting on me to fight for the teams classification. So that's what I did. I wanted to surprise myself. And I guess I really succeeded at it!"