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Specialized lures Christoph Sauser away from Cannondale
Mountain Bike Action is reporting that Specialized Bikes lured Christoph Sauser away from Siemens-Cannondale. I’m convinced that this move is all about marketing, since it’s probably safe to assume that Sauser is going to continue his successful career on the World Cup race circuit, and Specialized is set to cash in on his top-notch performances.
Now that Cannondale’s powerhouse on the cross country race scene is riding another company’s bikes, I’ll be interested to see how the vaunted Cannondale Scalpel does on the World Cup race circuit. I understand that Cannondale won’t be able to replace a rider like Sauser — especially a rider in the prime of his racing career — but a company that based so much of its marketing material on the bike’s success in reaching the podium likely needs to continue its run to maintain credibility with consumers.
Similarly, I’m interested to see what (and how) Specialized does with Sauser and a bunch of strong up-and-comers (like Liam Killeen).
Update - 14 October 2005: Colour me purple, but is sounds like there’s a little bit of bitterness in the Cannondale camp in regards to Sauser leaving for the big ‘S’;. Not that I’d blame them but, to be fair, the life of a pro cyclist doesn’t seem to be an easy one and cashing in on their talent is their perogative.
Oh the drama.
1. Posted by Cannondale’s 2006 pro mountain bike team » The Biking Hub | 12:06 pm, 15 December 2005
[…] Cannondale lost a couple of its most visible riders in the past couple of months — Christoph Sauser moved to Specialized and, while there’s been no formal announcement, word is Cedric Gracia will return to French manufacturer Commencal. In response to Sauser’s departure, Cannondale signed two new riders and retained the services of two current riders. For 2006, Peter Riis Anderson and Jakob Fuglsang, both from Denmark are set to join Swedish ace Fredrik Kessiakoff and Kiwi Kashi Leuchs. Cannondale is making a good choice with these selections — the company looks set to develop some formidable young talent that Cannondale hopes will challenge for the cross country podium at the 2006 World Championships and in the 2008 Olympic Games. […]