if they cannot pay the salaries, how will they pay the 2 millions a year for Jan?

[reply]if they cannot pay the salaries, how will they pay the 2 millions a year for Jan?[/reply]

Riis said he is still welcome at CSC but Jan would have to contact CSC first [see todays Cyclingnews] and then they would still have to find the money.

Man I can't remember the last time a division one team was suspended like this [if ever].

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"on your Left"

that would be a wise move for Jan...

1. a strong team to help him
2. a team director who knows what it takes to win the tour and who will kick his ass!

I believe they (Coast) were hoping the addition of Ullrich would bring in a new big sponsor to the team. Coast is not a huge company. I'm surprised CSC is still interested, as Jan kind of dumped them to go for the big $$ at Coast.

I like what Armstrong said recently in an interview in a spanish paper. He said that if he was Jan he would ride for free.

Reactions to Team Coast suspension
The decision Thursday by the UCI to suspend Team Coast from competition has not surprisingly elicited a number of reactions from team management, riders, and observers. Team management has been quick to downplay the suspension, insisting that it is only a matter of paperwork and will be rectified quickly. Other observers have seen this as the latest development in an ongoing saga surrounding the team's finances, particularly in light of salary disputes which linger from the 2002 season.

Several foreign riders, including Frank Høj, Lars Michaelsen, Mauro Gianetti, and Alex Zülle, have lodged complaints with Coast over the delayed payment of their 2002 salaries. Team Coast manager Marcel Wüst insists that the current suspension was independent of any prior salary concerns. "This problem [of last year's salary disputes] has nothing to do with the UCI's decision," Wüst told l'Equipe. At issue is the withholding of VAT, which Team Coast is required to pay the German tax office, from foreign riders' salaries.

"Last year, the management sought to rectify the situation and reclaimed the amount that was still owed to the tax office, something the riders have not accepted," Wüst continued. "This year the tax is being withheld prior to payment."

Concerning the UCI's reason for suspending the team, Coast president Günter Dahms insists the matter was simply a 'misunderstanding', and that it should be cleared up quickly. "We had until March 5 to provide proof of the salary payments to the UCI," said Dahms,quoted in Spanish daily Marca. "We sent the copy of the bank transfer, but the UCI did not recognize that." Citing an early bank closure due to a local carnival, Dahms added that the originals of the bank papers were being sent to the UCI.

Two of Team Coast's top riders, Angel Casero and Jan Ullrich, have expressed their confidence that the situation is but a minor glitch. Casero and his teammates competing in Murcia were surprised to learn of the UCI's decision, but will continue in the race. "I do not know the story behind this," Casero said, "but I think if the payments are made, things will be solved."

While other teams, notably Bjarne Riis' Team CSC, have left the door open to Jan Ullrich in the event of a Team Coast collapse, the German gives no hint of plans to jump ship. "I've never thought about leaving Coast," Ullrich told l'Equipe on Thursday. "I have total confidence in Günter Dahms to rectify the situation."

Bjarne Riis told Danish paper BT that he has been in contact with Ullrich's manager, Wolfang Strohband. "First of all I feel sorry for all Coast riders. I have been in contact with Wolfgang Strohband earlier, just to hear how things are going and to keep myself up to date on the situation. But it must be up to Jan to come to us," Riis said.

BT also reported that Swedish Team Coast rider Stefan Adamsson got his paycheck from January refused by the bank. The source of this information is former Coast rider Frank Høj, who lives in the same apartment building as Adamsson in Luxembourg.

"I'm really happy that I have moved on and can concentrate on racing," Høj told BT. The only Danish rider left on Coast, Bekim Christensen, stated that "This is sad but in some way it should have happened a long time ago."

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"on your Left"

Yes, but do you actually believe it?

Would Lance ride for free?
no matter what happened to Jan in recent years, he is still a Tour de France winner, a Vuelta winner.
he has nothing to prove anymore.

what he does if for him and for (so we have a real fight in the Tour...please Jan sign with CSC, let Bjarne kick your ass to get you in awesome shape and give us a duel in France!)