Yesterday’s suggestions that Bjarne Riis may have one more big name to announce for his 2013 lineup have been followed by a report linking the current Team Sky rider Michael Rogers to the Danish squad.
According to Feltet.dk, the 32 year old Australian will move to the team next season and in addition to supporting Alberto Contador, may well secure big results of his own for the team.
He had his best results in several years in 2012, winning two stages plus the overall in the Bayern Rundfahrt, netting second overall behind team-mate Bradley Wiggins in the Critérium du Dauphiné, placing third in the Critérium International, netting fourth in the Santos Tour Down Under and fifth in the Tour de Romandie.
He also played a key part in helping Wiggins and Chris Froome place first and second in the Tour de France.
Given that he had been struggling with mononucleosis in previous years, it was a clear turnaround.
Neither Team Sky nor Saxo Tinkoff have yet confirmed the move. If the transfer does indeed prove accurate, attention will undoubtedly turn to Sky’s zero tolerance policy, which has recently seen staff members leave after confessing to using banned substances in the past.
Rogers has never made such an admission, but he has previously stated he worked with the now-banned doctor Michele Ferrari earlier in his career. He said recently that the collaboration had nothing to do with banned substances. Ferrari is facing a lifetime ban from the sport after he was implicated by USADA in doping Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service team.
Rogers turned professional in 2001 with the Mapei Quick Step team and spent two years there. He later raced with Quick Step – Davitamon and T-Mobile/High Road prior to joining Team Sky in 2011.
His victories include three world time trial championships, the 2002 Santos Tour Down Under, the 2003 Tour of Belgium and Deutschland Tour plus the 2010 Tour of California.
If Rogers does indeed transfer across to Team Saxo – Tinkoff, it will be too late for the squad to have his points considered for the ProTeam licence it is pushing for. The team was ranked twentieth in the UCI’s hierarchy of teams, and faces some uncertainty in relation to being part of the WorldTour in 2013.
The UCI is due to make a final decision on the licences this month. If the team is confirmed as Pro Continental, it will have to rely on WildCard invites for the top events.