TV2 announced on Sunday that Saxo Bank director, Kim Andersen, will be leaving the Saxo Bank team with immediate effect. Team manager and owner, Bjarne Riis, confirmed the news, but would not concede if he was fired or quit the team. Riis responded to the suggestion that Andersen was fired with the cryptic, "That is not entirely true, and it is not entirely wrong."
Andersen has been Riis's most trusted director since the 2007 Tour de France when Riis remained at home for the Tour. The wider implications beyond the stunning departure just days before the Tour starts in Rotterdam are even bigger.
The departing Andersen had a short but important comment of his own: "We are working on a new project here in Luxembourg. It's me and Brian Nygaard, working on a ProTour team, but it is new, and we have much to look at, so when we have something more specific, we will report on it."
Former racer and now a commentator for EuroSport, Thomas Bay, weighed in on the situation: "The sporting significance of Kim Andersen's loss for Bjarne Riis can hardly be underestimated. It is a gigantic loss. Kim Andersen is a shrewd tactician. The team loses all of its sporting identity with the loss of Kim Andersen."
Andersen's relationship with the Schleck Brothers is undeniably close, and a Luxembourg ProTour team would surely bring the two Schlecks. Bay confirms this: "If Kim Andersen makes a team based in Luxembourg, it is hard to imagine that the two would not come with him."
For Riis, the outlook appears gloomy. Riis has been on the search for a sponsor the entire season and has continually promised good news, but none has been forthcoming. Bay feels that "the whole thing is a signal that Bjarne Riis is having difficulty finding a sponsor."
Normally, it is around the time of the Tour de France that the sponsorship for the next season takes shape. Sports directors and riders negotiate their upcoming deals around the Tour de France, so Andersen's departure ahead of the Tour is even more important in that light. Something went wildly astray in the Saxo Bank camp in recent time.
Bjarne Riis has said that he will respond to the loss of Andersen later today. It will be very interesting to hear his thoughts.