Saison 2007 and Team CSC 2008

Saison 2007 is almost over and Saison 2008 is being formulated. There will be
more confusions in 2008 than in 2007, namely the uncertain future of Pro Tour and
the dark dogging shadows of doping cases.

As far as I am concerned, I will remain a Team CSC fan and follow them around
whenever I can. I will also keep an eye on Team Astana because Allain Gallopin
is there in 2008 and because Levi Leipheimer is (not yet confirmed) there. I don't
know Levi personally but I know his family and they were nice people. I also
keep watching Christian Vande Velde and Dave Zabriskie although they don't
belong to Team CSC anymore. I want to stress that this does not mean I become
less truthful to Team CSC.




This is the sum up of Saison 2007.

I went to the following races:

1. 4th March: Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne
2. 11th March: Paris - Nice (Prologue)
3. 1st April: Critérium International
4. 8th April: Tour des Flandres
5. 9th April: Rund um Köln
6. 15th April: Paris-Roubaix
7. 22nd April: Amstel Gold Race
8. 29th April: Liège - Bastogne - Liège
9. 1st May: Rund um den Henninger Turm (Frankfurt am Main)
10. 3rd June: Bayern Rundfahrt (Stage 5)
11. 10th-17th June: Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré -- 7 race days
    
12. 24th June: Team Time Trial (Eindhoven)
13. 1st July: National Championship (Germany)
14. 7th-29th July: Tour de France (all the stages except UK stages -- 19 race days)
15. 5th August: Sparkasse Giro in Bochum
16. 12th August : Deutschland Tour (Stage 3)
17. 19th August: Vattenfall Cyclassics (Hamburg)
18. 23rd September: Drei Länder Tour (Germany)
19. 27th September: World Championship, ITT (Stuttgart)
20. 30th September: World Championship (Stuttgart)

Team CSC related race events: 44 race days in 20 race events (not including the
non Team CSC races). Gasoline and other expenditure (highway toll, camping
site tariff, the paint and etc.) cost me more than 4,000 euro (most possibly more?).
This figure does not include those other things I paid for. Things like camping goods
or flags that I can use next year. The money just disappeared in the air. The
gasoline literally evaporated in the air, you know.


*****************
(Team CSC non-participating races)
17th & 18th May: Rheinland-Pfalz-Rad-Rundfahrt (Stage 2&3)
7th June: Tour de Luxembourg (Stage 1)

3 race days in 2 race events.
*****************


Autograph collection:

1. Lars Bak
2. Kasper Klostergaard
3. Martin Pedersen
4. Luke Roberts
5. Andy Schleck
6. Alexandr Kolobnev
7. Christian Vande Velde
8. David Zabriske
9. Frank Schleck
10. Bobby Julich
11. Chris Anker Sørensen
12. Juan José Haedo
13. Jens Voigt
14. Anders Lund
15. Volodymir Gustov
16. Kurt-Asle Arvesen
17. Mathew Goss
18. Michael Blaudzun
19. Allan Johansen
20. Niki Sørensen
21. Karsten Kroon
22. Stuart O'Grady
23. Carlos Sastre
24. Inigo Cuesta
25. Macus Ljungqvist
26. Fabian Cancellara
27. Matti Breschel
28. Bjarne Riis

27 riders and the team owner. I missed Lars Michaelsen's autograph.