Cyclingnews is reporting, via Het Nieuwsblad, that Mick Rogers has signed for 2006 with T-Mobile.
Verrrry interesting. With 2 TT world champ's, I bet he was pretty expensive to sign - so who's leaving the T-Mobile roost? Or maybe they're expecting to save enough just from Zabel retiring? Will we see Rogers working as the 10th member of T-Mobile in this year's TdF?

dayum, transfer season is starting early this year. Smart move on Rogers' part to get it in writing now, before the TdF. Not sure if his price would stay so high if he only pulled 22nd again. (not that that was a bad result for him, but...)

I feel sorry for him. I know the money must be good but if he negotiated with other teams I'm sure he could have gotten close. T-mobile has the money to lure potential stars with a fat paycheck but look at their history and system. The have ruined how many up and comers and look how they've flourished after they left. Or............maybe they're the only clean team. Either way bad move on his part. He will just play a supporting role for Ullrich. I do wish Ullrich had gone to CSC a couple years ago.

good point. although, with Vino leaving, and ullrich in his prime maybe they're looking for a future leader.. i'm a kloden fan, but the guy just doesn't seem to have it.

good point. although, with Vino leaving, and ullrich in his prime maybe they're looking for a future leader.. i'm a kloden fan, but the guy just doesn't seem to have it.

With zabel and vino leaving i would think that tmob would look for someone with presence before june of the racing season? Can anyone elaborate on the value of Rogers with respect to vino and zabel?

Too bad about zabel/vino, they were they only reason for me to look for a pink jersey before the TDF.

"Michael Rogers to T-Mobile in 2006 ...
Press communications at Quick-Step revealed today that Michael Rogers, current leader at the Tour de Suisse, will be transferring to T-Mobile. At the end of 2005 the current TT champion will transfer over to the magenta team of T-Mobile. The presence of Rogers will further boost the team's TT abilities and their stage race strength."

Vino is definitely out of T-mobile now that Rogers is in because I can't see T-mobile spending that much money for an additional boss and he has probably expressed his desire to leave which is why they picked up Rogers...I am not sure if Zabel is going to leave unless he wants to leave for greener pastures before he retires. Of course it is possible since he is trying to refurbish or reinvent his identity as a racer.

I agree with HXTi. there's a really interesting article on Velonews if you havent read it http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/8152.0.html that talks about how when riders come to telekom for the big bucks, they are never given the oppurtunity to reach their full potential. when they leave for more open teams, they flourish. look at savoldelli for example.

Vino is definitely out of T-mobile now that Rogers is in because I can't see T-mobile spending that much money for an additional boss and he has probably expressed his desire to leave which is why they picked up Rogers...I am not sure if Zabel is going to leave unless he wants to leave for greener pastures before he retires. Of course it is possible since he is trying to refurbish or reinvent his identity as a racer.

the money is on zabel going with gerolsteiner next year (velonews)

yup I'd take a lesser paycheck with a more proven organization. how good is the $ gonna be in 2 years when he has nothing to show. I'm sure Savoldelli and Santiago were had for a song last transfer. So you make great money with poor to no results for 2 years and then make undervalue after that. better to make good (but not great) money the whole time and get results which will earn ya additional $ through endorsements. I bet PS and SB made less money overall than they would have on another team.
will be interesting to see what happens to Vino. would be hilarious if he went to discovery.

If Rogers is 2nd in the pecking order, it may turn out to be a good move. If he's any lower, i.e. behind Kloden and Vino (if he stays), I also feel it may be another pink hole mistake.

The article I read said Quickstep simply couldn't match his wage demands... which was followed by a great comment from Lefevre- "When I heard the price from his manager Paul De Geyter, I said 'Good luck'. The problem is that boys of his level get paid for what they are expected to achieve, not on the basis of what they've achieved in the past. But he will not be substituted for another big Tour hope. We simply cannot pay for that."

How true- pay based upon potential, not performance. Granted Rogers has 2 outstanding World TT titles, but that shouldn't make him one of the handful of best paid riders in the world. Win a Vuelta/Giro, or be a Bettini with phenomenal and consistent results, and then you might deserve that money.