Slipstream merges with AA Drink-Leontien nl.

It's been the subject of rumour for a day or two, but the news is now confirmed - the Slipstream Women's Team is to merge with AA Drink, the team that provided a new home for several riders when Garmin-Cervélo manager Jonathan Vaughters announced the loss of a sponsor last year. The team will be run by AA-Drinks and administered by Slipstream with all riders competing on Cervélo bikes.

Garmin was contractually obliged to continue paying the salaries of nine of its ex-riders, meaning that a merger was the obvious and most practical way ahead for all parties. With many teams hitting rough patches in 2011 the merger comes as extremely welcome news in the women's cycling world.

Vaughters said: "We are pleased to partner with AA Drink / Leontien.nl. Michael Zilaard has built a strong organization and we are excited to work with him to combine our strengths. The 2012 team looks strong and we believe it will be a great year ahead."

Emma Pooley

Press release here.

Team:

Elizabeth Armitstead (UK)
Chantal Blaak (NL)
Lucinda Brand (NL)
Jessie Daams (BEL)
Sharon Laws (UK)
Lucy Martin (UK)
Shelley Olds (USA)
Madelene Olsson (SWE)
Emma Pooley (UK)
Carla Ryan (AUS)
Isabelle Söderberg (SWE)
Marijn de Vries (NL)
Marieke van Wanroij (NL)
Kirsten Wild (NL)

Rabo Women Number 1 in the world

Vos has had a perfect CX season - and now her team is
ranked the best in the world as the start of the road season
draws nearer
(image credit: Rabosport)

Hot on the heels of the Vos to race men story is news that the new Stichting-Rabobank Women team, which was constructed around her, is at the top of the UCI rankings in the run-up to the start of the 2012 season and with the Tour of Qatar, which will be the team's first race, beginning on the 1st of February and the Ronde van Drenthe - the first round of the Women's World Cup - less than two months away.

Specialized-Lululemon are in second place, followed by AA Drink-Leontien.nl in third - but with AA Drink recently confirming it has signed Emma Pooley and other riders from the ill-fated Garmin-Cervelo, there's every likelihood that the team will move up and possibly even challenge the mighty Rabobank.

The UCI say that the 35 women's teams signed up to race internationally in the coming year is a record - by our calculations, there were 37 in 2008 but the number then decreased over the coming years to 2010 when there were 27, then a slight increase to 28 in 2011. Seven extra teams is fantastic news, hopefully an indication that women's cycling is not in straits quite as dire as we had feared, and a sure sign that 2012 is going to be a vintage year for fans of the sport.

CONFIRMED: AA-Drink sign Cervélo women

Emma Pooley has confirmed that she will ride for  AA-Drink Leontien.nl in 2012, also stating that the team has signed five other riders from the troubled Garmin-Cervélo whose manager Jonathan Vaughters announced recently that sponsorship issues had forced the women's team budget to be slashed by an unspecified amount rumoured to be as much as 50%.

There have been rumours that Pooley
would go to AA-Drink for some time. If
accompanied by her six team mates, the
Dutch team will be one of the strongest
for many years.
(image credit: Fanny Schertzer CC BY-SA 3.0)

Cervélo has for many years been one of the most respected women's teams, with creator Gerard Vroomen being one of the few managers to pay equal attention to his female roster as to the men's team. Crucially, that also meant equal pay in a sport where women very often receive salaries far lower than their male counterparts due to women's races often being seen as little more than side show entertainment to keep the crowds amused before the "real" race (ie, the men's) starts. However, there have been hints that not all riders have been so happy since Vaughters took the helm: Vaughters, meanwhile, argues that he has been prevented from developing the team as he would have liked due to the limited sponsorship in women's cycling - teams frequently have to survive on budgets that equal just a few per cent or less of what top men's teams receive.

Wielerland.nl says the riders switching to AA-Drink are Emma Pooley, Sharon Laws, Carla Ryan, Lucy Martin, Elizabeth Armitstead and Jessie Daams. Pooley's move to the team has been subject to rumour for some time now. Now that she will be joined by five of her team mates - including two of the strongest - AA-Drink will be fielding one of the most effective teams in women's cycling for many years.

Iris Slappendel has gone to Rabobank, as was confirmed when she was spotted on a training ride with the team earlier this winter, while Alex Rhodes has gone to the new GreenEdge team.

Pooley to ride with AA Drink?

Emma Pooley
(image credit: Fanny Schertzer CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Dutch cycling website Wielerland.nl certainly thinks so, reporting this morning that the British star may be considering signing up with the AA Drink-Leontien team as the legendary Garmin-Cervélo women's team falls apart in the wake of sponsor BigMat's withdrawal of funding.

The situation is complicated somewhat by the fact that Pooley already has a full contract with Garmin-Cervélo, meaning that AA Drink could be asked to pay her old team in order to be able to take her.

Other reports this morning reveal that Dutch time trial specialist Iris Slappendel was spotted out on a training ride with Marianne Vos, Annemiek van Vleuten and others from the new Rabobank women's team. Slappendel admitted that she had been there but said she could not confirm or deny rumours until the Cervélo team receives further information from manager Jonathon Vaughters.

Pooley is one of the most successful British riders of all time and has twice been National Time Trial Champion. Unusually for a rider who excels in time trials, she is also a very strong climber with few rivals in the hills; winning the Mountains Classification at this year's Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen.