Getting into the swing of the silly season

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Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) at the start hopes to make a good race.(Image credit: Régis Garnier)

Every professional sport has it - that time of the year many call 'the silly season', when speculation is rife surrounding the composition of teams for the following year. Cycling is no exception and in 2009 the silly season has become a lot sillier, with the addition of new teams to the peloton, returning riders and retiring sponsors.

The man of the moment. Will he stay with Astana, will he head to Caisse d'Epargne? Murmurings are growing louder that the 2009 Tour de France champion will move to the Spanish squad, although there's a chance he'll stick out the year with the Kazakh crew, buddy up with the returning Alexandre Vinokourov and bide his time before joining Fernando Alonso's outfit in 2011. More on that possibility below.

The giant German is a sprinting powerhouse and would be number one for bunch kicks in any other team. He's on Columbia-HTC however, which means there's a certain Manxman by the name of Mark Cavendish to contend with for that position. Sky may get the quietly-spoken and affable bloke from Rostock, although don't be surprised if he pulls something unexpected out of the basket. A possible replacement for Gert Steegmans at Katusha, perhaps?

Hmmmm, times have been a bit tough for 'Il Piccolo Principe'. The sheen of the 2004 Giro d'Italia wore off a long time ago but he has tasted plenty of Classics success since. Hasn't found his grand tour niche - one year the Tour is his focus, the next he's aiming for the Giro. Lampre may be a little tired of it and although there hasn't been much noise about his movements, there could be some stealthy negotiations going on.

Despite claims it hasn't got 'money to burn', Team Sky has a generous wallet and the backing of the sport's current powerhouse nation, judging by its success on the track at last year's Olympics in Beijing. Directeur sportif Scott Sunderland has been a little coy - as is his wont and the regulations - about exactly who will line up for the team in 2010 although we have a pretty good inkling they'll hit the ground running.

The Spanish squad has stood by its man Valverde through testing times, and given this fact there's not much of a chance Eusebio Unzué will ditch him now. Joaquin Rodriguez has already signed for Katusha, Italian Marzio Bruseghin's on board for two years and French veteran Christophe has signed for one. Meanwhile, the Contador rumours fail to go away. If Alberto is given a new home chances are he'll be a grand tour rider in tandem with Valverde, who keeps performing well despite the headlines, much to his credit.