Market forces: Horner happy to hold out for the right deal

By Neal Rogers

Despite reports to the contrary, the services of American Chris Horner are still very much on the market for the 2008 season.

The Predictor-Lotto rider, who placed an impressive fifth Thursday atItaly’s one-day Coppa Sabatini, was rumored to have signed with risingdomestic program RockRacing. Three-time national road champion Freddie Rodriguez, Horner’steammate at Predictor the last two seasons, has already inked a deal withthe team, as has 2003 Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Victor Hugo Peña,but Horner has not.

“I’ve seen it posted that I had been picked up, that I’m riding forSlipstream, I’m riding for Rock Racing, all this stuff, and I want to makeit clear that’s not the case,” Horner said Saturday from Italy. “I don’twant other teams to think I’m off the market. I’m still lookingfor a job for next year.”

Horner said that his first choice would be to stay at Predictor-Lotto,a team he joined in 2006. Horner finished 15th at this year’s Tour de France,his third, while riding in support of second-place finisher Evans. Evanshas made it clear to team management that he wants Horner to return in2008.

Horner said the decision whether he stays or moves on ultimately fallson Predictor-Lotto team owner Marc Coucke, the president of Belgian healthcare-productcompany OmegaPharma who has prided himself on fielding a ProTour team on about halfthe budget of teams such as T-Mobile and Discovery Channel.

“Sure, Cadel wants me on the team,” Horner said. “I think I’m well likedwithin the organization, it just comes down to the budget line, and theteam is currently already at it. Hopefully [Couke] sees my worth. It’sjust a financial issue at this point. At this moment it comes down to him.”

Known as a master tactician on the bike, Horner is also known as oneof the shrewdest negotiators in the American racing scene, earning twosalaries in 2004, from both Webcor Builders and General Motors, which stillowed him on a two-year deal after the Saturn Cycling team folded at theend of 2003.

Since the Mercury fiasco of 2001, when team riders were not paid fora substantial part of the season, Horner has worked with agent MichaelRutherford, who has also represented Floyd Landis, Nathan O’Neill and RyderHesjedal. Industry estimates put Horner’s market value at between $200,000and $300,000. Horner said there are “seven or eight” teams he would liketo ride for in 2008.

“Sure, having multiple teams interested in you works to your advantage,”Horner said. “I’m not just getting low-balled by one team. It’s just atthis time of year, at the price I think I’m worth, teams have to see whatkind of funding they have left. I’m not a minimum-wage rider, so this latein the game, teams have to go back and re-calculate their budget, to makesure they have money set aside. I’m no Lance Armstrong, I’m not takinga million-dollar salary, I’m not even asking for a half-milliondollar salary. But I look at the company I’m with finishing races, andI figure taking half the amount of salary of the next best guy in thatgroup, that’s a fair price.”

Earlier last week Rock Racing team director Frankie Andreu acknowledgedthat while the team has been negotiating with Horner, the deal is “notdone, but not dead either.”

“Chris never said no, but he never signed the contract either,” Andreusaid. “When you are dealing with contracts, going back and forth, somethings stick out like sore thumb because of things that might have happenedin someone’s past history, and some things are no big deal. It’s just amatter of coming to a compromise and working some of these things out.Chris has been going through that process, working things out and tryingto make it to his liking.”

In addition to Hugo Peña and Rodriguez, new recruits to RockRacing for 2008 include Mike Creed, Doug Ollerenshaw and Cesar Grajales.

Horner, who will turn 36 on October 23, dominated the domestic racescene from 2002-2004, winning the NRC individual ranking for three consecutiveyears. Since returning to Europe following a top-10 finish at the 2004world road championships, Horner won a stage of the 2005 Tour of Switzerlandand the 2006 Tour de Romandie, and also wore the leader’s jersey for onestage at this year’s Tour de Romandie.

Some have suggested a return to the States would be a waste of Horner’stalent, but Horner said that’s not necessarily the case, stressing thathe thoroughly enjoys the domestic scene.

“I love racing in the States, the only downside is not doing the Tourand some of the great one-day races,” Horner said. “I love the Tour ofCalifornia, and the other big races in the U.S. I think there’s at leasttwo or three solid good more years in me. Ideally there’s a time for meto come back [to the U.S.] later. If the time period for me to come backis now, that’s great, as long as I’m taken care of, on a great team that’sgrowing, with a good atmosphere.

“But it also comes down to staying with Predictor, a team that’s goingto the Tour de France,” Horner continued. “Ideally I would like to do theTour a couple more times. Both scenarios are on my agenda, and it boilsdown to Predictor not paying what I think I’m worth. I don’t want to say,‘What I’m worth’ — because you’re only worth what someone will pay you— but ‘What I think I’m worth.’ It just means I will have to do a littlemore work.”

Andreu said he remains optimistic Rock Racing can sign Horner.

“I’m fully aware that he’s still shopping around,” Andreu said. “I thinkit still looks great, I still think we are going to get Chris Horner, butit could change. Who knows?”

Horner’s final objective for the 2007 road season is next weekend’sTour of Lombardy, where Evans could potentially take the ProTour crownfrom Italian Danilo Di Luca. Di Luca was pulled from the Italian worldchampionships squad two weeks ago as the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI)weighed a suspension for his involvement with notorious “doping doctor”Carlo Santuccione. CONI’s disciplinary panel will convene on Tuesday, October16, to rule on doping allegations against Di Luca.

“It’s a big objective for the team,” Horner said. “I mean it is theTour of Lombardy. Of course winning the ProTour is a good objective, butthat’s not the goal. With the form Cadel showed at worlds, with the formhe’s had all year, we’d love to finish the season with a win at Lombardy.If that brings a ProTour title, that’s great too.”

After inititally saying he would likely compete in the worldchampionships, Horner skipped the worlds to attend the Interbike tradeshow in Las Vegas with the dual purpose of earning UCI points at the ExcelSports CrossVegas event while also meeting with Rock Racing team ownerMichael Ball. However Horner’s Ridley cyclocross bikes didn’t arrive intime for the race, and the week “turned into more of a job-searching trip.”

Horner said that in addition to searching for a road contract for 2008,he’s also looking for a ’cross sponsor for the upcoming Crank BrothersU.S. Gran Prix ofCyclocross series. Horner said Belgian bike brand Ridley, his sponsorthrough Predictor-Lotto, has supplied him with cyclocross bikes, but saidhe doesn’t know which jersey he’ll be wearing when he lines up for theOctober 27 Papa John’s Derby City Cup in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I’m also still working that one out,” Horner said. “I don’t know whatjersey I’ll be wearing, it could be anything. If you know of a sponsor,have them give me a call.”

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Neal Rogers

An interest in all things rock 'n' roll led Neal into music journalism while attending UC Santa Cruz. After several post-grad years spent waiting tables, surfing and mountain biking, Neal moved to San Francisco, working stints as a bike messenger and at a software start-up. He moved to Colorado in 2001, taking an editorial internship at VeloNews. He never left, and is now Velo's editor in chief. When not traveling the world covering races, Neal can be found riding his bike, skiing, cooking, or attending a concert. Follow him on Twitter at @nealrogers.

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