Soccer, jet-ski and scuba-diving

“I must say that everything is going fine at the camp. The team gave me a warm reception. There are ten newcomers altogether so that makes it a bit easier for us rather than joining the team on my own. In my opinion, we fitted very well into the squad,” Roman said.Apart from Roman, the new signings of the team are: Timothy Duggan (Spidertech), Yevgeniy Petrov (Astana ), Rory Sutherland (United Healthcare), Matti Breschel (Rabobank), Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale), Marko Kump (Adria Mobil), Daniele Bennati (RadioShack), Oliver Zaugg (RadioShack), Jay McCarthy (Team Jayco-AIS)The team building activities were on the menu in the first week so that the newcomers could fit well into the team on Gran Canaria. “There were about 80 of us. All the people from the team came; riders, management, masseurs and even the people from administration. Only the riders and team managers are going to stay here until the next week, though. Except for the training sessions, we are going to do some medical tests and work out the racing program for the next season,” Roman revealed. A very exciting program was arranged for everyone. “We were divided into several groups and switched around several times so that we could get to know each other better. The first day we went scuba diving, then we jet-skied and kayaked, and finally, we played either soccer or beach volleyball. The next day we went sailing to improve our communication and organization skills. The wind conditions weren’t ideal so it was a bit complicated. The third day we did some adrenaline sports such as rappelling at high altitudes, shooting and other activities,” Roman described.He is very happy with the way his teammates as well as Alberto Contador welcomed him. “He is a really fine guy. He is an easy-going person with good sense of humor. The atmosphere is excellent here and everyone seems really nice. I´m really looking forward to working with them.”He is sharing the room with an experienced Danish rider Nicki Sörensen. “ I´m one of those who don’t speak English very well so we were put together because he is fluent. The official language in the team is English and they want us to speak with each other in English. I´m fluent in Italian and good at German, but my English skills are relatively poor, still I can make myself understood if necessary. Before I left for the Canary Islands I managed to take eight lessons in English and I´m going to take some more in December to be able to communicate better with my teammates,” Roman added.He also confirmed that they had already done three training sessions on the bike and this week they should start riding more often.