Team Saxo Bank-IT Factory has just completed the first mission of a new era – and everything went according to plan: Mission accomplished down to the smallest detail.

We’re of course talking about the annual team training camp, which took place in Denmark this year. The training camp is not over yet but the actual survival camp headed by Ranger B.S. Christiansen is completed.

True to habit there were some very demanding assignments both mentally and physically as well as tasks of a more technical nature all mixed into a neat cocktail by B.S. Christiansen and Bjarne Riis in order to equip riders and staff for the oncoming season. The fact that the team has topped the rankings as best cycling team in the world four years running is no coincidence, but it still requires an extra effort to stay at the top of the game. Now the entire team of over 70 riders and staff is ready to take on the challenges of 2009.

“A prerequisite for everyone working together to reach the predetermined goals is knowing exactly what each individual team member is made of and capable of. Next you determine a strategy and tactics and when everyone contributes their absolute best there’s a big chance of success,” says B.S. Christiansen.

Everyone had to be trained as an undercover agent with special skills and knowledge in order to complete the main assignment, which was to locate and free the main sponsors, who’d been taken hostage by an unknown enemy. The team had to work together in both small and larger groups in order to complete this assignment. But in the middle of everything the enemy attacked the camp and everyone had to flee into the darkness.

Dogs and enemies constantly chased the team but after almost 24 hours on the run through unknown territory they managed to reach the coastline, where everyone jumped into the freezing cold water to be rescued by small speedboats and brought to safety onboard three larger boats. The next assignment was to set sails, navigate through the Danish sea in the dead of night, cook and get everyone safely to the destination. The final day everyone competed against each other in a match race under difficult conditions.

It’s also worth mentioning that the day before the actual training camp the riders and sports directors were subjected to some extremely tough tests with the purpose of applying further pressure to the people at the top of the organization.

“I have a definite feeling that everything has gone well. Everyone’s accounted for and I think we’ve laid a more solid foundation than ever before to remain the strongest team out there and take on whatever the future may bring us. I’ve subjected everyone to a lot of new challenges because a lot of changes will happen in the 2009 season. We have a new name, new sponsors, new bikes and new team members so it was essential with brand new challenges at this stage already. The way I see it we’re embarking on a new era built on our accumulated experience from everything we’ve been through so far,” concludes B.S. Christiansen.