With March done, let's see what the next month has in store for the team.
Baltic Chain Tour (C1)
Several flags actually should be in the title of the Baltic Chain Tour, but we hope to please the gods by referring to the nationality of our leader and last year’s third Manninen. While Quispe will be the team’s road captain once again, we wouldn’t mind youngster Knotten scoring a point or two from the U25-classification.
Tour de Pologne (HC)
Definitely had fun reporting this race last season, but this year we’re in it to win it. Nah, not fooling anyone, as except for maybe the hearts of some Polish fans we won’t be winning anything. Unless Los Pollos Hermanos cult rider Manarelli does something special.
Veenendaal – Veenendaal (HC)
Hup, Holland, hup! Although for us it’ll more likely be Hup, Finland, hup! Yours truly Manninen going for a good result in the Dutch classic, as home rider Beukeboom will be responsible to make sure the breakaway doesn’t win the race. Last year’s sprint showed us it can’t hurt to have a good resistance stat, we hope this year it’s more of the same.
Lisbon Classic (C1)
Another sprint classic on the same day means Maksimov has an opportunity to shine as well. He really doesn’t have any decent flat domestiques with him apart from Manarelli, which might turn out to be a bad decision.
We're going to be meeting (or are meeting, in case of the BCT) in every one of those races And like you, I have the least hopes for Poland Hopefully at least one of us will come away with something! And I really hope Manninen turns it around at some point.
Time to give an overview of some of our latest races.
Vuelta a Colombia (PTHC)
PTHC home race for us, kind of. We brought Spilak for the GC, and he did okay, finishing tenth without getting any spectacular stage results. Russian sprinter Maksimov had two sprinting opportunities, and came very close to a win. After finishing fifth on the first stage, he was second in stage 4, only being beaten by home rider Hodeg.
Maksimov sprinting to second on the fourth stage
Strade Bianche (HC)
Aha, one of the most beautiful races in the cycling world. Without any puncheurs we sent Ulloa and Munoz in the early breakaway. The former worked hard, which ensured the latter having enough energy for a late attack, as our Colombian Munoz attacked again with 38 km to go, and managed to score some points with a 26th place in the end.
Munoz' late move
Tour of Eritrea (C1)
The profile seemed to fit Spilak, and the Slovenian superstar proved his manager right. Some decent stage results led to a second place in the final GC, netting us a decent amount of points.
Spilak attacking in the Eritrean mountains
Baltic Chain Tour (C1)
Manninen had a chance to redeem himself after some terrible races, but was unable to do so. One podium finish and sixth in GC is not his worst performance and doesn't sound too terrible, but is simply not good enough. With half his rd's gone and barely scoring 300 points, relegation is definitely a possibility for Los Pollos Hermanos.
Spilak has been consistently doing well. Hopefully Manninen has a few more good results in him. Zmorka's best races are still to come I guess, so relegation talk is still a bit early.
@red: Looking at the latest ranking update, relegation talk was perfectly timed Obviously with a few strong results everything can change very quickly. We'll keep fighting until the end, but have to be realistic and understand relegation is a big possibility
Tour of Pologne (HC)
Scoring only ten points in a seven-day HC race is never an amazing result. Manarelli disappointed by not finishing inside the top-8 on the sprint stage, and as expected Munoz and Mutsumine were too weak to compete in this field.
Nevertheless, our youngster Ulloa was in the right break on the fourth stage, delivering us a third place on the stage and our only points of the race. Always nice to see a self scouted rider doing well!
A couple of good results there in Colombia and Eritrea, with Baltic Chain also being decent. Nice to see Ulloa doing well for you as well. Hope you can continue to improve in the fight against relegation
First out of three sprint classics, and as it was the only HC one, most of the points were obviously available here. The late attack prevailed, but Finnish superstar Manninen was able to win the peloton sprint, finishing third after nice lead-out work by Ruiz and Quispe, who both scored some points as well.
Ruiz with the lead-out
Lisbon Classic (C1)
Quite a lot of managers expected a puncheur or punchy sprinter to take home the victory on the same day in Portugal, but we only had a pure sprinter present. Maksimov managed to hold on the entire day, finishing it off in style! Third win of the season for Los Pollos Hermanos!
What a legend
Nakhon Ratchasima Trophy (C1)
A Thai sprint classic. As can be seen in the picture below, the team helped in containing the breakaway. An okay sprint by Manninen led to a fifth place, with Quispe once again scoring some extra points.
Nakhon Ratchasima Trophy has already been raced, but there are still some more races to come this month. Here is an overview of the next Los Pollos appearances.
Chrono d’Arenberg (PTHC)
Zmorka, Ulloa and Knotten will go to Arenberg. Scoring five points in total should be our goal, although it won’t be easy.
Tour of Chile (C1)
We bring two of our big guns to Chile, which is a very important race for Los Pollos’ CEO Gustavo Fring, being a Chilean himself. Manninen can hopefully win the sprint stage, whereas Spilak will be aiming for a good position in the GC. The mountain and punchy stage should suit him, so we definitely hope to score a lot of points here on home soil.
Int. Österreich Rundfahrt (HC)
We definitely cannot expect a lot from Österreich though, where we mostly bring a development team. We also bring a sprinter, also a national champion. Ladies and gentleman, can I get an applause for Manarelli?!
Olympia’s Tour (C1)
Time for our time trialists to (hopefully) shine! Zmorka will be aided by names such as Robert, Laizer, Sterbini and home rider Beukeboom. We also hope to score some points in the sprint stages, with Maksimov being our designated sprinter.
A good first leg of the French cobbled time trial classic saw Zmorka and Ulloa on their way to some nice points. Sadly, the Ukrainian fell back to the thirteenth place during the second leg, whereas the Mexican fell outside of the top-50, where Knotten was waiting for him all along.
Zmorka on the cobbles
Tour of Chile (C1)
After a bad Tour of Chile last year in C2HC, we hoped to do better this time. We did do better GC wise with Spilak's fifth place, but with only a few stage points from him and Manninen, this race did not provide what we were hoping for.
Haven't posted anymore in the second half of the season, but thought it would be nice to do a little wrap up of the riders now that the season is over.
Pos
Rider
Nat
Team
Total
1
Eduard Alexander Beltran
COL
Cedevita
1171
2
Aleksandr Pluchkin
MOL
Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff
1158
3
Matti Manninen
FIN
Los Pollos Hermanos
1068
4
Michal Kwiatkowski
POL
Aker - MOT
1020
5
Marlen Zmorka
UKR
Los Pollos Hermanos
936
31
Simon Spilak
SLO
Los Pollos Hermanos
508
104
Roman Maksimov
RUS
Los Pollos Hermanos
208
121
Luca Sterbini
ITA
Los Pollos Hermanos
159
189
Murilo Affonso
BRA
Los Pollos Hermanos
92
253
Alain Quispe
PER
Los Pollos Hermanos
57
270
Daniel Munoz
COL
Los Pollos Hermanos
49
284
Stelly Robert
FRA
Los Pollos Hermanos
46
309
Carlos Alexandre Manarelli
BRA
Los Pollos Hermanos
37
343
Richard Laningo Laizer
TAN
Los Pollos Hermanos
30
363
Iver Johan Knotten
NOR
Los Pollos Hermanos
25
381
Dion Beukeboom
NED
Los Pollos Hermanos
20
439
Jose Gerardo Ulloa
MEX
Los Pollos Hermanos
10
459
Robinson Steven Ruiz
PER
Los Pollos Hermanos
9
518
Alejandro Osorio
COL
Los Pollos Hermanos
2
532
Luis Enrique Lopez Nolasco
HON
Los Pollos Hermanos
1
533
Wataru Mutsumine
JPN
Los Pollos Hermanos
1
First of all congratulations to Cedevita for delivering the best individual scorer, beating Pluchkin for the first time in a long time. Also, looking at how Kwiatkowski is yet another puncheur in the top-5 and one of the only four riders to score 1000p+, I guess LPH's strategy of not caring at all about puncheurs was the right one. These guys really barely left anything over for the remaining puncheurs in the division, and we all know there were quite a lot.
Now then, onto our scorers. Thought it was fun to incorporate some messages from the first page of this thread. Not to prove myself 'right' or anything (agreed with everything that was written then), just think it's funny to read them in hindsight
Ollfardh wrote:
I am worried about Manninen. Surely he can't repeat another season like that?
Matti Manninen - Beating last year's points amount was always going to be nearly impossible. Although he started the season off remarkable well in the Tour Down Under, he then completely disappeared in Juarez, Baltic Chain Tour and goal race Barbados. With half of his racedays gone, he had scored around 350 points, so that meant we obviously were getting worried concerning relegation danger. Nevertheless, he completely turned his season around by firstly winning goal race Philadeplhia and shortly after finishing third in other goal race Veenendaal. PTHC's stage races Deutschland Tour and Afrique were definitely races he also did very well at, and combine that with some other decent scoring in the remaining races and boom... Third place individually with 1068 points!
cio93 wrote:
Future Ganna is very happy Zmorka went down to PCT. ... Whether that is enough to stay up remains to be seen, but I keep my fingers crossed for you! * *not at all out of personal interest
Marlen Zmorka - He is definitely something. By far our number one top priority rider at the beginning of the transfer season, and I was willing to go far over one million wage. Had kind of the same with Baugnies last season, already looking forward to who will be my 'all-in guy' next season. But anyway, at first nothing spectacular came from him. Hoped to be a smart manager by sending him to races such as Hong Kong and Ukraine, but didn't work out. Was quite silent around him as well for a long while, as most of the TT (stage) races came in the last parts of the season. And he definitely delivered, winning many races netting him a deserving fifth place individually. His last race in Bayern was a bit disappointing, not winning a time trial and finishing below guys with 77 and 78 TT, but he scored just enough to see the team finish fourth in the rankings.
Simon Spilak - A big signing for a rather big wage who definitely went to FA at the end of the season. We knew he wasn't going to be another Manninen or Zmorka, but he was very consistent as either a leader or in rare cases a domestique. An MG legend's career is coming very close to an end, but delivering promotion to PT means he'll be in the history books of yet another MG team. We are eternally grateful.
TheManxMissile wrote: Maksimov i have zero hope for, but at least he was relatively cheap.
Roman Maksimov - To be fair, TMM's message was/is very understandable. I might have even got Maksimov for 50k, but wanted to be 'sure' and got him for 100k on the first bid. I thought he was a very interesting second sprinter after seeing him in many of my reports last year, even though he suffered a decline. He did exactly what I hoped and was very present in PTHC sprints during stage races, but his performance of the season was definitely winning the Lisboa Classic, a gamble that turned out very well for us.
Luca Sterbini - After buying Spilak from Generali this season, Sterbini was signed from them last year. As one of the only 78 TT'ists in CT he generally disappointed us. This season however, he really scored a lot of points for someone from his caliber. Definitely in PTHC he was really strong, with a top-5 in the Deutschland Tour as probably his career's most impressive feature. He still got some decent years left, and we're happy he got back to the division he used to ride in so quickly, something he also couldn't have imagined when signing for us last season.
Murilo Affonso - We have a Brazilian shirt sponsor (Kirschner) and our first win ever came from another Brazilian (Manarelli), so we definitely have something with the country. When approaching Scorchio during the transfer season we managed to find a deal from him to loan us Affonso for a season, and it turned out to be a great loan deal. He was always there as a strong and reliable Spilak domestique, and even had a spectacular top-10 performance in the Tour of Britain. Get home safe, Murilo.
Alain Quispe - In the history of heroes and legends, nobody has ever been more heroic and legendary than this dude. We got him for the meme last season, and now he scored 57 points in PCT. This is only the beginning, though, as he will finally be able to max next season, at which point he will become a menace to all, even threatening the likes of Lecuisinier and Herklotz in the next Tour de France. We bullied him last season during NC profile selection, but decided to give him a chance to reclaim his title on a flat parcours this year.
Daniel Munoz - The first LPH rider to be maxed out at the team. Obviously also because we got him at 3.00 last season. He didn't do too much this season, but proved he could be a fun rider for the breakaway, which we hope he'll repeat next season.
Stelly Robert - Hated by many, loved by none. Robert was a decent part of our TT team, but still managed to score some depth points throughout the season. We wish him a safe flight back to France.
Carlos Alexandre Manarelli - This one hurts. Manarelli, who won the team's first ever race, will start to decline during the off-season. He only received some minor opportunities this year because of being the third sprinter, but he did as best as he could. He even won a stage iirc, but can't remember where. We love you Carlos, we do. You wil never be forgotten.
Richard Laningo Laizer - An okay time trialist, but nothing more than that. We would like to thank Richard for a nice season, and won't forget he scored two points on the PTHC cobbles.
Iver Johan Knotten - The Gjensidige loanee had some fun this year and scored some points, and was obviously very happy to help us promote. Next season he can have even more fun in the PCT with his team promoting, and he might even live the 'double promotion' fairytale again with our friends from Norway.
Dion Beukeboom - Not too many points for Dion, but a very nice guy. He finished second in the Venezuela time trial stage, which was definitely a great event for our sponsors.
Jose Gerado Ulloa - He was the first rider we scouted ourselves and will never be anything to special stat-wise, but Ulloa really is and will be one of the manager's favourite riders for ever. Constantly in the attack, always in for a joke on the team bus as well, he definitely is something special.
Robinson Steven Ruiz - Seems like we've reached the part of our lvl 1 youngsters who are developing to lvl 3/4 riders now. Ruiz was a useful piece in any sprint set-up and is now only one season away from maxing at 79 flat, becoming the perfect Peruvian successor for Alain Quispe. The big difference is that Ruiz also has some other stats that are better than 55/60.
Alejandro Osorio - He didn't score big, but he scored. Osorio will be a great mountain domestique for the years to come, something he already proved in this season's Avenir, contributing as much as he could towards Pogi's domination there.
Luis Enrique Lopez Nolasco - Lopez Nolasco was literally made for our friends from Volcanica - Fox, but as they doubted a bit too long, in the end he came to us. Scored his only point by finishing 8th in the U25 in Tachira, but could really become a fun breakaway rider as well.
Wataru Mutsumine - We tried scoring some points by getting a 50k puncheur for breakaways/depth, but could not get anything better (at the time) than this guy. He scored exactly one point, which, to be fair, is more than most people would have expected.
Thanks for reading, development post coming later as well probably.
Huge Congrats Nemolito! At the beginning of the season the debate was whether you'd stay up. Now you're going up again! Phenomenal planning to achieve what very few others have in back to back promotion. You deserve it more than anyone with how much you contribute to this game.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Thanks for the nice comments, always appreciated a lot
Time for the classic rider development post.
Daniel Muñoz
4.100
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
66
77
71
66
71
71
72
55
56
69
68
61
58
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66
79
73
66
72
72
74
55
56
70
70
61
58
First rider to be maxed out at LPH, got him at 3.00 in my first season. Think he can be a nice rider to join the breakaway in a GT or maybe go for an okay GC in the ToA when we're back in PCT.
Robinson Steven Ruiz
4.32
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
74
66
66
62
70
68
65
64
71
72
63
69
64
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77
67
67
63
72
70
67
65
72
74
65
70
65
As mentioned earlier, Quispe but with better back-ups. I like him, and I think he can play an important part in any sprint lead-out train as well as going for an attack himself if he has no sprinter with him.
Alejandro Osorio
4.32
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
67
72
69
68
69
68
69
55
56
66
61
63
64
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68
75
71
70
71
70
72
55
56
67
62
64
66
Has proven in the Avenir to be a reliable domestique in the mountains, and I hope he can do the same for any GC leader in the future. Apparently had a very similar schedule to Ruiz in the last two seasons, as they are both exactly at 4.32.
Jose Gerardo Ulloa
4.23
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
69
66
69
63
69
69
69
73
65
67
67
64
64
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71
66
70
63
71
71
70
75
67
68
68
64
64
He's been one of my favourite riders since I signed him, and that's not going to change easily. Hope our future cobbled domestique gets some Mexican teammates in the squad next season.
Luis Enrique Lopez Nolasco
3.14
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
64
71
67
67
68
66
68
52
59
68
72
67
65
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64
75
68
69
69
68
71
52
59
69
73
68
67
Had a lot of doubts on what route to take exactly, but I decided to go for the 79 mtn/71hill/73 tt route. Could be decent depth scoring in the future.
Victor Alejandro Ocampo
3.00
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
63
57
61
68
67
64
68
54
58
63
53
65
68
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67
58
63
72
70
68
71
54
58
63
56
65
72
Has only been active in Avenir because of... circumstances. Future 78 tt'ist with a potential of 7, so kind of exactly the rider that stays at the same team for ever and does his thing where he needs to.
Guillermo Andres Beltran
3.40
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
Dh
Pr
67
67
68
63
67
68
64
53
62
62
62
68
61
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67
71
71
63
68
70
67
53
62
65
65
68
61
This guy will max at 76 mtn/hill, but without any TT or acc. Nothing to write home about, but should be a decent domestique as well on multiple terrains, while also ensuring the future of Chile in the MG peloton. Although Chile is no longer an official nation of the team, it still might be the third important one. Legendary last name of course, some big shoes to fit in.
Absolutely love how well you've done this year, brilliant stuff. And a great feeling to max your first talent, hope Munoz can do well in PT for you for years to come
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Baltic Chain Tour (C1)
Quispe will be the team’s road captain once again, we wouldn’t mind youngster 
Knotten scoring a point or two from the U25-classification.
Tour de Pologne (HC)
Manarelli does something special.
Veenendaal – Veenendaal (HC)
Lisbon Classic (C1)
Maksimov has an opportunity to shine as well. He really doesn’t have any decent flat domestiques with him apart from 
And like you, I have the least hopes for Poland 
Hopefully at least one of us will come away with something! And I really hope Manninen turns it around at some point.
Vuelta a Colombia (PTHC)
Spilak for the GC, and he did okay, finishing tenth without getting any spectacular stage results. Russian sprinter 
Strade Bianche (HC)
Ulloa and 
Tour of Eritrea (C1)
Mutsumine were too weak to compete in this field. 
Nakhon Ratchasima Trophy (C1)
Chrono d’Arenberg (PTHC)
Zmorka, 
Tour of Chile (C1)
Int. Österreich Rundfahrt (HC)
Laizer, 
Luis Enrique Lopez Nolasco - Lopez Nolasco was literally made for our friends from Volcanica - Fox, but as they doubted a bit too long, in the end he came to us. Scored his only point by finishing 8th in the U25 in Tachira, but could really become a fun breakaway rider as well. 
