Fabio Aru Luigi Bagnoli Enrico Battaglin Cesare Benedetti Manuele Boaro Nicola Boem Niccolo Bonifazio Claudio Bruno Davide Formolo Bruno Iodice Sacha Modolo Stefano Pirazzi Francesco Rizzi Kristian Sbaragli Vincenzo Tempesta Giovanni Visconti
Race Calender
Note: For WT race we need to get Wildcards
Christchurch - Akeroa
New Zealand
CT.2
Volta ao Algarve
Portugal
CT.2
Clasica di Tirreno - Adriatico
Italy
CT.1
Strade Bianche
Italy
WT
Vuelta a Tachira
Venezuela
WT
Roma Maxima
Italy
CT.1
Milano - Sanremo
Italy
WT
Critérium International
France
CT.2
Tour of South Africa
South Africa
CT.2
Giro del Trentino
Italy
CT.1
Tour de Romandie
Switzerland
CT.2
Giro d'Italia
Italy
WT
Tour des Fjords
Norway
CT.1
GP Moscow
Russia
CT.2
La Jurassaine
Switzerland
CT.1
Tour d'Andorra
Andorra
CT.2
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
Germany
CT.2
Le Géant de Provence
France
CT.2
Int. Österreich-Rundfahrt
Austria
CT.1
Volta a Portugal
Portugal
CT.2
Baltic Chain Tour
Latvia
CT.1
Post Danmark Rundt
Denmark
CT.2
World Ports Classic
Belgium/The Netherlands
CT.1
Tour of Britain
Great - Britain
CT.1
Milano - Torino
Italy
CT.2
Il Lombardia
Italy
WT
Vuelta a Colombia
Colombia
CT.2
Japan Cup
Japan
CT.1
Victories 2016
Sacha Modolo - Stage 2 Tour of South Africa Davide Formolo - Stage 3 Tour de Romandie Fabio Aru - Le Géant de Provence Enrico Battglin - Stage 7 Volta a Portugal Fabio Aru - Stage 9 Volta a Portugal
Victories 2015
Spoiler
Adriano Malori Stage 3 Criterium International Giovanni Visconti Stage 8 Giro d'Italia Kristof Vandewalle Stage 1 Tour of California Enrico Battaglin Stage 14 Giro d'Italia Michael Schwarzmann Stage 1 Tour d'Andorra Sacha Modolo Stage 6 Tour of Austria Adriano Malori Stage 7 Tour of Austria Adriano Malori Stage 8 Tour of Britain Adriano Malori Italian TT Champs Cesare Benedetti Vuelta a Colombia
Our 2015 season got off to a much better start with multiple successes in the first few months, with Pais Vasco being a particular highlight as we scored two stage wins in a row from the Yates brothers. Unfortunately, our season went downhill very quickly, with no wins in the GTs or Classics. Simon Yates continued to pick up wins, including an important one in our home race but it was an underwhelming season from the team, particularly our sprinters. In total, we picked up just nine wins, mainly due to a poor season from Mark Cavendish, who scored seven on his own in 2014.
For 2016, a change of focus will hopefully bring around a change in fortune as we look to the future.
The Squad
Name
Age
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
STA
RES
REC
Taylor Phinney
26
78
64
69
79
80
77
77
75
75
73
76
72
73
Geraint Thomas
30
77
71
74
76
78
78
70
75
63
69
77
72
74
Tejay Van Garderen
28
73
78
77
78
77
63
64
72
72
70
73
72
76
Ian Stannard
29
76
63
72
72
74
76
68
71
68
78
74
72
66
Joseph Dombrowski
25
69
77
74
69
68
59
64
72
70
77
72
71
73
Simon Yates
24
76
71
77
68
69
69
71
75
72
71
71
67
68
Adam Yates
24
71
76
74
68
66
61
65
72
69
72
68
65
68
Alex Dowsett
28
73
63
70
76
76
62
66
71
67
67
73
68
68
Peter Kennaugh
27
70
75
75
69
73
57
65
71
68
69
72
69
73
Rohan Dennis
26
73
71
74
76
76
58
60
68
68
63
69
66
69
Lawson Craddock
24
72
70
72
76
74
66
65
67
69
67
68
68
69
Gavin Mannion
25
69
74
72
67
63
63
64
71
71
74
68
64
68
Owain Doull
23
72
63
71
64
68
66
74
72
70
68
69
66
67
Philip Lavery
26
73
61
71
65
69
73
72
74
69
66
70
65
66
Jonathan Dibben
22
73
61
70
67
68
73
70
70
70
68
70
66
66
Thomas Moses
24
70
65
74
63
64
69
67
70
67
72
70
66
63
Benjamin Dyball
27
71
68
74
65
67
68
70
70
68
72
70
65
66
Daniel McLay
24
71
63
69
67
68
66
73
72
72
63
67
64
65
Samuel Harrison
24
73
65
67
74
73
67
65
64
69
68
66
67
66
Sam Spokes
24
72
62
72
65
66
72
68
70
69
69
71
66
60
Larry Warbasse
26
69
71
70
72
72
59
62
68
67
68
70
69
71
Ian Bibby
30
69
71
72
67
67
66
68
70
70
68
68
66
66
Mark Christian
26
70
62
68
67
67
70
70
72
70
68
67
66
67
Andy Byrne
22
67
67
70
62
61
66
65
68
73
69
70
65
64
The Goals
As with previous seasons, the goal is still to develop our own talent and, as such, pressure will not be on individual results for 90% of the team. Our youngsters must simply give their all for the team and try their best when they get their own opportunities. However, for the more experienced team leaders, the pressure is on to get enough points to keep the team in the World Tour. Therefore, the following races are important to us:
-All of the cobbled classics, where our strong unit should be able to pick up multiple top tens, with the team led by experienced road captain Geraint Thomas.
-Virginia Chrono Tour. A huge race for our American focused team with an incredibly strong TT lineup.
-Tour of Britain. Home race, so naturally extremely important. We hope for a competitive performance from new British star Simon Yates.
-US stage races. Particularly the USAPCC, which is very important for our American sponsors and riders.
-Eneco Tour. A race that we should be aiming to do well in with a strong team for this type of race.
-Tour de France. Of course.
The Results
Victories
#1 Joe Dombrowski - Vuelta a Tachira, Stage 8 #2 Joe Dombrowski - Amgen Tour of California, Stage 7 #3 Rohan Dennis, Alex Dowsett, Sam Harrison, Peter Kennaugh, Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates, Simon Yates (TTT) - Deutschland Tour, Stage 5 #4 Jonathan Dibben - Tour of Mount Fuji, Stage 5 #5 Tejay Van Garderen - Tour de France. Stage 18 #6 Sam Harrison - USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 1 #7 Simon Yates - USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 3 #8 Simon Yates - USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 6 #9 Lawson Craddock, Rohan Dennis, Alex Dowsett, Sam Harrison, Tom Moses, Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van Garderen, Larry Warbasse (TTT) - Vuelta a Espana, Stage 1 #10 Adam Yates - Tour of Britain, Stage 4 #11 Ian Bibby - Tour of Britain, Stage 6 #12 Taylor Phinney - Vuelta a Espana, Stage 11 #13 Tejay Van Garderen - Vuelta a Espana, Stage 13 #14 Lawson Craddock, Alex Dowsett, Taylor Phinney, Geraint Thomas, Tejay Van Garderen (TTT) - Virginia Chrono Tour Stage 2 #15 Geraint Thomas - Virginia Chrono Tour Stage 4
Spoiler
Other Notable Results
Spoiler
9th, Tour of Toowoomba Stage 4 - Mark Christian
8th, Vuelta al Pais Vasco Stage 1 - Simon Yates
6th, Vuelta al Pais Vasco Stage 4 - Peter Kennaugh
6th, Vuelta al Pais Vasco Stage 6 - Peter Kennaugh 3rd, National Capital Tour Stage 1 - Rohan Dennis
6th, Vuelta a Tachira Stage 5 - Joe Dombrowski 3rd, Vuelta a Tachira Stage 9 - Joe Dombrowski
5th, Vuelta a Tachira Stage 10 - Joe Dombrowski
4th, Vuelta a Tachira GC - Joe Dombrowski 3rd, Vuelta a Tachira KOM - Joe Dombrowski 1st, Vuelta a Tachira Youth GC - Joe Dombrowski
9th, Milano - San Remo - Taylor Phinney
10th, E3 Prijs - Harelbeke - Geraint Thomas
10th, Gent - Wevelgem - Taylor Phinney
9th, Ronde van Vlaanderen - Taylor Phinney 3rd, Trofeo Campania - Alex Dowsett
9th, Giro d'Italia Stage 1 - Peter Kennaugh
7th, Giro d'Italia Stage 5 - Simon Yates
10th, Giro d'Italia Stage 6 - Adam Yates
7th, Giro d'Italia Stage 7 - Adam Yates
9th, Giro d'Italia Stage 7 - Simon Yates
8th, Giro d'Italia Stage 10 - Simon Yates
10th, Giro d'Italia Stage 13 - Adam Yates
8th, Giro d'Italia Stage 14 - Adam Yates
10th, Giro d'Italia Stage 19 - Adam Yates
7th, Giro d'Italia Stage 21 - Adam Yates
9th, Giro d'Italia GC - Adam Yates 2nd, Giro d'Italia Youth GC - Adam Yates
4th, Giro d'Italia Youth GC - Simon Yates 2nd, Amgen Tour of California Stage 2 - Joe Dombrowski
5th, Amgen Tour of California Stage 4 - Owain Doull
5th, Amgen Tour of California Stage 5 - Owain Doull 3rd, Amgen Tour of California GC - Joe Dombrowski 2nd, Amgen Tour of California KoM - Joe Dombrowski 1st, Amgen Tour of California Youth GC - Joe Dombrowski 2nd, Deutschland Tour Stage 2 - Simon Yates
6th, Deutschland Tour Stage 4 - Geraint Thomas
8th, Deutschland Tour Stage 4 - Adam Yates
7th, Deutschland Tour Stage 6 - Geraint Thomas
10th, Deutschland Tour Stage 6 - Simon Yates
4th, Deutschland Tour Stage 7 - Geraint Thomas
5th, Deutschland Tour Stage 7 - Alex Dowsett
7th, Deutschland Tour Stage 7 - Rohan Dennis 2nd, Deutschland Tour Stage 8 - Simon Yates
4th, Deutschland Tour GC - Geraint Thomas
9th, Deutschland Tour GC - Simon Yates 1st, Deutschland Tour Youth GC - Simon Yates 3rd, Deutschland Tour Youth GC - Adam Yates 1st, Deutschland Tour Team Classification 3rd, Vuelta a Guatemala Stage 7 - Benjamin Dyball 2nd, Vuelta a Guatemala KoM - Ian Bibby 2nd, Tour of Mount Fuji Stage 1 - Tejay Van Garderen
7th, Tour of Mount Fuji Stage 3 - Tejay Van Garderen
8th, Tour of Mount Fuji Stage 4 - Joe Dombrowski
9th, Tour of Mount Fuji GC - Tejay Van Garderen
10th, Tour of Mount Fuji GC - Joe Dombrowski 1st, Tour of Mount Fuji Points Classification - Jonathan Dibben 3rd, Tour of Mount Fuji KoM - Joe Dombrowski 2nd, Tour of Mount Fuji Youth GC - Joe Dombrowski
9th, Tour de France Stage 2 - Tejay Van Garderen
8th, Tour de France Stage 3 - Tejay Van Garderen
7th, Tour de France Stage 5 - Tejay Van Garderen
5th, Tour de France Stage 10 - Tejay Van Garderen
6th, Tour de France Stage 11 - Joe Dombrowski 3rd, Tour de France Stage 12 - Tejay Van Garderen
5th, Tour de France Stage 12 - Geraint Thomas
5th, Tour de France Stage 14 - Tejay Van Garderen
10th, Tour de France Stage 14 - Joe Dombrowski 3rd, Tour de France Stage 16 - Ian Stannard
7th, Tour de France Stage 19 - Geraint Thomas
5th, Tour de France Stage 20 - Tejay Van Garderen
6th, Tour de France GC - Tejay Van Garderen 2nd, Tour de France Youth GC - Joe Dombrowski
4th, Tour of Vancouver Stage 4 - Joe Dombrowski
6th, Tour of Vancouver GC - Joe Dombrowski 2nd, Tour of Vancouver Youth GC - Joe Dombrowski
7th, Tour of Northern Europe Stage 2 - Alex Dowsett 3rd, Tour of Northern Europe Stage 7 - Jonathan Dibben 2nd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 2 - Simon Yates 2nd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 3 - Gavin Mannion 3rd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 3 - Ian Bibby 2nd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 4 - Lawson Craddock 3rd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge GC - Lawson Craddock 1st, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Points Classification - Simon Yates 1st, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Youth GC - Lawson Craddock 2nd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Youth GC - Simon Yates 3rd, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Youth GC - Joe Dombrowski 1st, USA Pro Cycling Challenge Team Classification 2nd, Eneco Tour Stage 1 - Geraint Thomas 3rd, Eneco Tour Stage 1 - Taylor Phinney
4th. Eneco Tour Stage 2 - Taylor Phinney 2nd, Eneco Tour Stage 3 - Taylor Phinney
6th, Eneco Tour Stage 4 - Geraint Thomas 2nd, Eneco Tour GC - Geraint Thomas 3rd, Tour of Britain Stage 7 - Andy Byrne 3rd, Tour of Britain GC - Adam Yates 3rd, Tour of Britain KoM - Andy Byrne 1st, Tour of Britain Youth GC - Adam Yates 1st, Tour of Britain Team Classification
10th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 3 - Tejay Van Garderen
10th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 5 - Taylor Phinney
4th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 6 - Tejay Van Garderen
5th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 7 - Taylor Phinney
10th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 7 - Tom Moses
6th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 8 - Tejay Van Garderen
10th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 9 - Taylor Phinney 3rd, Vuelta a Espana Stage 10 - Tejay Van Garderen
4th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 10 - Taylor Phinney
6th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 10 - Alex Dowsett
6th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 12 - Tejay Van Garderen
4th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 14 - Tejay Van Garderen
8th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 15 - Taylor Phinney
9th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 19 - Tejay Van Garderen
6th, Vuelta a Espana Stage 20 - Tejay Van Garderen 2nd, Vuelta a Espana Stage 21 - Tejay Van Garderen 2nd, Vuelta a Espana GC - Tejay Van Garderen
5th, Vuelta a Espana Points Classification - Tejay Van Garderen
10th, Course de la Paix Stage 5 - Adam Yates 2nd, Course de la Paix Youth GC - Adam Yates 3rd, Virginia Chrono Tour Stage 3 - Tejay Van Garderen
6th, Virginia Chrono Tour Stage 3 - Alex Dowsett
7th, Virginia Chrono Tour Stage 3 - Taylor Phinney
5th, Virginia Chrono Tour Stage 4 - Tejay Van Garderen 2nd, Virginia Chrono Tour GC - Tejay Van Garderen 3rd, Virginia Chrono Tour GC - Taylor Phinney
4th, Virginia Chrono Tour GC - Geraint Thomas 1st, Virginia Chrono Tour Team Classification
4th, World TTT Championships - Lawson Craddock, Rohan Dennis, Alex Dowsett, Sam Harrison, Taylor Phinney, Geraint Thomas, Tejay Van Garderen
4th, World ITT Championships - Geraint Thomas 3rd, World U23 Championships - Jonathan Dibben
8th, World U23 Championships - Owain Doull
7th, World Championships - Geraint Thomas
---------------------------------------
British Gas Cycling Academy
Our Development Team, of course, return for 2016 and will aim to continue their fantastic job of producing riders capable of succeeding in the World Tour. Our academy plays a pivotal role in the future of this team, as evidenced by the seven current main team riders who started in the DT. This year, the team will be led by Welsh stage racer Scott Davies, who at just 21, is already well on his way to becoming a solid pro and will be looking to perform well in longer races, especially those with TTs. He will be assisted by American Time Trial specialist Thomas Rose, who will look for good results in ITTs.
Amongst the new intake are two fine climbers from New Zealand, with Angus Chapman, in particular, looking to show his attacking power on the slopes. We also welcome our first ever South African rider in sprinter David Whitehead. 19 year old Brit Harrison Adams is the youngest rider under contract this year but, despite this, the promising youngster will lead the team in the cobbled races and could be a star of the future in one day races.
The Squad
Name
Age
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
STA
RES
REC
Scott Davies
21
70
71
70
69
68
59
58
68
65
65
66
63
68
Thomas Rose
21
68
65
65
69
69
66
63
62
69
64
63
67
63
David Whitehead
21
69
57
62
63
67
62
69
67
73
60
65
64
65
Angus Chapman
21
63
68
68
63
60
53
55
69
65
68
67
65
67
Harrison Adams
19
65
61
65
63
63
67
59
63
67
63
67
61
61
Edward Birch
22
66
53
60
57
64
60
67
66
66
53
64
63
64
Lewis Pugh
21
66
58
63
61
63
65
65
60
72
65
65
62
60
Henry Murray
20
59
66
64
64
64
54
53
62
63
52
61
62
62
The Goals
-Keep developing riders so they can move up to the main team by the time they're 23. Ideally, at least one rider a season will make the grade, therefore saving us money on transfers.
-Do well in the Tour of Britain, Ride London Classic and Rutland-Melton Classic, when sponsors British Gas will be keen to see the results of their input.
-Be visible in any CT level races. Anonymity will not get us anywhere.
-In a team not defined by results, actual race goals can be hard to put in place, but we expect the team to win something in the U23 Tour, races like Cascade Cycling Classic or Tour de l'Avenir should allow us to shine.
The Results
Victories
#1 Scott Davies - Giro Valle d'Aosta, Stage 5 #2 Scott Davies - Giro Valle d'Aosta, GC #3 Scott Davies - Cascade Cycling Classic, Stage 2 #4 Scott Davies - Cascade Cycling Classic, GC
Spoiler
Other Notable Results
Spoiler
8th, National Capital Tour GC - Scott Davies 2nd, National Capital Tour Youth GC - Scott Davies 3rd, Tour of South Africa Stage 8 - Angus Chapman 2nd, Tour of South Africa Stage 11 - David Whitehead 2nd, Giro Valle d'Aosta Stage 2 - Scott Davies
6th, Giro Valle d'Aosta Stage 3 - Scott Davies
6th, Giro Valle d'Aosta Stage 6 - Angus Chapman
10th, Giro Valle d'Aosta Stage 6 - Scott Davies
8th, Tour de Berlin Stage 2 - Thomas Rose 3rd, Tour de Berlin KoM - Lewis Pugh
9th, Chrono San Michel - Thomas Rose
10th, Chrono San Michel - Scott Davies 3rd, Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 4 - Scott Davies 3rd, Cascade Cycling Classic Points Classification - Scott Davies
4th, Cascade Cycling Classic KoM - Scott Davies
6th, Tour de l'Avenir Stage 1 - Scott Davies
10th, Tour de l'Avenir Stage 1 - Thomas Rose 3rd, Tour de l'Avenir Stage 8 - Scott Davies
6th, Tour de l'Avenir GC - Scott Davies
Welcome to the TVM Cycling Team's brand new headquarters! Following a successful first season as TVM - Sanyo we are returning for the 2016 ICL season stronger than ever before!
We are proud to present our brand new jersey for the year ahead which will hopefully be seen many times throughout the season. Following a hectic transfer season we would like to present you with our full squad of riders for 2016.
Absolute Leaders
Nation
Name
Age
Rider Type
Last Year
Theo Bos
33
Sprinter
TVM - Sanyo
Robert Gesink
30
Stage Racer
TVM - Sanyo
Boy Van Poppel
28
Sprinter
TVM - Sanyo
Protected Riders
Nation
Name
Age
Rider Type
Last Year
Johnny Hoogerland
33
Fighter
TVM - Sanyo
Ramon Sinkeldam
27
Sprinter
TVM - Sanyo
Jos Van Emden
31
Classics Rider
TVM - Sanyo
Luxury Team-Mates
Nation
Name
Age
Rider Type
Last Year
Brent Bookwalter
32
Time-Trialist
Eurosport - Pepsi
Jasper Bovenhuis
25
Climber
TVM - Sanyo
Stef Clement
34
Time-Trialist
TVM - Sanyo
Bert-Jan Lindeman
27
Fighter
(Elite-2)
Elmar Reinders
24
Sprinter
Lukoil Development Team
Nick Van der Lijke
25
Puncheur
TVM - Sanyo
Team-Mates
Nation
Name
Age
Rider Type
Last Year
Koen Bekker
21
Climber
Netherlands U-21
Chad Haga
28
Fighter
(Elite-2)
Jeroen Meijers
23
Climber
TVM - Sanyo
Christopher Putt
23
Climber
(Elite-2)
Pieter Weening
35
Fighter
(Elite-2)
It is with regret, however that we announce the departure of several riders from our 2015 squad. We thank each of the following riders for all that they have achieved and provided to the team in their brief time with us, and wish them all the best in the future.
Quinten Aarts Yukiya Arashiro Nino Honigh Raymond Kreder Nariyuki Masuda Yamato Shirota Kenny Van Hummel
More to come later.
Edited by OZrocker on 05-11-2015 03:50
It is with great pleasure that we launch the new Continental team Specialized - Playstation. Our primary aim is to provide a development platform for both established and developing riders from the United States, with a secondary focus on Latin America, the Caribbean and Japan. Though small the team still hopes to make a big impact and potentially be promoted to the World Tour in 2017.
Sony, our primary sponsor, namely for Sony's Playstation product, will assist in the team's finances and also provide riders with such technologies as fitness trackers and computers. Our second title sponsor, Specialized Bicycle Corporation, will provide the all-important frames, as well as clothing and accessories (helmet, shoes, etc.).
Wheels will be provided by Zipp, and groupsets by Shimano. Adidas have come on board later on and will provide extra monetary assistance (mainly for travel and accommodations) and most of our riders will be wearing the brand's glasses. Finally, we will have two more general sponsors for the coming season in Continental Tires and CIBC First Caribbean International Bank.
2016 Squad
Jake Keough Nathan Brown Joshua Berry Robert Bush Genki Yamamoto Hayato Yoshida Tomohiro Hayakawa Esteban Chaves Julian Arredondo Kanstantsin Siutsou Yauheni Hutarovich Bernardo Colex Joao Marcelo Gaspar Darren Matthews Gianluca Brambilla Diego Milan
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo (Stage 1) - Gianluca Brambilla Tour of California (Stage 4) - Joao Marcelo Gaspar Tour of California (KOM) - Joao Marcelo Gaspar Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt (Stage 8) - Hayato Yoshida Circulo de Juarez (Teams) - Team SPP Vuelta a Colombia (Stage 7) - Bernardo Colex
After a highly successful year led by Continental Tour Individual tour winner Dario Cataldo and sprinter Andrea Guardini - the team moved up into the ProTour to take on the worlds biggest races.
First signing - Alessandro Di Marchi
Alessandro Di Marchi has been snatched from rival team SAP Bianchi. The versitile Italian fits the mold of the squad an attacking climber who enjoys the odd breakaway. We paid a fair premium on wage for such a rider as we did woth Puccio but are happy to have tempted him away from a rival team.
Transfers - all change in leadership at Saeco - the Roman has arrived
In a busy transfer period the team offloaded aging stage racer and C2 race darling Dario Cataldo amongst other riders such as all rounders Oscar Gatto and Marco Marcato. In their place we landed climbers Kreuziger and Simon Spilak to lead the teams assault in key PT races.
Sprinter Andrea Guardini was retained as Giocomo Nizzolo was added to ensure omnipresent threats in field sprints.
U23 team - Fiat formed lead by Slovenian pair
With the signing of Spilak and Koren it was clear we had decided to extend the Saeco sphere of influence to include Slovenia. The development squad now having exactly a third Slovenians. A third of this squad is Italians and the final third are Eritreans. We shall see how this goes in our first forey into the youth ranks.
Notable Results 2016
Saeco Diego Rosa
Vuelta a Tachira - 2nd Stage 7
Giro D'Italia - 3rd Stage 5, stage 14 Andrea Guardini
Paris Nice - 2nd Stage 2
Ster ZLM Tour - 1st stage 1
Giro D'Italia - 2nd stage 8
Tour of Mount Fuji - 3rd stage 2
Tour of Northern Europe - 1st stage 6, 2nd stage 1, 3rd Points
Tour of Britain - 1st stage 8, 2nd Points, 2nd stage 5, 3rd stage 2 Kristjan Koren
Istrian Spring Trophy - 3rd Stage 1, 4th GC Roman Kreuziger
Giro D'Italia - 8th GC, 2nd stage 14
Tour de Suisse - 1st GC, 2nd stage 1 + stage 5 + stage 6, 3rd stage 3 + stage 8 + stage 9, 2nd Points
Course De La Paix - 6th GC Giacomo Nizzolo
Deutschland Tour - 1st stage 1, 3rd stage 3, 2nd points
Quebec Sprint Challenge - 4th Davide Cimolai
Vuelta a Guatemala - 2nd stage 4 Matteo Trentin
Tour de Suisse - 2nd stage 7 Simon Spilak
Tour de France - 7th GC
Vuelta a Espana - 2nd KoM Salvatore Puccio
Tour of Britain - 10th GC, 3rd stage 1, 2nd stage 3 Valario Conti
Tour of Britain - 3rd stage 5 Team Prize - Tour de Suisse Fiat Ziga Marolt
Copa America de Ciclismo - 5th Copa America de Ciclismo
Tour of Bishkek - 1st stage 1, 2nd points Luca Taschin
Tour of South Africa - 2nd stage 1 Chrono San Michel - 1st
Tour de L'Avenir - 2nd stage 1 David Per
Giro Valle d'Aosta - 1st stage 6
Cascade Cycling Classic - 3rd GC, 3rd stage 2
Tour de L'Avenir - 7th GC
Vuelta a Colombia - 2nd Stage 8 Lorenzo Trabucco
Tour de Berlin - 3rd stage 3
Notable Results 2015
Spoiler
Dario Cataldo: Final Prestige: 20thFinal Continental: 1st
Tour D'Indonesia - 1st GC, 1st Stage 2 + 3, 2nd stage 6, 1st Points, 2nd KoM
Volta ao Algarve - 6th GC
National Capital Tour - 3rd GC, 3rd Stage 3 + 4
Giro del Trentino - 18th GC
Ster ZLM Tour - 14th GC
Tour de Romandie - 2nd GC, 1st stage 6, 2nd stage 3, 3rd stage 5, 3rd points
Tour of California - 4th GC, 3rd stage 5
Tour of Vancouver - 9th GC
Tour de Polagne - 1st GC, 3rd stage 7, 1st Points
Tour of Bishak - 2nd GC, 2nd stage 3, 3rd stage 2, 1st points Matteo Trentin:
Volta ao Algarve - 2nd Stage 3, 2nd Points
Criterium International - 3rd Stage 1
Tour of Bishak - 1st stage 1 Andrea Guardini: Final Prestige: 42nd Final Continental: 13th
National Capital Tour - 1st Stage 2 + 4, 1st Points
Clasica di Tirreno Adriatica - 6th
Giro di Italia - 4th stage 3 + 4 + 14 + 18, 5th stage 21
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt - 3rd stage 4
Tour of Bulgaria - 2nd stage 1, 3rd stage 2, 4
RideLondon Classic - 2nd
Post Danmark Rundt - 1st Stage 2,3, 6, 1st Points, 11th GC
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha - 3rd
Paris Tours - 3rd Salvatore Puccio:
Roma Maxima - 4th
Paris Nice - 20th GC, 2nd stage 7 Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Istrian Spring Trophy - 18th GC
Criterium International - 7th GC
Ster ZLM Tour - 2nd stage 4 Marco Marcato Final Prestige: 122ndFinal Continental: 40th
Milan San Remo - 29th
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt - 10th GC, 1st Stage 1
Tour of Bulgaria - 4th GC, 2nd stage 2, 5
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha - 4th Davide Cimolai
Ster ZLM Tour - 10th GC Luca Ascani
Giro d'Italia - 4th stage 12, 5th stage 17 Georgia Brambilla
Tour de Suisse - 1st stage 4, 4th stage 7 Oscar Gatto
Tour de Suisse - 2nd stage 4
Criterium Hainlaite - 13th
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal - 2nd Morris Possoni
Tour de Suisse - 2nd stage 8 Team: Final Prestige: 21stFinal Continental: 3rd
Tour D'Indonesia - 1st team standings
Volta ao Algarve - 3rd team standings
Ster ZLM Tour - 3rd team standings
Tour of Romandie - 3rd team chrono stage 1
Welcome to the HQ of Smartone Cycling Team! Here we will keep you updated on all things racing, the team and winning! We hope you enjoy and follow our team's success throughout the season!
The Team
Last Name
First Name
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Martin
Daniel
78.8
69
77
80
63
65
57
66
77
66
73
77
73
73
Cancellara
Fabian
77.9
78
67
72
77
78
78
67
69
80
78
77
74
70
Goss
Matthew
77.3
77
63
71
67
66
69
77
78
76
68
76
73
78
Durbridge
Luke
76.8
77
70
69
78
79
69
68
71
73
67
72
71
70
Bennett
Sam
76.7
74
58
70
61
66
68
77
78
71
63
70
65
67
Farrar
Tyler
76.4
74
59
66
67
75
72
77
77
69
60
74
69
68
Howard
Leigh
76.1
74
66
71
65
71
67
77
76
68
67
68
66
73
Haussler
Heinrich
75.5
75
66
72
66
71
75
76
75
75
72
73
71
73
Hepburn
Michael
74.7
75
66
69
77
76
69
69
67
70
67
69
68
68
Sergent
Jesse
74.6
74
63
66
76
76
66
64
73
64
66
71
70
73
Vansummeren
Johan
74.3
74
67
70
64
67
75
53
61
65
69
71
71
59
Von Hoff
Steele
74.2
71
59
64
61
64
65
75
75
70
60
67
65
63
Voigt
Jens
73.8
71
69
71
71
71
63
63
68
70
84
70
71
65
Schleck
Fränk
72.8
65
74
73
67
66
59
58
69
62
72
72
70
72
Haas
Nathan
72.2
66
68
73
69
72
53
73
75
66
65
69
65
67
Bobridge
Jack
72.0
72
65
67
74
72
63
68
68
67
67
68
68
68
Meyer
Travis
72.0
72
64
68
71
68
66
71
70
67
73
68
65
72
Konovalovas
Ignatas
71.7
73
66
69
71
70
72
63
67
63
73
69
66
67
Henderson
Greg
71.3
71
58
65
64
69
63
71
72
74
62
67
65
71
Eastman
Ryan
70.4
68
60
66
65
68
64
71
71
70
67
67
63
67
Lovelock
Jonathan
70.2
67
66
71
66
66
64
67
69
63
71
69
64
69
Vink
Michael
70.2
70
64
66
71
72
65
65
66
69
67
66
66
67
Hansen
Adam
66.7
69
62
68
65
65
65
58
64
72
65
65
64
70
Wilson
Joshua
63.0
60
57
63
58
61
55
62
66
65
61
62
62
61
Season Results
- Coming Soon -
Team Jersey
Spoiler
Smartone Development Team p/b Budget Forklifts
This is the development team of Smartone Cycling Team. All the riders from this team have been hand plucked from a long list of young hopefuls to ride for this development team. Jesse Kerrison and Calvin Watson are the 2 strongest riders on this development team and we expect a lot out of them this season!
This post analysis how the team has changed in comparison to last season.
See it as my way of a team presentation.
Note: Some riders appear multiple times due to a combination of specialities.
#SPRINTS
Kenny Dehaes
Marco Haller
Caleb Ewan
Sébastien Turgot
On first glance, the team's sprinting department looks identically to last year's one. The team kept their 4 top sprinter (Kittel, Sagan, Kristoff and Ciolek) and thus, remains the top sprinting team. Similar to last year, they will together cover nearly all sprinting decisions and sometimes ride together for the success by leading out each other.
The depart of Haller though leaves a small hole in our squad. He was a very strong leadout rider who was difficult to replace. Dehaes takes his role and will be leadout for our top stars - especially Kittel and Kristoff - throughout the year.
Willwohl improved over the year and will now take over Turgot's role as reserve leadout when one of the intended leadout suffers from a crash or misses a split while Ewan adds another leadout option to the squad so that especially Ciolek can get more leading options instead of being Kittel's and Sagan's wing man.
Overall, we feel as if we somehow managed to improve our sprinting squad even more. Not that this was possible even but we did it. At least a tiny bit.
#TIMETRIALLING
Andriy Grivko
Lieuwe Westra
Lars Boom
Back in 2014 we had a good TTT team that helped us achieving some strong results as seen in e.g. Tour of Toowoomba. Last year, Boom and Westra used their TT as foundation for GC positions. This season, our time trialling is worse than ever. Our 2 arguably strongest TTer have left and the only new TTer is Andriy Grivko who is a prologue specialist even.
Few teams have worse TT teams. The fact that 2 of our 3 best TTers are DT eligible proves that quite good. (Svendsen will be DT, Mathis WT)
This is definitely worse than last season.
#MOUNTAINS
Charles Engeldinger
#Yolo
As sad as the "list of our best climbers" above looks: The mountain department improved as we managed to keep our 3 strongest climbers (Gerdemann, Geschke, Sagan) and added Engeldinger who climbs better than everyone else in our team.
Although, he will have to show that talent in the development team first.
#HILLS
Greg Van Avermaet
Paul Martens
Andriy Grivko
Lieuwe Westra
Lars Boom
Our hills department still lacks some strengths. Our attempts to sign a world class puncheurs were not successful so we still rely on Sagan to do his magic.
We parted ways with Martens, Westra and Boom who were replaced by Van Avermaet and Grivko while some talents improved as well.
#COBBLES
Greg Van Avermaet
Sebastién Turgot
Thor Hushovd
Lars Boom
Bernhard Eisel
Marcus Burghardt
Marcel Sieberg
We lost 5 men of last year's cobbled squad including such strong riders like Turgot and Boom. Which sounds like an immense loss isn't really as we could add Greg Van Avermaet who is one of the strongest and most experienced classic specialists.
Eventhough the depart of Turgot and Boom hit us hard, we still have incredible depth with GVA, Sagan and Kristoff all riders who can win monuments and an improved Senechal as 4th option is a force as well.
Legend Hushovd and talents Eisaks, Geyer and Benoot will complete the line-ups for the cobbled monuments.
#HIGH_POTENTIALS
Caleb Ewan
Charles Engeldinger
Jonathan Peiffer
Martin Wagner
We could keep all our top talents from last year and added further ones to our team.
With top talents like Senechal, Ewan or Eisaks we're well preperad for the future and should be a force to be reckoned for years!
This is also the perfect timing to announce the 2016 squad of our Dev. Team VW:
Charles Engeldinger, Oskar Svendsen, Peter Geissler, Jonathan Peiffer, Vito Pogacar, Tom Stefan, Martin Wagner & Adrien Chaix.
Marc Geyer, Marco Mathis & Julian Runge were eligible as well but we decided to promote them to our main team.
Ah, Santos-Euskadi. Or Euskadi-Santos. The manager doesn't have a clue about the name really. But that's the least of his problems.
Team Presentation
Well despite a decent knowledge of the game, though he probably had no idea, the manager managed to completely screw up his first free agent round, and things got better, but not by much, after that.
So Euskadi-Santos is basically that team who almost got GVA before the Evil Sprinter team used their WT powers and, y'know, actual talent at this game to completely Aru the hell out of poor Dumoulin on the last stage. Completely unfair, right? Then they tried to pay us back with a dummy overpaid fighter, which the CT team fell for, hook, line, and sinker.
Well now Santos are that team-who-might-not-finish-last-because-they-have-a-fairly-good-sprinter-who-isn't-from-any-sponsor-countries. Speaking of nationalities, the hapless manager got one Spaniard, and he wasn't even Basque. "Open market my left buttock, we're going full international next year!" he reportedly shouted whilst announcing the development team. Anyway, let's take a look at one good talent, three ok fighters, a not-too-bad sprint train and a bunch of overpaid eggheads.
Spoiler
Appollonio
Davide
Santos - Euskadi
ITA
76.2
73
64
70
62
64
64
77
77
68
60
68
66
68
Roy
Jérémy
Santos - Euskadi
FRA
75.4
73
72
73
75
73
56
68
72
65
83
72
71
74
Madrazo
Ángel
Santos - Euskadi
ESP
74.3
68
74
74
66
66
58
65
71
64
79
70
68
69
Siskevicius
Evaldas
Santos - Euskadi
LTU
74.3
73
65
70
65
67
67
75
74
73
66
71
67
70
Fortin
Filippo
Santos - Euskadi
ITA
74.3
73
62
68
65
66
62
75
74
71
65
68
65
66
Renshaw
Mark
Santos - Euskadi
AUS
74.0
74
57
66
59
68
63
74
74
72
57
67
68
72
Pöstlberger
Lukas
Santos - Euskadi
AUT
73.4
72
69
72
70
67
67
71
72
74
77
73
68
67
Bennett
George
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
73.0
70
69
75
68
67
64
66
70
68
75
70
65
67
Rivera
Ever
Santos - Euskadi
COL
72.7
65
74
72
64
63
59
61
68
69
74
66
63
66
Ochoa
Diego
Santos - Euskadi
COL
71.8
67
73
72
63
61
58
61
67
65
72
66
62
67
Bewley
Sam
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
71.1
71
59
66
73
72
65
63
66
67
66
66
66
65
Smith
Dion
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
71.0
70
62
66
65
65
64
72
70
68
62
66
64
62
Atkins
Joshua
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
70.8
68
71
70
67
66
57
63
69
67
73
67
63
64
Bevin
Patrick
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
70.6
69
62
69
66
66
65
71
71
68
64
66
64
68
Richeze
Mauro Abel
Santos - Euskadi
ARG
70.5
67
56
66
58
64
56
71
72
70
58
65
63
65
Theuns
Edward
Santos - Euskadi
BEL
70.3
68
63
71
65
68
67
67
70
68
69
69
65
66
Paredes
Nicolas
Santos - Euskadi
COL
69.7
66
71
69
62
60
58
62
67
66
69
65
64
66
Oram
James
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
69.5
69
62
66
67
67
62
70
69
64
65
66
62
64
Paredes
César
Santos - Euskadi
COL
68.7
63
70
68
61
59
58
59
64
64
70
62
61
63
Schreurs
Hamish
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
68.6
69
59
66
65
63
69
64
65
64
64
66
63
61
Frame
Alex
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
67.9
69
61
62
61
61
63
65
65
66
68
61
59
60
Thompson
Cameron
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
64.8
57
61
66
53
55
58
54
63
63
60
63
56
53
Scott
Benjamin
Santos - Euskadi
NZL
64.4
64
54
61
57
56
65
57
59
61
59
62
58
55
Matthews
Elliot
Santos - Euskadi
GBR
55.3
53
53
55
53
53
53
54
52
67
54
57
52
54
Let's look at the main players, shall we?
Talents
Haha, just kidding. Getting George Bennett, Lukas Postleberger or Diego Ochoa good would take too much dough.
Fighters
Angel Madrazo was a huge disappointment to the squad when we went on our first training ride in the Pyrenees. He was rumored to have won the 2013 Tour and came runner-up the year before. Unfortunately the tell us it was actually Chris Froome! He was also said to have won the Vuelta and three times pdoiumed Giro! The team was also informed he was the best rider in the world and had these stats:
68
85
76
77
81
80
81
55
61
72
66
69
77
Safe to say we will be discussing with ICL manager Biker X on putting things right and giving him his true stats!
Roy is too old + too expensive Postleberger is too expensive.
Sprint Train
Davide Appolonio is foreign but not at bad. If the people upstairs don't give Madrazo his justice and make him the best rider in the world, he will be the key to making sure we don't finish last at everything. Fillipo Fortin was almost a fine example of ICL bias when we outbidded Italo-Ventilair a team rumored to be friendly with Biker X, and he was momentarily on their team! After refusing us GVA we were about to get off our butts and do something (actually download the new DB, for a start) but then the mistake was corrected, amidst rumored he had eaten Alexey Lutsenko, another rider we were refused. Unfortunately Lutsenko is OK, and the ravenous Italian lives to serve his countryman, and prove we should have been an Italian team because all our good riders were there. Mark Renshaw was rumored to come with a free Mark Cavendish, and vice-versa. Renshaw was cheaper so we thought we would get more bang for our buck. Sadly, we were lied to again. Es-Who gives their kids this kind of name! was cheap and supposedly had OK stats. We took him off the hands of some Crostian Leopard who is actually from Germany and may be our only bargain. Like, ever.
Unofficial Team Goals
1. Don't come last
2. Win one race
3. Don't make a hash of the next transfer season
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
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, we will begin our presentation with an overview of the main team, followed by a brief look at our development team. After that, we'll be taking any questions you may have.
Filliers - Mora Pro Cycling Team was started three years ago with the goal of making a strong Belgian-Dutch team. By winning the Vuelta last year, we showed the world that we were able to compete at the highest level. This year, we want to do even better. But before we get to that, let's go back to 2014, when our team started.
Our best rider back then was an ageing Damiano Cunego, but we had a great development team back then. Tim Wellens, Wouter Wippert, Stig Broeckx, Daan Olivier, Eduardo Sepulveda, Sebastian Henao, Jasper Stuyven and Mathias Krigbaum. I'm am proud to announce that 2 years later, all these riders made it to the main team.
But there's more. Our greatest talent has always been Danny Van Poppel. He's still only 23 now, but ready for what we think could be his breakthrough season. The same goes for Guillaume Van Keirsbulck. Without putting too much pressure on him, we think he's ready to take his first classic. But our biggest star is still Bauke Mollema. He's our only rider whose age starts with a 3, but he still has a few good seasons in him, so we would be happy if he can equal last year's results.
The team has remained mostly the same, aside from the 3 youth riders we mentioned earlier, all our riders are Belgian or Dutch. We have a good allround team, without any real superstars, unless you count our Vuelta winner as a superstar. We're aiming for a solid season with some wins in smaller races and if possible, we'd like a monument or grand tour again, but no obligation.
Reizen Waes - Pinkpop Development Team has been robbed! Robbed, I tell you! All the great riders they once had are gone and this will be a transition year for our youngster. Wellens took the Course de la Paix in 2014 and Daan Olivier won Tour de L'Avenir in 2015, but I doubt we'll have a successor this year. Our biggest talents are all 19-20 years old and cannot yet compete with the older riders. Raphaël Vanbutsel might surprise on the cobbles though, there's always an odd result there. Eduardo Gonzalez won a big stage from a breakaway last year, maybe he can repeat it this year. For neopro's Pizarro, De Bruyn and Badreddin Wais, it will be a year of learning.
That concludes our team presentation, are there any questions?
Will Bauke Mollema defend his Vuelta title?
He may or he may not. We'll have to discuss this with Bauke when the grand tour routes are announced. We definitely want to use him only if the terrain suits him.
If not Mollema, who will lead the team in the bigger races
Tim Wellens will definitely get another chance after a good Giro and Tour, he will ride at least one again. Slagter and Goos are other options we have.
Despite many of your riders making good progress, Slagter and Hofland haven't improved much over the years. How would you explain that?
We think that was a bit odd as well, despite our best efforts they haven't advanced much. This season will really important for both of them, as there might be a huge reshuffle at the end of the year.
When will you finaly win the Belgian or Dutch national championships?
We really hope this year. We've been trying really hard for two years now, but aside from the Argentinian time trial championship, our jersey collecting has been very poor. We really should win something this year.
We've discussed all the big riders so far, but can you give us one other name that will be a big suprise this year?
Daan Olivier
The team received big news when it was included in the list of wildcards announced for the first Grand Tour of the season, the Giro d'Italia. The staff and riders were ecstatic about the news coming just ahead of the team presentation.
Directeur Sportif, Shane Briscoe: "For some of our riders, the World Tour races we will be participating in will be a huge step up from their norms. A few riders will be making their Grand Tour debuts at the Giro, but they won't be without knowledge with the teachings of such riders as Hutarovich, Chaves and Brambilla, who all plan to race the Corsa Rosa. Our goals for the race aren't set in stone, but a stage win would be a definite victory."
Esteban Chaves: "A great past couple of weeks has finished with amazing news! I've been able to go around and meet my new teammates and the team staff for a while and I've enjoyed every bit of it. The team is small but it makes for a very friendly atmosphere and we're getting to know each other very quickly. There is a bit of a language barrier with the Japanese riders on the team, but they have steadily been learning more English and Spanish while the rest of us are picking up a bit of Japanese as well. I'm looking forward to the Giro, where we'll try and put on a show in the breaks, and the whole rest of the year ahead."
Today it was confirmed by the team manager that the team have received a wildcard to their home GT, La Vuelta. All hell will rain down upon any fighters in the game as it has been reported that although Madrazo, Bennett and Bewley will not be given their 85 Mon, 80+ Cob, SP and ACC and high 70s MON stats on the ICL matrix respectively they have agreed to turn the nationality bonus up. You'd think that was something for a home team but it actually means bugger all. Except Madrazo. Watch out, polka dot jersey, he smells.
Also we got to interview some guy who I've already spelt right once so that's me.
Guy from Leopard
SGN: Hello, Elfdas. It is Elfdas isn't it?
ES: No it's Evaldas, but hello, I hope you are well.
SGN: Yes, very good, thanks Eve. So you are apprently "leader while I'm not here," according to Davide. Can you shed light on that?
ES: Yes, well, uhm... He's talented but rumours are he's already been banned for doping? He's still here though, so I guess, um.... He's more talented than me and the manager's favorite. I'm happy with leading in some races though.
SGN: So where do you hope to shine?
ES: Definitely in the races where we are requiring team efforts, I like leading out Davide so races like the Circulo de Jusrez where everywhere is flat would be nice, maybe a good spot on GC. Apparently I'm only co-leader for the World Ports Classic and P-K-P with Fortin, we don't get along and I hope the wins he won't get wills how why I should be leader where Davide isn't here.
SGN: Do you have hopes for the NC?
ES: Certainly, he is a very cool guy but I'd like to best Ramunas for once in the National Championships, hopefully, it is flat so we can fight it out. Riding next year in the beautiful red, yellow and green would be amazing for me and show I'm not the other rider from Lithuania.
SGN: Lithuania, that was my next guess! Anyway, anything you would like to say to your fans?
ES: Thanks for the support and I'll do you proud this season, I promise, it's been emotional getting here for me and a tough experience but you guys are the best.
SGN: I'll be sure to tell your mum that.
Next time, we interview Diego Ochoa and the actual Santos leaders. Exciting times but what if it was GVA I was interviewing.
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
Today the Specialized - Playstation team presentation was held at Circuit of the Americas. The day's events included an amateurs race and a 'Ride With the Pros' session. Finally, the actual presentation of the riders and took place. With only 16 riders, we are one of the smallest teams in the Continental division, but we still hope to make a big impact.
The presentation was split into 2 groups: flat road riders (sprinters, time trialists, flandriens) and those for more vertically challenging terrain (punchers, climbers, stage racers). First up was the flat group, as the riders came out in order: Bernardo Colex, Hayato Yoshida, Robert Bush, Diego Milan, Nathan Brown, Jake Keough and Yauheni Hutarovich These riders' main objectives see them travel all around the world, culminating in the unique Quebec Sprint Challenge, the GPs Quebec and Montreal and Paris - Tours.
Next was the hilly group, as follows: Darren Matthews, Joao Marcelo Gaspar, Tomohiro Hayakawa, Genki Yamamoto, Joshua Berry, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Julian Arredondo, Gianluca Brambilla and Esteban Chaves. The highlight of the climbing season is the team's debut Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, as well as the Tour of Mount Fuji and the Japan Cup.
Q: "What is the team's goal in the Giro?"
A: "We have both Chaves and Brambilla targeting the Giro, barring any mishaps. There will be many strong riders in the race, and a top 10 in the GC would be difficult but is doable. Aside from that, exposure is the idea; we'll try and get into breakaways as much as possible, and maybe the mountains classification is something we could target, but nothing is set in stone yet in terms of objectives."
Q: "Is the team expected to last long-term?"
A: "Specialized has already confirmed their continued sponsorship to the end of 2017. Sony, however, will leave the team at the end of 2016. We have a few options to continue beyond there, but we can't confirm anything yet in terms of future sponsorship."
Q: "Does the team have a main target for the 2016 season?"
A: "Not really. We have focus races and general objectives, but we have nothing solid like 'Top 5 Japan Cup' or anything like that. We're new and pretty much one of the underdog teams, so we'll be taking the freedom that affords us to be combative and aggressive. One thing which would definitely be a huge goal would be to get promoted to the World Tour, but that will probably have to wait until 2018 rather than next year."
The team will start its campaign with the CT.2 Tour d'Indonesia. We will compete in the following World Tour races: Vuelta a Tachira, Amstel Gold Race, Giro d'Italia, Tour of Mount Fuji, Quebec Sprint Challenge, and Virginia Chrono Tour.
Where will the reigning WTTT champions be racing? Let's find out on the eve of the season start!
The Belgian champ: last season with Prorace for Gilbert
The current Belgian champ, former ICL world champ and ICL rider of season 1 will be entering his last season with the Prorace set-up. He has been the face of the team for two seasons so it seems fair to start with him.
The big headline here is 'Gilbert won't be racing a GT'. In ICL seasons 1 and 2 he was ever-present at the Vuelta a Espana. However, the points gained from this race, especially in season 2, were nowhere near enough to justify his inclusion in the race for a third time running.
So where will he be instead? For starters, unlike last season, he will be leading the line at the early season WT races 'Tour of Toowoomba' and 'Tour of the Basque country': both routes where we expect something. Whilst he will be riding the cobbled monuments, he will not be on the cobbles as much as in previous seasons. He will be taking part in a host of c1 races including the Tour du Pologne, a race we where will be targeting the GC win. There may be less WT points for Gilbert this season, however, we do expect a unprecedented amount of Prestige points for the Belgian champ: perhaps he can match season 1?
Different team: same race plan.
Now to the ICL GT stage win record holder, who arrived in one of the biggest transfers of ICL history, we can only be talking about Chris Froome.
Don't expect any over the top drama here as the British champ will be riding the same plan as last season: in fine: Il Giro, Le Tour & Mount Fuji. It just made the most sense to us. It is well documented that Prorace, despite finishing 3rd and 2nd in the WT rankings, have never won a jersey in the history of the ICL. Well with Froome we really hope to change that, though it will be difficult. With British support!, viz Cummings, and good support in the mountains we feel he has a shot at being the first ICL rider to win all 3 GTs.
---
With the two 'big name' ncs done with, what about the rest of the squad? Well Langeveld, who rode so well in the Dutch jersey last season, will not be riding a GT this season: despite a great TDF. He will be our main rider for the cobbles, though Boonen is still here, and will be targeting the likes of the Tour of Northern Europe and the Eneco Tour. Boonen, on the otherhand, will be riding La Vuelta.
Speaking of La Vuelta, well Van den Broeck will be there again to lead us in the GC fight, De Clercq, in addition, could be a good card there. The Belgian climber will also lead us in the Vuelta a Táchira, Vuelta a Guatemala and be a key rider in our TTT championship winning team (which, granted, is not the same as last season: at all!).
UNHCR Pro Cycling and CarbonSports really made good use of c2 races last season, to our eyes, and we have taken note. We will be racing at Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt where expect Vangenechten and Pauwels to play a pivotal role.
Surprises, you ask? How about 1 stage win for Cadel Evans. Marco Marcato to score 200 points and Rosseler to podium on La Descent Pavé. If all that happens ... well it won't!
Gilbert not racing a GT is certainly interesting. It's neither good nor bad but it's a small change from WT Rankings to Prestige Rankings focus and it will be interesting to see if it turns out well for him.
The new Team Taco Bell Cycling has been presented at the Taco Bell headquarter in Irvine, California. with high-end sprinter Arnaud Démare as their main leader.
The team will compete in the Continental Tour in 2016, and rises from the ashes of the old HTC - Highroad team, with bwiggins now in charge and owner of the team.
The sixteen-rider roster includes Arnaud Démare, Matti Breschel, Chris Horner, Klaas Lodewyck, Andreas Stauff, Evan Huffman, Peter Stetina, Christian Bertilsson, César Vaquera, Eric Young, Luis Enrique Davila, Jack Haig, Lanell Rockmore, Tom Scully, Alex Howes and Ignacio Sarabia completes the line-up.
The team state their goals on their official website, saying: “A new era for American cycling has begun. From January 2016, Team Taco Bell Cycling will compete at the sport’s second and highest level in the inaugural CT.2, CT.1 and WT. Our high calibre international roster made up of the world’s best sprinters, experienced winners and exciting new talents will lead the peloton. Working closely with innovative performance partners ensures that our team will have the best setup in racing. Together, we will advance American cycling, inspire to ride, and challenge convention. Be part of our story. We are starting a new beggining in American cycling and will forget about the past american cycling scandals. Together we will start #ANewEra”
The team has created #ANewEra hastag to further interact with fans.
bwiggins first revealed his plans in an interview with ICLNews earlier this year. "It will be a top-ranked team and we will aim to be the number one team in the future. It is a very ambitious project and will be supported by Taco Bell who put a lot of money into our project. We want to do this for the future of the sport, for american cycling, and have a strong team,” he said.
bwiggins said the team will target all the major races, especially those in the which suits Démare and the ones in USA, with the Palm Classic and Cigar City Classic important goals, alongside the World Ports Classic and the homeground of Démare, Tour de France.
The team also have a squad of 10 upcoming new talents, called Team Live Mas Mexico. The team will work as an development team for Team Taco Bell Cycling. The riders are still young and have a lot to learn, we see a lot of riders with big potentials failing to adapt to the hard life of a pro cyclist. We want to make that step easier for the young riders, so they have a chance to try it out and race a couple of races with the pro guys. We don't expect anything from the guys as they are not on a level to compete for victory. But you never know with cycling, and they will definetly get some experience no matter what!
The team will use Kuota Khan road bikes and Kuota KT05 time trial machines from the Italian-based manufacturer.
Santini has agreed to a one-year deal with the Team Taco Bell Cycling team and will supply the riders with race clothing from the Souplesse collection.
The team’s first training camp will be in Gran Canaria from December 2 to 20 and will make its racing debut with the Palm Classic on the eleventh of January.
We will have further interviews, news and images from Team Taco Bell Cycling soon!
Grand Tours are the most prestigious races for many teams and while many teams concentrate on the ugly obstacles that are placed by accident on the streets during the three weeks we always focus on stage wins. Just like last year Marcel Kittel will tackle two GTs: The Tour & The Vuelta. Main goal is to repeat last year's 8 GT stage wins but the dream of yellow at the Tour lives as well!
Finally, the Giro is covered for us by Gerald Ciolek who aims for his first victory since joining us last season. After 6 podiums, 12 top 5s and 27 Top Ten results the Giro offers several opportunities for him.
Top sprinters like Kittel or Ciolek perform better if one delivers them a strong leadout and of course, that's what we try to do. One rider deserves a special mention: Experienced Kenny Dehaes will ride all 3. Also notable: Star rider Alexander Kristoff will - just like last season - be main leadout man during Le Tour.
While several talents mark their debut in a three week long race it is notable that super stars Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet will not ride one this season.
Monument time is Sagan time. This season he will extend his series to 15 straight monuments with his participation. But he won't be the only of our stars at the startline. Especially Milano - San Remo sees multiple possible leaders: Our sprinters Kittel, Sagan, Kristoff and Ciolek will be supported by classic specialists Van Avermaet, Senechal and Geschke and we believe that each of them could win it depending on how the race pans out!
The cobbled Monuments Paris - Roubaix and Ronde van Vlaanderen are very important for our season. Van Avermaet, Sagan, Kristoff and Senechal offer us multiple options to put pressure on other favourites.
Liege - Bastogne - Liege will be targetted by Sagan, Geschke & GVA with the later two also going for Il Lombardia.
Fabio Aru 
Adriano Malori Stage 3 Criterium International 
Bunzl - Centrica 
Yukiya Arashiro
Esteban Chaves 
Kanstantsin Siutsou 
Bernardo Colex 
Joao Marcelo Gaspar 
Darren Matthews 
Diego Milan 
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo (Stage 1) - Gianluca Brambilla 
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt (Stage 8) - Hayato Yoshida 
Marcel
Tiesj
Mirko
Juris
Rytis
Charles
Alexander
Vito
Peter
We hope you enjoy and follow our team's success throughout the season!
Tour d'Indonesia. We will compete in the following World Tour races: 
Vuelta a Tachira, 
Quebec Sprint Challenge, and 
Matti Breschel, 
Christian Bertilsson, 
