Chris Froome defended his ITT World title with a narrow win in favourable terrain. A hilly finish meant that riders who were good climbers on top of being good TTists dominated here. Wilco Kelderman took 2nd for Netherlands while Tony Martin took 3rd place.
Road Race
A cobbled stage in the road race meant it was the classics specialists who were favourites to take the win. A late attack of 3 saw two Belgians, Sep Vanmarcke and Jens Keukeleire, fail to make their numerical advantage count as Zdenek Stybar became World Champion. Vanmarcke finished 2nd and Keukeleire was 3rd.
The last Monument of the year saw a strong field. A small breakaway of 3 riders was allowed to go away after much jostling in the early stages preventing a mass break. Landa, Rolland and Arredondo got entangled in each other's bikes and fell over early. They soon recovered. However, it wasn't good news for Romain Bardet as he retired half-way through the race. The peloton split into three distinct groups chasing the morning break on the second climb of the stage. The leading group was further whittled down to 34 riders chasing the breakway. The Vuelta dream-team of Landa and Intxausti was in this lead group for Movistar. The breakaway was finally caught with just 14 km to go. The fast pace did not allow further attacks till the very end. Only three riders were strong enough to break the shackles and fought it out for victory. Dan Martin, by virtue of slightly earlier attack, won after holding off the challenge from Aru and Favilli. Aru managed 2nd while Favilli, in the form of his life over the past month, claimed 3rd place. Benat Intxausti took 7th place, the best for Movistar.
Ins: Bryan Coquard (Giant-Alpecin), Tiejs Benoot (Colruyt), Sergei Vovchuk (U23 World Number 5, Sprinter, OVR 65, SPR 67), Josef Katzer (U23 World Number 4, Puncher, OVR 65, FTR 77, HIL 64)
Outs: Sam Bennett (Giant-Alpecin), Winner Anacona (Orange {erstwhile Tinkoff-Saxo}), Perfecto Gastesi (Banesto {erstwhile Caja-Rujal}), Antonio Puga (no contract)
As with last year, this time again, we have concentrated on strengthening specific departments where we've felt our results could've been better. The two major signings are in the Sprinting and the Northern Classics disciplines. To add to this, we have recruited a couple of promising youngsters who performed well in the U23 circuit. The riders we let go have all been with us for more than a couple of seasons and we felt that this was the right time for both parties to look in new directions. A little more on our new signings...
Bryan Coquard is still young but has established himself as one of the better sprinters in professional cycling. We believe that together with Lobato and Viviani, the trio will be the right combination to lead our sprinting department for the next couple of years.
Tiejs Benoot is a Belgian wonder-kid who has been doing amazing things in the Northern Classics and other one-day races. He has a long and glorious future ahead of him, and we want him to have that career with us. He will lead our challenge in the cobbled classics.
Sergei Vovchuk is an Ukranian sprinter brought in to support the sprint leaders. He finished the U23 season in 5th place and has a decent record of wins.
Josef Katzer is the first Austrian to ever sign for Movistar. He has taken multiple victories in the U23 circuit on his way to 4th place in the standings. He will add depth to our puncher department.
Other notable transfers
Chris Froome - Sky -> Astana Mark Cavendish - Orange (Tinkoff-Saxo) -> Dexia John Degenkolb - Dexia -> Orange (Tinkoff-Saxo) Nacer Bouhanni - Sky -> MTN-Qhubeka Michal Kwiatkowski - Sky -> AG2R Wilco Kelderman - Orange (Tinkoff-Saxo) -> Giant-Alpecin
Julian Alaphilippe is a Free Agent next year!
A more detailed list of transfers are given in the following screenshots...
The two biggest transfers of this window were those of Froome and Kelderman. While Froome moved on from his long-time home Team Sky to Astana, Kelderman, surprisingly moved to Giant, a team not known for their GC and GT aspirations. It will be intersting to see how these two transfer shake-up the World Tour Team standings.
In fact, Team Sky seem to have hit the self-destruct button as is evident from the riders they've let go as opposed to those they signed...
Also, take a lot at the massive overhaul in Tinkoff-Saxo as they change sponsors to Orange...
Vuelta a Espana - Mikel Landa
Paris-Nice - Ion Izagirre
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco - Leopold Konig
Clasica San Sebastien - Gorkha Izagirre
Colombia National Championships Road Race - Nairo Quintana
Spanish National Championships Individual Time Trial - Luis Leon Sanchez
Vuelta a Mallorca - Mikel Landa
Volta a Andalucia - Leopold Konig
Classic Sud Ardeche - J J Lobato
Criterium International - Dayer Quintana
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain - Benat Intxausti
Klasika Primavera - Pello Bilbao
Boucles de la Mayenne - Ion Izagirre
Tour de l'Ain - Nairo Quintana
USA Pro Cycling Tour - Roman Kreuziger
GP Industria and Commercio di Prato - J J Lobato
Sparkassen Munsterland Giro - Elia Viviani
Chrono des Nations - Leopold Konig
Second
Giro d'Italia - Nairo Quintana Tour de France - Nairo Quintana
Tour Down Under - Ion Izagirre
Criterium Dauphine - Mikel Landa
Tour de Pologne - Benat Intxausti
Volta ao Algarve - Benat Intxausti
Pro Race Berlin - J J Lobato
Boucles de l'Aulne-Chateulin - Gorkha Izagirre
Route de Sud - Gorkha Izagirre
Paris Bourges - Elia Viviani
Third
Tirreno-Adriatico - Mikel Landa
Tour de Romandie - Dayer Quintana
Tour de Suisse - Roman Kreuziger
Spanish National Championships Road Race - Mikel Landa
Tour de San Luis - Leopold Konig
Vuelta a la Region de Murcia - Alejandro Valverde
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon - Gorkha Izagirre
Czech Cycling Tour - Dayer Quintana
Tour de Limousin - Alejandro Valverde
Memorial Marco Pantani - Sam Bennett
Tre Valli Varesine - Ion Izagirre
Giro dell'Emilia - Ion Izagirre
Top Five
La Fleche Wallone - Benat Intxausti
GP Ouest France-Plouay - Elia Viviani
Tour du Haut Var - Roman Kreuziger
Omloop van Nieuwsblad - Elia Viviani
Nokere Koerse - Alejandro Valverde
Classic Loire Atlantique - Mikel Nieve
Circuit Sarthe-Pays de la Loire - Adriano Malori
4 Jours de Dunkerque - Alejandro Valverde
Amgen Tour of California - Ion Izagirre
GP Plumelec-Morbihan - Alejandro Valverde
Vuelta a Burgos - Mikel Landa
Tamijo wrote:
Very good season for Mikel Landa, but I guess you wanted more from Quintana, NEXT YEAR is waiting for him to shine
Truly a very good season for Landa . With him doing so well, it is now possible for us to dream about winning all three GTs in a year as a team.
Nairo was unlucky to finish 2nd twice in the GTs. Just the last bit of extra effort needed. He did win and hence wear the Colombian National Championship jersey all year. The management has been looking to make a better schedule for him for next season. However, the major targets will remain the same - he will lead the team at the Giro and in the TdF, in search of the double.
Also, I am quite happy with the good season from the Izagirre brothers. If someone had told me Nairo and Kreuziger would win none of the World Tour races this past year, while Ion and Gorkha would do so, I'd have called that person crazy
In season 2019, Movistar will want to get back some ground they lost last season as opposed to their position the year before. Here, I'll first present the current state of the WT division. Next, I'll present my team, changed, after the transfers. I will finish off this part of the outlook by highlighting the rider and sponsor objectives for us this season. In part two of the outlook, I'll give you a look into the contract situation of our riders, highlight our transfer strategy and targets, and finish it off with the management targets and objectives.
WT TEAMS
AG2R LA MONDIALE
AEROFLOT (Katusha)
AMERICAN EXPRESS (Canondale-Garmin)
ASTANA
BMC
COFIDIS
COLRUYT (Lotto-Soudal)
DEXIA (Ettix-Quickstep)
IAM
MOVISTAR
ORICA GREENEDGE
PHILIPS (Lotto-Jumbo NL)
SKY
GIANT-ALPECIN
ORANGE (Tinkoff-Saxo)
TREK FACTORY
MTN QHUBEKA
MOVISTAR TEAM
Tiejs Benoot
Pello Bilbao
Bryan Coquard
Alex Dowsett
Ruben Fernandez
Jesus Herrada
Benat Intxausti
Ion Izagirre
Gorkha Izagirre
Josef Katzer
Eduard Korniets
Roman Kreuziger
Leopold Konig
Mikel Landa
Juan Jose Lobato
Adriano Malori
Enric Mercader
Mikel Nieve
Isidro Pintassilgo
Nairo Quintana
Dayer Quintana
Luis Leon Sanchez
Eustaquio Sanchez
Jasha Sutterlin
Rafael Valls
Alejandro Valverde
Elia Viviani
Sergei Vovchuk
SPONSOR OBJECTIVES
Vuelta a Mallorca - 1st
Vuelta a Andalucia - 1st
Milan-San Remo - Top 5
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya - Top 3
Ronde van Vlaanderen - Top 5
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco - 1st
Paris-Roubaix - Top 10
Liege-Bastogne-Liege - Top 5
Giro d'Italia - Top 3
Spanish National Championship Road Race - 1st
Tour de France - Top 3
Clasica San Sebastien - Top 3
Vuelta a Burgos - 1st
Vuelta a Espana - 1st
Il Lombardia - Top 5
LEADER OBJECTIVES
Nairo Quintana: Giro d'Italia, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France, World Championship ITT
Mikel Landa: Tirreno-Adriatico, Criterium Dauphine, Vuelta a Espana, Il Lombardia
Roman Kreuziger: Vuelta Cicilista al Pais Vasco, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Tour de France, World Championship RR
Leopold Konig: Paris-Nice, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Giro d'Italia, World Championship RR, Il Lombardia
Elia Viviani: Tirreno-Adriatico, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Giro d'Italia, World Championship RR
Bryan Coquard: Paris-Nice, Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana
Adriano Malori: Vuelta Cicilista al Pais Vasco, Tour de Romandie, Giro d'Italia, Tour de Suisse, World Championship ITT
Tiejs Benoot - Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Tour de France, Eneco Tour
To be continued...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 02-02-2016 18:00
CONTRACTS (Renewals)
The following is the list of riders whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season and the management action that has been planned...
Rider
Age
Stats
Offering
Pello Bilbao
28
OVR 75
HIL 77
ACC 75
MON 74
FTR 74
2 years
Alex Dowsett
30
OVR 76
PRL 81
TTR 78
FLA 76
REC 75
No
Jesus Herrada
28
OVR 74
MON 76
PRL 75
FTR 75
HIL 74
No
Ion Izagirre
29
OVR 77
TTR 78
PRL 78
HIL 77
FLA 76
2 years
Gorkha Izagirre
31
OVR 75
HIL 77
ACC 77
PRL 75
FTR 75
2 years
Eduard Korniets
23
OVR 75
FTR 84
HILL 77
ACC 75
STA 73
3 years
Roman Kreuziger
32
OVR 80
HIL 82
MON 80
REC 80
STA 78
No
Mikel Landa
29
OVR 80
MON 82
REC 82
HIL 80
ACC 79
3 years
Adriano Malori
30
OVR 77
PRL 84
TTR 80
FLA 76
HIL 75
2 years
Enric Mercader
23
OVR 70
HIL 72
FTR 71
ACC 70
MON 68
No
Mikel Nieve
34
OVR 77
HIL 79
FTR 78
MON 77
STA 75
1 year
Isidro Pintassilgo
24
OVR 73
MON 76
REC 74
HIL 72
TTR 71
No
Luis Leon Sanchez
35
OVR 76
FTR 80
DHI 79
REC 77
HIL 76
Undecided
Rafal Valls
31
OVR 75
MON 78
HIL 76
STA 74
REC 73
2 years
Eiia Viviani
29
OVR 79
SPR 82
ACC 79
FLA 79
REC 78
2 years
TRANSFER TARGETS
(Figures in brackets are the number of targeted signings and names in italics are high priority targets)
Puncher (2/3)
Climber (1)
TT (1)
Louis Meintjes
Romain Bardet
Rohan Dennis
Tom Slagter
Robert Power
Tom Dumoulin
Rafal Majka
Julian Arredondo
Elia Favilli
Thibaut Pinot
Tony Gallopin
Sebastien Reichenbach
Julian Alaphilippe
Tim Wellens
Adam Yates
Sergio Henao
(The remaining vacancies, if any, to be filled up with Scouted and/or U23 riders, if required)
The sponsors once again have given a slightly higher weightage to the monuments and cobbled classics than the stage races over last year. The Tirreno goes out as one of the objectives to be replaced by Paris-Roubaix. The remaining targets remain the same with some slight changes in specific race objectives.
Nairo is going for the Giro - Tour double once again after two second places last year in these races. Our Northern Classics hopes have received a major shot in the arm with the arrival of Tiejs Benoot. Together with Viviani, they should put up an improved showing in the cobbles this year. Mikel Landa will be hoping for a repeat of last year's brilliant form. This time around, there is a greater positive vibe in the camp of a clean sweep of the GTs given Landa's improvement. It will not be easy, but we will give our best shot.
Coming to the transfer strategy; it is from the end of this season that we start transitioning the team from one solely based on Spanish flair to one more global in nature. Our transfer targets are more high profile this time around given the huge funds made available by Movistar. If we are able to acquire a majority of our transfer objectives, we'd have a strong foundation for the sponsor switch coming at the end of next year.
Now, let the racing begin...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 02-04-2016 19:34
Before starting off the season, I thought this was a good time to highlight three of our riders who have grown from youngsters with potential to strong riders who are regularly impressing in the peloton. Here they are:
Dayer Quintana
In the shadow of his more illustrious older brother, Dayer's stock has been on the rise steadily. Only 26 years of age and with impressive climbing stats already, he should become a regular challenger to the GC in major races. What remains to be seen now is how Movistar is able to train him so that his peripheral stats as well as his performance against the clock improves.
Jasha Sutterlin
Starting off as the fourth choice TTist in Movistar was perhaps not the best way to showcase his skills in major races. Hoewever, with time, Sutterlin has improved immensely, now only second behind Malori in the team's TT line-ups. Boasting impressive flat and TT stats, there is a scope for improvement in the Prologues, achieveing which should make him an even more complete time trialist.
Eduard Korniets
Drafted into Movistar after finishing 2nd in the U23s in 2016, Eduard Korniets has risen up the ranks from a water carrier to a better than average puncher. He has already had a couple of top 10s and a couple more top 15s in the hilly classics, as well as a few podiums in the Young Rider classfications in WT races. Still only 23, he has a good 8-10 years of improvement ahead of him. If he is able to continue with his current rate of progress, he should one day be able to fight for the win in many a hilly stage/classic.
A steady start in Argentina with Konig as the team leader. He managed a couple of top 10 finishes, his consistency getting him 7th place in the GC, Perhaps the only downer was the he lost time climbing. Poor early season form...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 04-02-2016 15:34
The first WT stage on the calendar. Stage 1 takes the peloton through a few very small climbs as the sprinters will look to open up their account for the season.
Stage 2
Another stage for the sprinters with a small climb to break the monotony. Should follow the same script as stage 1.
Stage 3
Another mostly flat stage. A few undulations at the end might keep the pinchers interested but the sprinters are expected to take this one too.
Stage 4
A small downhill section brings the riders to the finish line on this stage. It should be four in a row for the sprinters.
Stage 5
The stage which most likely will decide the GC. The finish at Willunga hill should provide sparks than all other stages combined. Expect the non-sprinting favourites to look to pick up vital seconds they might've lost elsewhere.
Stage 6
A perfectly flat, feature-less stage will bring the riders home. Expect a massive bunch sprint and the GC might be decided here.
Overall Assessment
The first WT race of the season is generally a sprinter's paradise. Old Willunga Hill should once again play an important role in deciding the winner. Everywhere will be looking to get something on the board first up. Should be an interesting start to the season.
Movistar Starting List
Ion Izagirre
Bryan Coquard
Gorkha Izagirre
Luis Leon Sanchez
Jasha Sutterlin
Pello Bilbao
Eduard Korniets
The first World Tour race of the year gets under way in Australia. Movistar look to consolidate on their decent start to the season and build on it. They've sent last year's runner-up Ion Izagirre as their leader along with Bryan Coquard, the new signing, to take care of the sprinting. Among their competition is a host of the top sprinters and a few of the punchers hoping to make an impact. It would be interesting to see just how much the result is affected by Stage 5, given that most teams seem to have gone with a sprinter as their leading contender.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
The first early breakaway was caught after a short time but the four man second break pulled out a decent gap. Towards the end of the stage, the intermediate climb saw the peloton split up. Bryan Coquard was caught up in this split. Jasha Sutterlin, on duty to protect him through the stage, did an immense amount of work to pull him back to the peloton. The break was caught in the mean-time. Although diminished via the recovery, Coquard did get involved in the sprint, coming in 7th while Sagan won the stage.
Stage winner - Peter Sagan Movistar - Bryan Coquard 7th
Stage 2 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
A mostly uneventful stage saw the breakaway caught under the 10 km to go marker. Peter Sagan was once again too strong and won his second consecutive stage. Movistarpicked up a podium and a top 10 position via Coquard and Ion Izagirre (who was Coquard's lead-out here).
Stage winner - Peter Sagan Movistar - Bryan Coquard 2nd, Ion Izagirre 7th
Stage 3 - Flat with slightly uphill finish, including 1 minor intermediate climb
Another uneventful stage sprang to life with 5 km to go as Rui Costa attacked, trying to take advantage of the suitable profile. He was no match for the speed of the sprinter's lead-out trains. Having left Costa well behind, Mark Cavendish won his first stage of the season. Coquard was 2nd again, after starting the sprint off in about 15th place with a kilometre to go.
Stage winner - Mark Cavendish Movistar - Bryan Coquard 2nd
Stage 4 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
A stage with a slightly downhill finish saw the breakaway get caught just 6 km from the line. It was Marcel Kittel with the victory this time as Coquard grabbed yet another podium.
Stage winner - Marcel Kittel Movistar - Bryan Coquard 3rd, became the points jersey leader by 1 point
Stage 5 - Hilly (Old Willunga Hill)
This stage generally has a huge bearing on how the GC turns out. With very few teams bringing punchers to this race, it was a question of whether anyone could take time off the sprinters as they looked to protect their positions. As it turned out, there was a 8 man break at the top of Willunga, and the stage winner was also crowned from there, but there was no time gap created to the sprinters!
Stage winner - Simon Geschke after late attack Movistar - Ion Izagirre 7th, Luis Leon Sanchez 8th
Stage 6 - Flat
No features, no bumps, no distractions. A perfectly flat stage to finish. Going into this stage, Coquard was second in the GC, 4 seconds behind Sagan and tied with Kristoff. He was 2 seconds ahead of Cavendish in 4th place. Despite the flatness, this stage proved to be quite a spectacle. An early breakaway, although with not much danger to the GC, survived. Vyacheslav Kuznetsov was the lone survivng as the sprinters charged down the others in the final straight, winning by 25 seconds. The real surprise was what happened behind. Only nine of the sprinters covered the gap to the breakaway. The others, including Sagan and Kristoff, were caught in the split! Coquard came in 9th while Cavendish took 4th place, which meant no time bonuses for either, but a 45 second gap back to the other two. Coquard took the overall win by two seconds!
Stage winner - Vyacheslav Kuznetsov Movistar - Bryan Coquard 9th Other important results - Mark Cavendish 4th, Peter Sagan and Alexander Kristoff 1'4" behind
Team Classification
1)Sky
2)MTN Qhubeka
3)Movistar
What a start for the new boy! Bryan Coquard takes an unlikely win at the TDU. The travails of Sagan and Kristoff and the inability of Cavendish to finish on the podium on the last stage meant he's taken his first win for Movistar. The team has been constantly improving at this race over the past four years and this was the pinnacle. A very bright start to the year. Hope we keep this momentum going...
A flat stage to start off the race at Mallorca. Expect a mainly uneventful stage with a bunch finish.
Stage 2
A few climbs dot the profile here but the the result should again be decided by a bunch sprint.
Stage 3
The queen stage takes the peloton up 5 categorized climbs and some other smaller undulations. Expect the main GC contenders to take centre stage and a fierce battle up the last categorised climb.
Stage 4
The profile throws up 4 categorised climbs in the middle with a flat finish which should not see a lot of time differences. The GC should be affected here.
Overall Assessment
The sprinters will start off the race in high spirits but the GC leaders will then take after the halfway stage. Should be an interesting race given not many of the top contenders are expected to show up.
. With him doing so well, it is now possible for us to dream about winning all three GTs in a year as a team.
AG2R LA MONDIALE 
AEROFLOT (Katusha)
AMERICAN EXPRESS (Canondale-Garmin) 
ASTANA
COLRUYT (Lotto-Soudal) 
IAM 
MOVISTAR
ORICA GREENEDGE 
PHILIPS (Lotto-Jumbo NL)
SKY 
GIANT-ALPECIN
MTN QHUBEKA
Josef Katzer
Eduard Korniets 
Roman Kreuziger
Adriano Malori
Isidro Pintassilgo 
Nairo Quintana
