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[PT] Kenya Airways - Dimension Data
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| sgdanny |
Posted on 09-06-2016 13:03
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scoop of this renewal round so far is surely that Kwiatek went down in wage, well played 
Hope you'll use some training on him
Good luck in the PT!
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| CountArach |
Posted on 09-06-2016 13:51
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I'm curious to see how you build for the PT. It looks like you have a hell of a lot of wage budget to throw around.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 13:17
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 09-06-2016 14:13
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sgdanny wrote:
scoop of this renewal round so far is surely that Kwiatek went down in wage, well played
Hope you'll use some training on him
Good luck in the PT!
Thanks, I was very surprised that he had such low demands and thankfully he accepted our first round offer. Out of all our riders I thought he was most likely to go up.
Training is an interesting one... he is in contention for some but it will largely depend on who we can bring in.
CountArach wrote:
I'm curious to see how you build for the PT. It looks like you have a hell of a lot of wage budget to throw around.
It should be a fun window, with about 2 million in cap to spend. I would reveal my goals, but I think that would give too big a clue about my plans for both transfers and next year.
Good luck to BPost as well, we may end up both being in the battle for survival so a strong transfer period is needed for both of us. |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 10-06-2016 15:39
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Team Goals Announced
With transfers fast approaching, it's now time to reveal our team goals for the upcoming season.
We made the decision to be very ambitious with our goals this season, in an attempt to give us the budget to establish ourselves in the PT in our debut season. Therefore for our standings goal we chose a top 10, which although we feel will be very hard to achieve, that is where we aspire to be and with a bit of luck we may be in contention. It also provides us with extra funds for transfers.
Secondly, we also chose to focus on hilly races in our goals. The reason for this is that there are several top riders in this field potentially available and we hope to sign a big leader here to achieve these goals. This focus meant we chose two hilly win goals - Deutschland Tour and Giro di Lombardia - and a top three at another monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Finally we also chose to have a goal to win a stage at all three Grand Tours this season. In our only ever Grand Tour to date, the Giro 2014, we failed to win a stage, finishing second on a couple of stages. We would like to put this right by taking wins from each of the three biggest races in cycling.
   All GT's | Stage Win | PTM | | Giro di Lombardia | Win | PTM |  Deutschland Tour | Win | PT |  Liege-Bastogne-Liege | Top 3 | PTM |  Team Standings | Top 10 | PT |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 10-06-2016 19:17
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Kenya Airways to ride home race
We are pleased to announce that our entry has been accepted to the HC band four, which means that the team will be able to ride in the Kenya Mountain Classic next season.
This means we are able to ride in our home race for the fourth successive year, with our best finish to date being a 7th place by Mwangi Samwel in 2014.
Samwel climbing to 7th place in 2014
The acceptance into band four also means we will ride prestigious races such as Strade Bianchi, Paris-Tours and the International Osterreich Rundfahrt. Our full list of HC races for the 2016 season are detailed below.
| Race | Date | Profile | RD | | Strade Bianche | 25.02 |  | 2 |  Kenya Mountain Classic | 07.05 |  | 2 |  Tour of the Battenkill | 15.07 |  | 2 |  Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt | 05.08-12.08 | | 8 |  Rheden GP | 24.09 | | 2 | | Paris-Tours | 02.10 |  | 2 |  Japan Cup | 18.10 | | 2 |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 13-06-2016 13:59
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The Ponzi Scheme
| Simone Ponzi | 82 Hill, 76 Sprint, 80 Acc | Wage: € 1.550.000 |
We are very pleased to announce the signing of Italian champion Simone Ponzi! The Italian is seen by many as a legend of the sport, with him last year claiming the prestigious Ardennes triple as well as Il Lombardia, contributing to him finishing 4th in the PT individual standings.
Ponzi was our top target going into transfers, and is the man who we believe can accomplish our goals and keep us in the division. This is why we invested so heavily in bringing him in. He will now spend the off-season training on the hills ahead of what promises to be an extremely exciting first season in the PT for us. |
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 13-06-2016 14:06
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What a signing! A steep price to pay, but if you stay up it is all worth it. Well done for sticking to your guns and claiming him. 
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 13-06-2016 14:23
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aidanvn13 wrote:
What a signing! A steep price to pay, but if you stay up it is all worth it. Well done for sticking to your guns and claiming him.
Thanks! Just the rider we needed to achieve our tough goals. Hopefully he can go a long way to ensuring survival as well. |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 13-06-2016 14:26
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Gratz, what a signing. Ponzi has achieved historical success last season, so he has a lot to live up to. Just look at the price tag. At least with this wage, he won't be living like a beggar ever.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 13-06-2016 22:14
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Outstanding signing! A great rider last season, who won some massive races. He will be a fantastic for you.
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 13-06-2016 22:18
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Congratulations, amazing signing that should bring a lot of points!
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 13-06-2016 22:21
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There's always a chance he'll fail... Just kidding, great signing |
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| roturn |
Posted on 13-06-2016 22:26
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Well done on signing him and sorry for the high wage.  |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 13-06-2016 22:43
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Thanks for all the replies guys!
Shonak - Cheers, indeed a large weight on his shoulders for us this season. With the wage he simply must perform for us to stay up. I'm confident he will deliver in the big races though for us.
the_hoyle - Thanks, let's hope he is as fantastic as you say!
marcovdw - I'm hoping that will be the case! Good luck to the Minions this season as well.
Miguel - Good that you think so. Hope to see Aeropostal challenging at the top of the PCT this season.
roturn - No problem, was expecting a bidding war. I'll admit I wasn't expecting 1.55m but we had to sign him for our goals. Hope De Bie can prove an adequate 2nd choice for your team. |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 14-06-2016 17:29
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More New Signings
With the transfer window now in full swing, we've started racking up several new signings as our team takes shape.
 Jaco Venter | 77 Hill, 74 Mountain, 74 Res | € 70.000 | 4.1 |  Costa Seibeb | 74 Hill, 73 Mountain, 78 Fighter | € 50.000 | Loan | | Jay Thomson | 74 TT, 73 Hill, 74 Res | € 60.000 | 4.1 | | Paul Ariko | 73 Cob, 72 Hill, 78 Fighter | € 50.000 | 4.1 |  Albert Kireva | 73 TT, 69 Hill, 69 Sprint | € 50.000 | 4.0 |  Richard Laizer | 75 TT, 69 Cob, 69 Acc | € 50.000 | 4.0 |
The strongest rider in this group is Venter who signs from Austrian squad Wiesenhof. He is very strong on the hills and will be a super-domestique for Ponzi. Thomson and Ariko also join, strengthening our core of riders from our sponsors' countries as valuable domestiques.
Kireva and Laizer are both talented riders who can improve in the future, with their best discipline being on the TT bike. They will strengthen our TTT squad. Seibeb also joins us for a year on loan from fellow African squad Telkom to gain experience. |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 14-06-2016 21:40
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Congrats on getting Ponzi! And you're training him apparently?! He's going to be the bloody Bewley of the hills...again. 
Also nice to see Venter join an African team.
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 14-06-2016 21:43
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DubbelDekker wrote:
Congrats on getting Ponzi! And you're training him apparently?! He's going to be the bloody Bewley of the hills...again.
Also nice to see Venter join an African team.
Thanks. He better be the Bewley of the hills, because with such strong other promotees we will be almost guaranteed relegation otherwise.
Gratz on Madrazo and Ginanni btw, they will be great leaders for you. No doubt you can stay up if those two perform. |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 15-06-2016 18:12
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Several Riders Leave
As is always the case in transfers, as well as welcoming in new riders we also have to say goodbye to servants of the team in previous seasons. This year has been especially big for riders leaving as we look to build a competitive PT squad.
Among the outgoings is team legend Hassen Ben Nasser, who kept the team up in the PCT almost single-handedly in 2014 with several brilliant results. The Tunisian goes to fellow African squad Team Telkom in the hope of more brilliant wins at PCT level.
The full list of riders leaving the team:
| Daryl Impey | Eritel - Sonatrach |  Hassen Ben Nasser | Team Telkom for Africa | | Brent Bookwalter | Movistar - US Postal |  Clovis Kamzong | Fox Sports - BikeNZ Cycling |  Tarik Chaoufi | Fox Sports - BikeNZ Cycling | | Lotto Petrus | Fox Sports - BikeNZ Cycling | | Marco Marcato | Hugo Boss |  Bassirou Konte | La Poste - Mavic |
New Leaders
 Jesse Sergent | 80 TT, 80 Prl, 79 Flat | Wage: € 130.000 |
The next arrival we can announce is New Zealand TT champion Jesse Sergent. Arriving from fellow PT squad Becherovka, Jesse is extremely fast on the flat and on the TT bike, and will be the perfect rider to lead us in TT's over the forthcoming season. He will also be key to the team's TTT squad in order to be competitive in these races.
| Stijn Vandenbergh | 78 Cob, 76 Flat, 76 Sta | Wage: € 85.000 |
We have also completed the signing of Belgian cobbler Stijn Vandenbergh. We have never been known for our strength on the cobbles as a team, but with the step up to the PT we will have to ride compulsory races on the cobbles. In these, Stijn will lead our hopes of grabbing some points while also being a strong domestique on the flat in other races. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 15-06-2016 18:29
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Good to see more nice signings. Too bad they're not all Africans, but you need all types of riders, right?
Especially where you're going! |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 15-06-2016 18:36
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Ian Butler wrote:
Good to see more nice signings. Too bad they're not all Africans, but you need all types of riders, right?
Especially where you're going!
That's always the dilemma, being an African team. Some of the non-Africans we specifically targeted like Ponzi, others were because African targets went too high like Saber.
The plan in the long-term is to have a full African PT team. Unfortunately that's not viable for the next couple of seasons if we want to be competitive and stay up. In the future though with a maxed and trained Kudus things may be different. At least this season we increased the number of Africans we have. |
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