I dont understand whats up with the widness of this page, maybe it has something to do with the layout, maybe not, if someone could tell me what im doing wrong regarding the spacing then id really appreciate it
edit: nevermind I cant controll it
Another Big Stage Racer Signed
More loans have come in for the team, but more importantly we signed another big rider to help use achieve our season goals. Slowly, we are pilling on quite a good mountain team for the upcoming season....i hope
Transfered from Jayco'z Cycling Project for 800,000
Domenico Pozzovivo --> 180,000 wage
Pozzovivo taking a stage at the 2012 Giro
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Yup, another old stage racer who is past his prime. However, he still has a lot of ability left in him, he finished top 10 at the Giro and the Vuelta last year. And with that low wage, he was an absolute steal in our eyes. His time trialing stats might not be the best which could get us into a bit of trouble in regards to our season goals, but his climbing ability and backup stats are great. Pozzovivo will be a great addition to our squad a should be the leader in almost all the races he's in. Oh and lets not forget that this man has finished top 10 at the giro on 5 separate occasions, so he certainly has a ton of experience to share with everyone on our team
On loan from Becherovka - Petrof
Jan Hirt --> 125,000 wage
Hirt grabbing points along his way to winning the KOTM in Langkawi
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Okay this guy is actually good for a loaned rider, which is nice. But again, we're paying his wages while getting a fee in return, which is nice considering he's a good mountain helper. We do have to level him up to level 4, but technically he only needs about 41 races days, but count on it being more as he'll be very valuable to our team. Considering he's been quite good in the past at the CT level (3rd in the tour of the middle East + u23 & KOTM in the tour of Langkawi), we expect good things from him
On loan from Carlsberg - Danske Bank
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen --> 50,000 wages
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Andersen is our last loanee, and again, we are paying his wages in exchange for a 50k fee. Andersen also has quite nice sprinting stats, if he ever got into a breakaway he could definitely win a stage if it went all the way (if he didn't get dropped first). We have to level up this future sprinter to level 4, which is going to require quite a few race days. Wait wait wait, I know you must be thinking he'd be perfect for a lead out train, well that is a good idea, except for the fact that we don't actually have a sprinter. Anyways, although we don't expect too much out of him, expect him to surprise on a few stages.
For now thats all the riders we've been able to confirm, however, expect more movement from our side before the end of the transfer season as we do have a bunch of money still left over as 2 of our 3 big signings so far have not needed a transfer fee. We'll keep you guys updated right here
View of Abdallah's butt as he sprints to a third place in the first stage of the Giro del Capo
After an absolutely atrocious season, the team has decided to part was with Egyptian sprinted Cherif Abdallah, whom we signed last for 180k from Project: Africa. Abdallah was brought in give us some points on flat stages and help us forget the failure of Benoit Sinner from our first season. Instead, Abdallah became another one of our failed sprinters. Actually funny enough, Abdallah had a worse year than Benoit Sinner had, which we find kind of ironic.
So going into the transfer season we were looking to sell him at any price, eventually new CT team Viavcom came to us, willing to take him for free. But at the last second New Balance bid a mere 5k for him, which would send him to new Balance. New Balance has a strong sprinting core, and we hope that he will find his form there, but we just weren't in a position to wait for him to find his form
Haha, well you bought him! And he isn't terrible but there was a reason i was looking to sell him so
Time Trial Leader Welcomed to In-n-Out p/b Carrefour
After getting outbid on multiple big riders, we finally got a good leader (who probably overpaid for though) and we've continued to bring in more loan riders, as we needed the roster spot/fee to make this big deal happen
Transfered from RBC Pro Cycling for 700,000
Kai Reus --> 140,000 wage
Reus Time trialing for Auber at the Chrono des Herbiers in 2011
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After being left in a situation where we didnt have a bunch of wage space but with did have a lot of total cap space, we started to go after many riders. Our main target became Romain Zingle, but after losing a bidding war for him, we had to switch our focus to someone else. This someone else ended up being 31 year-old Kai Reus. Reus has been riding for a long time and will bring a lot of experience to the team. But the main reason we wanted him was for his ability in Time trials, where we've never had someone who is of an upper echelon. Reus can also climb relatively well so in races without Time trials, he can be very valuable. Overall this adds another great leader to our team, which is slowly building up nicely
On loan from Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo
Roniel Campos --> 50,000 wage
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Here is actually a valuable loan rider, Campos has an ok Mountain stat along with ok back up stats. For a normal rider he isnt great but on loan its really nice to get someone who will be good as a helped in the moutains
The transfer season has been very good for us, and with these 2 great signings in our eyes, but just as we were writting this up we got news of a bigger deal, stay tuned for more details!
As bigger moves for riders loom in the future, we went out of our way to secure a good helper along with a young talent whom we got for free
Transferred from Ayubowan! for 90,000
John Le Bon --> 50,000 wage
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Le Bon was a late addition after flip-flopping on a few riders, but his mountain ability along with great backup stats will be extremely valuable. In addition, his 50k wage allowed us to go after more riders with high wages. Le Bon rode for Ayubowan! last year, and were actually very interested in going after him, but we didnt have the financial capabilities to fully go for him at the time, its nice that we were able to get him this time around, and he's sure to make a big difference.
On Loan from Jayco'z Cycling Project
Dion Smith --> 105,000 wage
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Dion Smith was added after we say that Jayco'z Cycling Project was looking to loan him out for free, and as we had not used up any of our wage cap, we jumped on the opportunity to bring him in for the season. We do need to level him up to level 3, but his servicable stats shouldn't make it too hard to find him race days.
All things accounted for, these 2 mountain helpers will be very valuable for Fothen, Pozzovivo and even Van der Hugenhaben, they add to the small stable of climbers that we've been building up so far
Reus and Van der Hugenhaben should bring a lot of points though I am not sure how much points Pozzovivo and Fothen will bring since the PCT climber depth is awesome so I think Fothen and Pozzovivo will probably struggle.
Yes I know i'm posting about this a little early, but im leaving for a trip this afternoon so I wouldn't be able to post it then and when i'll be able to post stuff, I'm going to need to post about our other new riders
The Schleck Fan wrote:
Reus and Van der Hugenhaben should bring a lot of points though I am not sure how much points Pozzovivo and Fothen will bring since the PCT climber depth is awesome so I think Fothen and Pozzovivo will probably struggle.
Considering that Pozzovivo was good at the PT level last year, I think he'll do well at the PCT level. Also it's not like im expecting them to be world beaters, I'm just trying to not go back down to the CT, and I think they give me the best opportunity do prevent that
In-n-Out agrees to absolute blockbuster deal to let Jakub Novak go
Jakub Novak --> Team I-Gen - Festina
Novak time trialing to a stage victory at the tour of the Middle East
Letting Jakub Novak go was not something we were willing to do. I mean we paid 849,000 for him last year and he carried us into a CT promotion spot. However, it is true that every rider has a price, and when Festina came to us with this deal, we couldn't refuse; 700,000 and Kristijan Durasek in exchange for Novak. In our eyes we couldn't say no to this, as Durasek is a poor man's Novak in a way and would be a fantastic helper at a very low price. We'd probably value Durasek around 250k so him plus the 700k basically is 950k for Novak, which is spectacular for us in our eyes.
However this deal does come with some heavy hearted-ness, as Novak was spectacular for the season he was here, and although we expected to hold onto him for a long time, it unfortunately didn't work out like that.
now that means we have to present to you Durasek, but also don't worry about the 700k we recieved for Novak, we're working on a deal which would put that money to good use
Transferred from Team I-Gen - Festina along with 700,000 for Jakub Novak
Kristijan Durasek --> 70,000 wage
Durasek getting Zabel'd on stage 3 of the 2013 Tour of San Luis
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Durasek comes in in the Novak deal, and he's actually quite a good rider. His hill stat will make him very valuable when helping Robin van der Hugenhaben and his time trialing ability is actually quite good. His all around good climbing stats, paired with his time trialing will make it hard to choose what races to send him to as he's so versatile and would be successful in all sorts of terrains. However, he does have a bit of pressure on his shoulders coming in for Novak, but we're sure he'll be up for it
maxime86 wrote: Yes I know i'm posting about this a little early, but im leaving for a trip this afternoon so I wouldn't be able to post it then and when i'll be able to post stuff, I'm going to need to post about our other new riders
The Schleck Fan wrote:
Reus and Van der Hugenhaben should bring a lot of points though I am not sure how much points Pozzovivo and Fothen will bring since the PCT climber depth is awesome so I think Fothen and Pozzovivo will probably struggle.
Considering that Pozzovivo was good at the PT level last year, I think he'll do well at the PCT level. Also it's not like im expecting them to be world beaters, I'm just trying to not go back down to the CT, and I think they give me the best opportunity do prevent that
In-n-Out agrees to absolute blockbuster deal to let Jakub Novak go
Jakub Novak --> Team I-Gen - Festina
Novak time trialing to a stage victory at the tour of the Middle East
Letting Jakub Novak go was not something we were willing to do. I mean we paid 849,000 for him last year and he carried us into a CT promotion spot. However, it is true that every rider has a price, and when Festina came to us with this deal, we couldn't refuse; 750,000 and Kristijan Durasek in exchange for Novak. In our eyes we couldn't say no to this, as Durasek is a poor man's Novak in a way and would be a fantastic helper at a very low price. We'd probably value Durasek around 250k so him plus the 750k basically is 1 mil for Novak, which is spectacular for us in our eyes.
However this deal does come with some heavy hearted-ness, as Novak was spectacular for the season he was here, and although we expected to hold onto him for a long time, it unfortunately didn't work out like that.
now that means we have to present to you Durasek, but also don't worry about the 750k we recieved for Novak, we're working on a deal which would put that money to good use
Transferred from Team I-Gen - Festina along with 750,000 for Jakub Novak
Kristijan Durasek --> 70,000 wage
Durasek getting Zabel'd on stage 3 of the 2013 Tour of San Luis
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Durasek comes in in the Novak deal, and he's actually quite a good rider. His hill stat will make him very valuable when helping Robin van der Hugenhaben and his time trialing ability is actually quite good. His all around good climbing stats, paired with his time trialing will make it hard to choose what races to send him to as he's so versatile and would be successful in all sorts of terrains. However, he does have a bit of pressure on his shoulders coming in for Novak, but we're sure he'll be up for it
Dunno,there is Amador,Machado,Martin,Denifl,Dekker,Ricco,Cunego,Intxausti,Uran,Marquez,Contador,Brenes,Valls so I don't think that they will get many points.
The Schleck Fan wrote:
Dunno,there is Amador,Machado,Martin,Denifl,Dekker,Ricco,Cunego,Intxausti,Uran,Marquez,Contador,Brenes,Valls so I don't think that they will get many points.
okay, youre right my team is absolute trash and I shouldn't even try anymore
look as i said, trying not to get relegated, at this point I could care less about the other riders in the PCT, im went after riders I wanted and could afford and thats it, I bought them and there's no turning back
The Schleck Fan wrote:
Dunno,there is Amador,Machado,Martin,Denifl,Dekker,Ricco,Cunego,Intxausti,Uran,Marquez,Contador,Brenes,Valls so I don't think that they will get many points.
okay, youre right my team is absolute trash and I shouldn't even try anymore
look as i said, trying not to get relegated, at this point I could care less about the other riders in the PCT, im went after riders I wanted and could afford and thats it, I bought them and there's no turning back
thanks for your opinion on my team though
I was just saying my opinion that the climber depth in PCT is too much.Hugenhaben and Reus are great for avoiding relegation though.
Yoann Offredo , Mickael Delage --> Schuh powered by Wiggle
Delage doing work at the front in the tour of the Middle East
After being in a spot where we thought we we're going to go over the salary cap, we decided it was best to part ways with Offredo and Delage, who were both fantastic helpers for us last year. We put them both on the block and didnt expect much, but Schuh powered by Wiggle came to us and offered us 200k for both. We couldn't say no to that deal as it was fantastic for our balance and allowed us more financial leniency. It was unfortunate because both riders are very talented, but they didn't fit into our more mountainous team layout we were looking to build
In-n-Out uses Novak money to aquire another Czech rider
After selling Jakub Novak for a hefty sum of money, we still had quite a bit of money to spend and went back to Becherovka to aquire good climber
Transferred from Becherovka for 700,000
Jakub Kratochvila --> 90,000 wage
Kratochvila winning stage 13 of last year's Giro
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After Novak left, we were kind of in a tough spot, as Novak was a great climber and great timetrialist in one rider, however, with the signing of Kai Reus and Kristijan Durasek, we decided that we we’re necassarily in a spot where we really needed someone who could sucsede against the clock. So, we went to Becherovka, whom we had bough Jakub Novak from last year, and pulled off a deal for Kratochvila. Kratochvila is another Czech rider with the first name of Jakub, however he is much better than novak in climbing terms as he’s fantastic in the mountains and hills, which means he’ll be of use to us in nearly every race.
On loan from Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo
Xavier Nieves --> 50,000 wage
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Nieves isn't the best rider, but after Aeropostal came to us asking him to loan him in without a clause, we really couldn't say no. Nieves might not be used too much, but in pan flat races, he could be solid for our lead sprinter...oh wait we dont have a lead sprinter.
Another good mountain rider added to the team, and a young one with GT experience at that. Hopefully he'll be with us for a long time, but then again, that's what we said about Novak last year
Being as one of our goals is a cobbled related race, we felt that we needed to bring in someone who is actually semi-competent on the cobbles. Obviously we have Alexandre Aulas and Jean-Lou Paiani, but at as 73 rated cobblers, they are ok at the CT level, but at the PCT level, they are really not great. Lhotellerie at 30 years old and 50k wage is a very good signing for about 235,000 and will absolutely lead us in the cobble races, which probably tells you something about our inability to ride the Cobbles
Transferred from Red Bull for 20,000
Ricardo Mestre --> 20,000 wage
Mestre winning a stage with B&O during the 2008 season
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Mestre was a late addition after Red Bull was offering him up for a minimal cash. Mestre fits right into our moutain train and is actually 8th rider with a mountain stat above 75 and is perfect for our mountain train. However, at the age of 33, he probably wont be staying with the team for too many years before he retires
2 more fantastic additions to the team, and might actually be our final addition to the teams when it comes to transfers, however expect a surprise addition to round of the transfer season
After a long transfer season, where we decided to only have 5 returning riders, we've built up our final team barring any final signings. So here's our final team presentation
Leaders
Robin Van Der Hugenhaben
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Spoiler
Van Der Hugenhaben near the front at the 2014 Giro di Lombardia
Van Der Hugenhaben will be our leader in every race he's in. His great hill stat, good mountain stat and relatively solid time trial stat make him very dangerous in classics and short tours. Also his high fighter stat will mean he'll be very active throughout races in regards to attacks and such.
Domenico Pozzovivo
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Spoiler
Pozzovivo taking a stage at the 2012 Giro
Pozzivio will be our main stage racer with his fantastic mountain stat. Although his hill and time trial stats may be lacking, his backup stats are very good. And at 180k wages compared to other people in the PCT like Cunego for example at 500k wages, we're very happy with his signing.
Kai Reus
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Spoiler
Reus Time trialing for Auber at the Chrono des Herbiers in 2011
We might have overpaid for Reus, but his nice time trialing ability paired up with his nice climbing stats can make him very dangerous in short tours. For the most part he might not have the whole team working for him, but he'll be a small leader in the shorter tours.
Lhotellerie is going to be our cobble leader this season. He has serviceable backup stats and an ok cobble stat. Honestly, he isn't a top cobbler in the PCT, but at 50k wages and 235k fee, we though the risk was worth it. And who knows, maybe with some luck and help from Aulas and Paiani, he could surprise some people.
Super Domestiques
Markus Fothen
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Spoiler
Fothen winning stage 9 of the 2010 TDF, where he went on to win the overall
Fothen is a former TDF winner who is clearly past his prime. However, when we got the chance to bring him in for free while only having to pay his wages, we couldn't say no. Fothen will probably act as more of a super domestique, but will get many opportunities to lead his own races.
Robert Sweeting
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Spoiler
Sweeting winning a mass sprint in the 2014 Benelux Challenge
So im actually not sure if I can confirm this but whatever, the suspense/propect of him joining us again is killing me. Basically, after we let him go during the renewal season, he didn’t actually recieve any solid offers during the transfer season. So we came back to him with an offer that was about 30k lower than what we offered him previously, and he accepted. So the winningest rider in our team history, with around 13 top 5 finishes, rejoins us for our first PCT season.
Jakub Kratochvila
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Spoiler
Kratochvila winning stage 13 of last year's Giro
We brought in Kratochvila after we sold on last year's star Jakub Novak, who funnily enough has the same first name, same nationality and was bough from the same team. But funny coincidences aside, Kratochvila should be a nice Domestique and should get a fair few opportunities for himself throughout the season
Blaise Sonnery
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Spoiler
Sonnery taking a second place a the tour d'Azerbaijan
Sonnery is the ultimate unknown rider in the teams in terms of production. He is majorly inconsistent with his low stamina and low acceleration. But his combination of ok climbing and good sprint stat makes for very interesting circumstances. He's had good results in the past like last year's tour of the Middle East, but is still absurdly streaky
Mountain Domestiques
Jan Hirt
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Romain Hardy
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Johan Le Bon
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Kristijan Durasek
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Ricardo Mestre
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50
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Spoiler
Our Mountain Domestiques reeling in the break at the USAPCC for Novak last year
This group of guys are going to be the work horses for the team. Mestre, Le Bon and Hirt have absurdly similar stats, while Hardy will be more valuable in time trials and hills compared to them. On the other hand, Durasek will be extremely valuable with his ability as a puncheur and time trialist, he may not be as strong as the others in the mountains, but he’ll still be very valuable
Cobble Domestiques
Alexandre Aulas
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61
Jean-Lou Paiani
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Spoiler
Paiani racing to a 3rd place at the GP Herning last year
Our cobbles department is not deep or extensive to say the least, but between these guys and Lhotellerie, we think we have the chance to pick up some nice finishes. Also, Aulas is actually a pretty good sprinter, to if a race comes down to a small group sprint, we’re confident he can get the job done (get the job done in this case means a top 10 finish)
Overview
First of all, yes we know we left out our young talents, but they aren't really going to be center pieces of the team this year, they're mostly there for development
But apart from that we are quite happy with our team, our real goal is just to stay up in the PCT, and with our climbing depth, we thing we should be ok. Hopefully Van Der Hugenhaben can give us some nice wins and do well for us as we try to survive.
We know we lack sprinters of any sort, and in all honesty thats a problem we've had every year, this year we decided to just ignore it instead of spending money to fix something that may or may not work. Next year it will most likely be one of our main points during the offseason, but with the development of Mustafa Carsi, we think we should be in good shape eventually.
Also, our team is absolutely ancient, we really need to hope our veterans take pay cuts next year and sign a bunch of youngsters so we can have a solid core for the future. Considering 6 of our 7 best riders are 30 or older, its really something we need to adress
apart from that we can't do much anymore and we're gonna have to just hope for results!
Always funny to see lower division teams with a significally better depth in mountains and/or hills than my team Pozzovivo should do a good job at a great wage! Kinda hurt to let him go, but I needed the cash.. Will follow your team closely this season, looks solid enough to be a factor in the PCT.
--> 180,000 wage
--> 125,000 wage
--> 50,000 wages
--> New Balance
--> 140,000 wage
--> 50,000 wage
--> 50,000 wage
--> 105,000 wage
--> 70,000 wage
--> 20,000 wage
Markus Fothen
Robert Sweeting
