Will follow Scully closely. He should do very well on this level! Therefore a quality signing.
Clarke's stats got updated in off-season?! Or do I remember his old stats (especially FL) wrong? Anyway, looks like also he can score points on this level.
Ole Hirschlein, well, he could be a hero or a waste of 140k. He's got the skills to ascend like a CT god but does he have the TT power, the ability to not get dropped in the first 50km of a sprint stage or the ability to follow an attack from even Amadou Bakari up a hill? I'm not too sure.
I wouldn't worry, one of my riders last season (59 Flat) managed an 11th and a couple of top 20's on pan flat stages
It looks like you've built yourself a nice core of riders, some very good sprinters and a very nice all-round team.
@Count - Thanks, I hope so too! @tsmoha - No idea but that's in the DB! And cheers, hopefully Scully can deliver on his huge wage and expectations! @Eden95 - Haha there is hope for him yet! And thanks a bunch, hopefully they're a good base for me to build on!
Yes, even more of the little troopers. Let's meet the sexy buggers...
Tom Davison
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
72
69
73
69
70
70
69
60
65
69
71
70
73
Tom's a great teammate for the lads with power in the TT, flats, breakaways but especially hills where he'll be a useful pace-setter for Nzeke and the lads. Not much else to say really, he likes to let the bike do the talking and hopefully he slots into our ethos and provides the riding we know he's capable of.
Mathew Lloyd
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
66
72
75
63
68
72
71
52
63
69
74
63
63
The experienced Aussie joins us gratefully after being dropped by the Lululemon (now Podium Ambition) team last year. He's a very helpful domestique in the hills and mountains and has experience to captain us on the road, and the spirit to attack. Just don't tell him when we're going on the flat or on TT bikes. Or cobbles. Just tell him it's going to be hills.
Jordan Schleck
Maxes out at 77 Mon
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
61
67
65
52
67
65
72
53
52
66
52
56
60
So he's not the best. But wait till you see the third Schleck (shut up, they're totally related) soar as he fulfills his potential. Which isn't as great as we thought. But wait until you see him fly. Just. You. Wait.
Jamalidin Novardianto
Maxes out at OK stats, not 80+ sprint unfortunately
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
71
61
68
68
69
73
71
69
66
74
74
68
70
Getting him was meant to be a huge coup. He was going to be the fastest thing on wheels since Bos in a 1km flat road. But noooo, it turns out after he signed he was simply a fighter with a nice turn of speed. I could have sworn that his skills had been changed before and after I bid. But now he's here. And he better deliver.
Aleksandr Efimkin
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
68
69
76
64
72
71
66
50
56
54
70
67
64
"He was dogshit... He ruined all races... He did 1 thing well, fell." - His old boss. "He was likely more useful than any of my riders" - jph27
Edited by jandal7 on 30-07-2016 10:25
Kossouhorou from Central African Republic might be a really really succesful rider in CT with those stats. Pity for me I was too late to bid on him. Jordan Schleck is a cool guy to have too Nice attacking team with Efimkim, Lloyd, and Nzeke. Clarke and Scully should scoop up some points too!
@aidan - Yeah I think he's just a really cool rider Love his all-around stats. Yep Schleck should be fun to turn into a decent domestique hopefully by the time he's maxed Not sure on how attacking Efimkin is but hopefully despite being a bit of a half-baked hill train we can spring a surprise Clarke and Scully can hopefully be the power players for us. @D2B - Very pleased with them, thanks! And he better, though I'm not sure I've much faith in him. Hopefully he can be assisted by one of our last five...
Two leaders, two talents and a loanee. Let's meet 'em...
Jonathan Salinas
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
69
77
73
71
74
74
70
56
59
72
64
66
71
Salinas joins us from Azteca after not riding any races for them. He was however very important in the wins in both La Vuelta a España and Le Tour de France of one Aleksandr Pluchkin. We're privileged to already have a captain with that experience and hope the Venezuelan can form a decent duo with Hirschlein.
Tom Diggle
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
67
65
77
70
74
70
70
51
64
70
71
64
70
The crowning jewel in our not-as-impressive-as-planned hill train, Diggle is a good puncher with decent physical ability to go the distance, and can also TT a bit, useful in a stage race. Hopefully with some decent hilly riders we can punch above our weight.
Kim Ok Cheol
Maxes out at 77SPR 79ACC 76REC
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
67
53
60
60
69
69
64
50
70
72
63
71
67
Kim joins us as a stagiare for the latter part of the season, and hopefully in years to come he can develop into a very nice sprinter and leadout man. We look forward to working with him from August onwards.
Nils Schomber
Maxes out at 81PRL
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
68
54
57
67
61
69
63
50
69
69
62
64
74
Yes, we know he won't be winning anything other than prologues. But how many prologues can this kid win? Another stagiare for August and beyond, hopefully we can help this kid achieve plenty of prologue wins as well as plenty of days in the leader's jersey.
Jean Helwani
Loaned from Bouygues Telecom, Maxes out at 76TT 76PRL, but that's none of our business
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
61
54
61
67
64
63
60
62
54
63
63
58
67
Rumours of an inappropriate relationship between Mrs. Helwani and Crommy swirl constantly but we reckon a combo of this kids not being that bad with some help and the way he looked at Bos in the last press conference, we can see why he rides for them. Can help carry bottles and gather experience with us, and hopefully he can kick on a level or two now.
Here it is, thanks to bwiggins. Not much has changed, but not much had to. It's still incredibly cool:
*dies*
Also with this jersey are some lovely HQ banner which you may have noticed, courtesy of the_hoyle:
Preseason interviews with the lads, first up are Tom Diggle, Jonny Salinas and Jordan Schleck, cousin of. Come on, he totally is.
- Tom Diggle -
Tom greets us on the turbo trainer with a smile. Seems like a good-natured guy. He's got the hopes of Xero fans on his shoulders in the hilly classics, but with countryman Dowsett and German Dominic Klemme among many set to dominate, what're Diggle's hopes for the season?
Turbo Tom on the turbo trainer. He's a fan of The Sufferfest, but is that what it'll be when he faces countryman Dowsett?
"Yeah I know guys like Alex are the favourites, but already we're a tightknit group, particularly Geremie, Matt and I. We know how to work together on the bike and if an opportunity sneaks in we've always an outside chance." he says cooly. A brush of confidence but generally down to earth chatter follows after the big question. But how's he feel in the team environment at Xero?
"Already I feel the unity in the squad and the ethos and spirit guys like Jamal [Kuriba] and Wynton [Burns] bring to the team, the ideals set for us, it really suits me, the passion we've got here, the attacking spirit, team-based ethos, I'm just so excited for San Cristobal to kick off the season." We give him a small gesture and a smile. More juicy schedule gossip, please. "Yeah riding many hilly classics, all of them really. Same with Matt [Lloyd], Geremie [Nzeke], Alex [Efimkin] and Tom [Davison]. Also got some stage races lined up, stages and a few domestique duties - it's exciting stuff."
- Jordan Schleck -
He's found, as usual, riding his bike. Jordan Schleck has the passion of a lover when he talks about, thinks about, touches, or rides, bikes. It's this passion that's elevated him from a poor boy with his bike in Uganda, through the youth levels until he hit the roof in Africa. But he's busted right through it by signing a contract with Xero, despite competition by the team of his definitely cousins and the second-best Kiwi team.
On the bike, as per.
"I just want to ride, haha!" he says when quizzed on his upcoming debut season, "I don't care where, the more mountains better, but I would ride every race if I could!" Alas, only 77 days, Jordan.
"It's great to be at this team and I'm very, ah, looking forward to learning from, from the team staff and my teammates. Geremie Nzeke is a rider I used to watch on the TV, and I really like Marv and he's learning me some tips." he grins. You can tell from watching the light in this kid's eyes that he won't stop fighting till he reaches the top. "I don't know where I will race, but I hope that it is somewhere where I can help the team and learn a lot. I also want to go to the Tour of the Future, Tour de L'Avenir later in the year."
- Jonathan Salinas -
Jonny Salinas arrives with expectations on his shoudlers. The only cash-bought signing and coming from last year's Tour and Vuelta where his leader Pluchkin did the double, he's got a weight to lift. But can the diminutive Venezuelan do the deeds?
Jonny still has his trophies from his junior days. Can he grab a few more this season?
"Yeah with the fork attack with Ole we should do well, not sure about winning much, this division is stronger than I hoped when signing on." he says, smiling his broad smile. "It's a step down in level with what I did in the team with Aleksandr [Pluchkin] last year, but in a way, it's a step up for me, to the leader's role. I like the challenge and the team is amazing, they're so committed and nice, I can see this working out."
Today we have our second batch of interviews, with our sprint duo Tom Scully and Simon Clarke.
- Simon Clarke -
The Aussie will take duties of lead out for Tom Scully with the ethic and smile he's renowned for within the peloton. He shakes our hand firmly and greets us with a warm grin and some small chat. Seems an approachable lad.
Clarkey with a small animal, a staple of Australian cycling.
"Yeah obviously I'm happy with the project vision that I'm signed up with, and even though we're spread thin a bit with different areas of the team and not much of a train we should do well, Tom's a good guy and I'm happy to give him any experience I can and deliver him to hopefully some wins." he says when quizzed on the lead out at Xero. What's his schedule allow for leading?
"Yeah a few proper stage races with mountains and flatter finishes I get to work for Tommy [Diggle] or whoever's leading, and then maybe look at a top 10 for myself. It's always quite nice to lead a smaller race occasionally when you're a domestique, also this season I'd love some free roles to attack, I don't often get to do it but I'd love to."
- Tom Scully -
The ultimate leader and local hope for Xero is undoubtedly Tom Scully. With a wage of over 200k and high expectations, he's got a lot to carry on his shoulders this season. He'll be leading wherever he goes, but he's got a lot of competition in the CT this year and will find things very tough.
He's come from the track but is applying his speed to the road for the foreseeable future.
"Yeah it's a competitive division, there's a lot of amazing riders here and I'm really stoked and looking forward to matching up. It was an awesome experience with Oz across the ditch and the management there really helped me. This season, we'll see how it goes but I've got some pressure to perform and obviously I share the management here's high hopes." he says. He's a laid-back and down to earth guy, very chilled and a very good guy. Should fit right in.
"The team's great and I've got every faith in them to help me take a step up, Simon is a guy I can learn a lot from and he's one of the best guys to follow and lead you out in the entire division, if he puts in on a platter then it's just up to me to finish the job I guess. I can't wait to get out there, Mitchelton Bay should be a nice little indicator of where I'm at."
Only one race this month, and it's a debut for our hill train...
Clasico San Cristobal
A sharp uphill finish should give certain puncheurs and hill trains to shine - alas, not ours but we'll make a good go at it and hopefully attack until we drop and try get a decent placing from Diggle or Nzeke.
Diggle strong but not strong enough as the boys start well in Cuba!
Tom shutting gaps as the 7 man selection is formed.
Playing it cool before the sprint.
Fast finish for Tom but Hategeka too strong and too far forward as the sprint was launched.
1
Gasore Hategeka
MOL - OMW Petrom
5h09'05
2
Tom Diggle
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
s.t.
3
Domenik Klemme
Kraftwerk Man Machine
s.t.
4
Gregory Hugentobler
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
5
Fabio Taborre
New Balance
s.t.
26
Aleksandr Efimkin
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
+ 4'19
28
Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
s.t.
32
Geremie Nzeke
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
s.t.
33
Tom Davison
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
s.t.
41
Jonathan Salinas
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
+ 6'13
45
Matthew Lloyd
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
+ 6'31
118
Jordan Schleck
Xero Racing p/b Octagon
+ 17'01
Quick Quotes:
Robbie du Plessis, DS: "It was a great team performance as we tried to give Tom a great position in the final, although the legs of some of the key guys weren't great 7 riders in the top 45 shows our depth, only Ferrero did better. Tom showed good fight but Hategeka played it too well. Second is a great start to the season." Tom Diggle, 2nd: "The lads were great all day, they put my position in the last portion of the race on a plate today, they really did. I did what I had to do to keep the gap but I tried to keep quiet. Hategeka went too early, I first thought, but nobody could make up the ground. I was the quickest of the rest and I'm happy with 2nd, especially as this shows it might not be all Dowsett and Klemme this year, touch wood." Jordan Schleck, Debutant: "It was really exciting to be in my first ever race for me, I carried some bottles on the first circuit but in the end I was near the back. It was nice to ride with Marv and Geremie in my first race and another African, Hategeka, winning is next best thing to one of our team! Tommy did well to get second and I really enjoyed it, very tough!
"The Giro del Capo is a true stage race, taking part in South Africa, making it a huge race for us. We hope that our hilly squad can achieve this for us to get some exposure in our focus nation of South Africa.
"The Tour of Southland goal was a no-brainer. We don't have the outright strongest stage racing squad but we had to set this goal, and set the bar high for one of the biggest races of our season.
"The Herald Sun Tour will be a time for puncheurs and sprinters alike to shine and our team will be no different, and we'll hope one of the five stages can deliver for us. Scully and Nzeke will be our main hopefuls.
"The Barcelona Classic was chosen over the Tour de Pologne after much deliberation, short and simple it's a big race and our sprint train needs to deliver the goods for a top 5.
"Finally, the overall standings will be touch and go, we've been picked between 8th and 10th which means we seem on track for this one, but we need to stay focused on every race as it comes, if we do that the points will accumulate and handle themselves.
Big, big month with 21 race days spread across 5 races, including leadership debuts for Jonny Salinas and Simon Clarke, as well as our hill train looking to build on a great start in Cuba.
Benelux Challenge
No hopes for the leader's jersey with a prologue but two stages apiece for Clarkey and Diggle to have a crack at as well as a debut in pro cycling for Jamalidin Novardianto - he may well be our leader for stage 4 as the team's cobbled leader. Stage 5 in particular we hope Tom can build on his performance in Cuba
Startlist
Name
Role
Tom Diggle
Leader (Stage Hunting)
Simon Clarke
Leader (Sprints)
Geremie Nzeke
Protected Rider (Stage Hunting)
Tom Davison
Domestique
Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou
Domestique
Jamalidin Novardianto
Domestique
Timothy Gudsell
Domestique
Matthew Lloyd
Domestique
Tour of the Middle East
Whopper tour here with GC aspirations and designs on some sprint stages with Salinas and Clarkey respectively. MTK will show why he's one of the CT's best all-around domestiques by being of great use every single day.
Startlist
Name
Role
Jonathan Salinas
Leader
Simon Clarke
Leader (Sprints)
Ole Hirschlein
Superdomestique/Plan B
Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou
Domestique
Jamalidin Novardianto
Domestique
Jordan Schleck
Domestique
Geraardsbergen-Bosberg
Who cares?
Startlist
Name
Role
Geremie Nzeke
Leader (lol)
Matthew Lloyd
Domestique
Aleksandr Efimkin
Domestique
Tom Davison
Domestique
Timothy Gudsell
Domestique
Jean Helwani
Gainz
Gisborne GP
A home race! Turns out Geraardsbergen is just a warm-up for these lads as we fight for national pride in a race where we are very much the underdogs, up against much better teams. We'll try to get our jersey shown.
Startlist
Name
Role
Geremie Nzeke
Leader
Matthew Lloyd
Free Role
Aleksandr Efimkin
Get in a break
Tom Davison
Get in a break
Timothy Gudsell
Get in a break
Jean Helwani
Get in a break
San Marino Hill Classic
A big race for us in the inaugural edition of this tough race. Diggle returns after a brief break and will look to secure another top 5 result with most of the regular hilly faces to back him up.
@Croatia - I should have battles with everyone in ToME Thanks though Guess ToME could be very important given our rankings fight too...
@BBL - Oh no not Garby Should be some good battles between our boys then. And to you
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
jandal7 wrote: @Croatia - I should have battles with everyone in ToME Thanks though Guess ToME could be very important given our rankings fight too...
@BBL - Oh no not Garby Should be some good battles between our boys then. And to you
I can confirm that my full mountain squad will be there, but will some hills early on I'm definitely not sure he will be in the best position. Definitely some great battles ahead for the CT GT.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Nice attacking team with Efimkim, Lloyd, and Nzeke. Clarke and Scully should scoop up some points too!
Not sure on how attacking Efimkin is 
Clasico San Cristobal
Benelux Challenge
Tour of the Middle East
San Marino Hill Classic
Should be some good battles between our boys then. And to you 
