Thanks for the comments guys. Avoiding relegation will obviously be hard, but a great chance for us to get some talents like Würtz, so it hopefully turns out for the better in the long run.
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Team presentation
The transfer season is done and dusted, and some of the Grieg-Eftel riders have already had their first race days in the various pre-season races. So exactly who does the team look ahead of their first season in the ProTour?
I, Per Mandagsfjord, have allowed myself to take a look at the team, and let's be frank; this is not the title favourite.
Actually, the team looks set for relegation, something that's easily explained by their lack of leaders. Let us have a look at their riders with an 75+ overall:
Jacopo Guarnieri have the looks of a top class sprinter, and the Italian ended last season as number 29 in the individual rankings. After the disbandment of the Good Energy team, he was happy to join up with Grieg-Eftel as their number one leader. The team have a history with the Italians ever since bringing Bianchi on in their first season.
Guarnieri is actually not to shabby, but with out the needed training, I think it could be a tougher year for the Italian. He will undoubtedly be given chances in a lot of races, and the support also looks decent. Especially Rowe could be of great help for Guarnieri.
Rowe will also be, together with wonderkid Lukasz Wisniowski, the main riders around the other top 10 candidate in the team, Matteo Trentin. The other Italian in the team is a versatile one, with good abilities on the hills and in the sprints. It's probably in the Northern classics his chances are best, and where he enjoyed his best results as the star of the promoting Risa-Ergon team last year.
As other seasons, climbers are not really welcome in the team. As a reporter who have followed the cycling circus for nearly a decade, I must admit that I'm ashamed that a team like this, in their fourth season still haven't had a better climber than Brice Feillu and Andreas Landa.
The best climber in the team this time around is Guillaume Levarlet, as it also was last season. He is fortunately better in the hills, where he leads the team together with Travis Meyer and Christopher Juul-Jensen. The trio delivered regular top 10s last season, but it would be a tough task repeating that.
The last place the team could expect some points from are the time trials, where they can field both a decent TTT-squad, and some riders that also could score some top 10s for themselves.
Mullen have been loaned in.
And then we have the glorious leftovers. Some still on their way up, like Calvin Watson, while some of them probably should have been binned before the season.
Also Haddi and Smit are loanees.
And of course, two riders have been signed, and then sent out on loan. The team management thinks highly of the two Danes, Søren Kragh Andersen and Mads Würtz, who will become great riders in the future.
Prediction: 22th. The team clearly lack leaders and the bookies have already made it clear that they don't believe in the team, with a 10 000-1 chance given for them winning the title at several outlets.
As probably the best cycling journalist in the world, I would have to agree. And it's likely that after my take on the team that we could see 15 000-1 the next week, since I'm such a great expert.
As always it has been a pleasure to share my knowledge with you.
January is already done and dusted. Grieg-Eftel started their first PT season with sending Kristoffer Skjerping in the break in Badaling International, but the break was eventually caught, and none of the other riders in the team were close to challenging Francesco Ginanni for the win in China.
The Tour of Qatar was a significantly better race for the team, with Jacopo Guarnieri ending as number six in the GC, with Zakkari Dempster as number twelve after securing our first podium in PT on the time trial that concluded the race.
- Jacopo delivered very steadily throughout, and with even more time with his new team mates, we hope can see some even better results as the season goes on, press officer Svein Sveiobua said.
The team is now looking forward to a busy February, where they'll take part in six races.
The first two is the the cobbled classics Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne.
The roster in the two classics is more or less the same, with seven of the eight guys being on start in both races. The seven are:
Matteo Trentin (79CB, 75SPR)
Lukasz Wisniowski (77CB, 78FL)
Luke Rowe (75CB, 79 SPR)
Geert Steurs (74CB)
Øystein Stake Laengen (73CB)
Truls Engen Korsaeth
Willie Smit
Sofiane Haddi joins the team in Het Nieuwsblad, while Michael Vink have KBK in his schedule.
- Luke got two top 10s in these races last season when it was held as a stage race. His powerful sprint make him a very dangerous rider, with probably only the likes of Sam Bewley and Alexander Kristoff better amongst the cobblers. Combined with the strength and versatility of both Matteo Trentin and Lukasz Wisniowski, I'm confident that we can get some good results. Top 10 would be a realistic goal in both races, Sveiobua said.
The following eight starts for Grieg-Eftel in the italian race:
Matteo Trentin (74HL, 75SPR)
Damien Howson (80PRL)
Calvin Watson (76HL)
Soufiane Haddi
Willie Smit
Will Clarke
Geert Steurs
Ken Sebastian Vassdål
- A race where we really don't have any big hopes. Howson could challenge for the win on the opening prologue, but other results seems to depend on picking the right breaks.
So what about the team for Paris-Nice?
Guillaume Levarlet (79HL)
Zakkari Dempster (79TT)
Rasmus Sterobo
Michael Faerk Christensen
Ryan Mullen
David Tanner
Michael Vink
Truls Engen Korsaeth
- Levarlet is given the chance to lead the team on home soil, with Dempster hoping to do something similar to what he did on the epilogue in Qatar.
- Close to our strongest hilly squad, but it will be a tough task hoping for much more than a top 15.
The last race of the month is Milano-San Remo, a race that could see several outcomes. That also reflects in the roster:
Jacopo Guarnieri (82SPR)
Matteo Trentin (74HL, 75SPR)
Luke Rowe (78FL, 79SPR)
Travis Meyer (78HL, 72SPR)
Lukasz Wisniowski (78FL)
Calvin Watson
Willie Smit
Michael Olsson
- A race that our manager have a soft spot for. Hopefully some of the riders can give something to cheer for, Sveiobua said.
Some say it's the best division of them all, and the manager of Grieg-Eftel certainly agree. That being said, sources close to tastasol, have revealed that the management dreams of a return to the highest level - and this time going up as one of the five best teams in the pro continental division.
As I, Per Mandagsfjord, predicted before last season, the team's first stint on top level was a season without much glory. A good Giro d'Italia and a couple of very good races in the spring classic for Matteo Trentin were the highlights in the season, where Grieg-Eftel finished the season dead last in the rankings.
That means a return to the PCT, and I, Per Mandagsfjord, can now reveal the new wages ahead of the upcoming season.
My sources tell my the managment early decided to cut the ties with Guillaume Levarlet. The Frenchman was brought in to be a captain for the squad, but has been a constantly disappointment for the team. Also Will Clarke, Frederik Wilman and the aging Geert Steurs and David Tanner were released in a much needed clean up.
As the team wanted to cut the wages as much as possible to adapt to the new life in PCT and the divisions salary cap, the team had long discussions with most of their leaders.
Unfortunately for tastasol, not everyone agreed to the terms. While my sources tells me that management felt they gave very generous offers to Travis Meyer, the team's best Australian refused to sign a new contract.
In an exclusive interview with me, he told that he feels underpaid compared to some of the other top riders in the team. Therefore he refused the contract proposal, but he revaled that he might still consider signing for tastasol and Grieg-Eftel again, as long as the offer is better.
So what you've all been waiting for - the wages:
Rider
Wage
Difference
Jacopo Guarnieri
450 000
- 110 000
Lukasz Wisniowski
330 000
- 100 000
Matteo Trentin
305 000
+ 95 000
Mads Würtz
220 000
- 80 000
Luke Rowe
195 000
- 35 000
Christopher Juul-Jensen
145 000
+ 14 000
Damien Howson
75 000
- 5 000
Zakkari Dempster
75 000
- 40 000
Søren Kragh Andersen
75 000
- 25 000
Johan Lindgren
70 000
+ 20 000
Calvin Watson
70 000
+ 20 000
Michael Faerk Christensen
65 000
- 25 000
Michael Vink
60 000
- 28 000
Michael Olsson
55 000
+ 5 000
Øystein Stake Laengen
50 000
0
Christer Rake
50 000
0
Rhys Gillett
50 000
0
Kristoffer Skjerping
50 000
0
Ken Sebastian Vassdål
50 000
0
Ramus Sterobo
50 000
0
Truls Engen Korsæth
50 000
0
That means that the team enter the transfer season with 21 riders, and 40k over the wage cap. While the situation in many way might seem very locked, my sources tell me that there could be big changes, if the right riders become available.
In the sense of making way for big signings, I've been told that Jacopo Guarneri's agent have been told that he is free to search for potential suitors for the fast Italian. I've reached out to Bianchi, the equipment sponsor of the team, about these rumours. The Italian company are today a proud sponsor of the team, who animated the sprints in the Giro d'Italia last year. Grieg-Eftel have two of the biggest Italian stars under contract, with Matteo Trentin and Jacopo Guarnieri in the team. As I understand it, a sale of Guarnieri could mean that the equipment sponsor will withdraw their support to the team. As of today, their sponsorship is paying for the salaries of both Trentin and Guarnieri. A sale of one of the two Italian, might therefore mean that both will leave the team.
Follow me further for more updates, you can find me on twitter @PMandag.
For bikepro.net,
Per Mandagsfjord
Nice to see Mandagsfjord still be around your team and use his sources to inform the public about Grieg-Eftel's activities! Though, clearly he has worked quite a lot during the winter, seeing he has expanded and appears to be well inside the Italian market and Bianchi as well now. Kind of worrying seeing who sponsors my team with bikes
Interesting to read that you might look to shake up your team, as I think it should be a safe bet for promotio back to PT as it stands now. Best of luck there, and I'm sure we'll talk quite a lot during transfers, like we've done during previous transfer seasons If not about potential moves and transfers, then I'm sure we'll find other things!
@ember: Yeah, he is one of the best in the industry!
I think you're right that the team as it is now, should be able to challenge for promotion. But then again, it's fun to shake it up a bit, isn't? Edited by tastasol on 05-09-2017 23:19
A clean Top 3 bet for the PCT title for me, together with Generali and Orange - "tanking" a year worked really well for you
Edited by Croatia14 on 05-09-2017 23:35
With the transfer season fast approaching, I've perfected my journalistic skills to find the biggest targets for Grieg-Eftel. Through my sources, I've been able to gather a shortlist, written by hand by tastasol himself.
While they could all be scratched out to find place for Edvald Boasson Hagen, after the surprise news from Aker-MOT thay he would be leaving, this list have Jay McCarthy on top.
With Travis Meyer refusing to sign a new contract, the team lost their best Australian rider. Therefore the desire to bring in a new Australian leader is said to be huge, with big pressure from the Australian co-sponsor Eftel.
Meyer is also included on the list, but my sources tell me that McCarthy is an much more important signing.
Looking further down the list, both Jesse Sergent and Michael Hepburn are included. Both of them thrive in the time trial, and it's believed that tastasol wants to build the best TTT setup in the division.
With riders such as Lukasz Wisniowski, Matteo Trentin and Luke Rowe, Grieg-Eftel also want to strengthen their squad on the cobbles. I can reveal that Matti Breschel is one other of the big targets for the team the upcoming transfer season.
While the Dane that go in and do a good work already this season, the team is also looking at upcoming talents, with the fellow Dane Mads Pedersen and the Norwegian Amund Grøndahl Jansen as potential targets.
The list also included more names, but unfortunately tastasol have a really bad hand writing, and some of them I just couldn't understand.
What I did understand was also the transfer availability, which was also written on the piece of paper. And therefore I, Per Mandagsfjord, can also reveal that for you today.
A lot of options for you there, at least according to Mandagsfjord. Though, can imagine if you really go after McCarthy or EBH, they'll force a couple of the "unlikely" riders to transfer in you team out the door, looking at the wage cap and your riders!
And Mandagsfjord is really taking it to another level this year. Surely he must have been busy this winter, running around to some very tabloid medias all around the world to pick up a trick or two?
While Grieg-Eftel had a good chance of going straight back up to the PT again with the squad that entered the transfer season, team manager tastasol quickly decided to mix it up a bit.
3 of the top 4 riders from last season have left the squad. Jacopo Guarnieri (35th in the rankings), Matteo Trentin (52th) and Christopher Juul-Jensen (101th) have all left. Also the arguably best time trialist in the team have found him self another team, with Damien Howson leaving. The Danish Michael Faerk Christensen have also left the team.
– We're well aware that it is a huge risk that we are taking, but when we had an opportunity to get Edvald Boasson Hagen, we felt that we owed it to ourself to at least try, tastasol said.
The Norwegian was close to joining Grieg-Eftel last season. A late bid on Daniel Martin that time made Boasson Hagen stay at Aker-MOT.
– I talked with Edvald a couple of times during the races last year, and he told me that he was ready for a new challenge, after achieving pretty much everything he could do in Aker. We're super excited that this new challenge will now be in the colours of Grieg-Eftel.
In addition to Boasson Hagen, the team have also signed the time trialist duo Josh Atkins and Shane Archbold.
– We had long hoped that we would be able to keep Damien Howson. If so, these signings would be a big boost to our time trial team, but with these signings we've also ensured that we also for the coming season will have good strength in the time trials.
The last signing for Grieg-Eftel is Amund Grøndahl Jansen, a young Norwegian with a good future.
Edvald Boasson Hagen | 30 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 840,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
77
70
85
72
81
74
72
55
73
79
75
66
72
Josh Atkins | 25 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 50,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
75
54
68
78
74
75
72
66
61
63
70
64
77
Shane Archbold | 28 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 50,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
73
58
62
77
72
71
70
60
73
75
68
66
67
Amund Grøndahl Jansen | 23 years old |XP: 2.00 | Wage: 50,000
The transfer season is over for Grieg-Eftel. After signing Edvald Boasson Hagen early on, the later part of the transfer window have been relatively quiet.
Two new riders have joined the team, while we thank Christer Rake for his services. Rake joined the team in it's first season in 2013, while it was called Risa-Ergon, and have been a part of all the seasons, together with Michael Olsson, Øystein Stake Laengen, Calvin Watson and Damien Howson (who is also departing).
Rake enjoyed a couple of good results in the CT, but under unfortunate circumstances, the team manager had to cut one rider to get below the salary cap in the division.
Coming in for Grieg-Eftel are the duo Samuel Caldeira and Sindre Skjøstad Lunke. Lunke joins on a one year loan from Aker-MOT, and because of the sorry state of our team in the mountains, he will be a "leader" in the team in those few races.
Caldeira will be acting as a second sprinter, hoping to salvage some points on minor placings across the season. As Luke Rowe will also ride plenty of cobble races, the manager felt that someone with something close to a decent bunch kick was needed.
With those two additions, the squad now looks like this:
We can also present the goals for Grieg-Eftel for the upcoming season.
Win Lincoln GP
The race is a hard cobble race in Great Britain. With plenty of both hills and cobbles, it was thought to be a perfect match for both Matteo Trentin and Lukasz Wisniowski. Trentin is of course now gone, but it should still be a good race for the big Pole.
Grieg-Eftel have raced in Lincoln GP twice, back in 2013 and 2014. Then under the name Risa-Ergon, the team managed 16th (Sondre Holst Enger) and 25th place (Øystein Stake Laengen) in 2013, and 8th (Johan Lindgren) and 9th (Kenny De Haes) in 2014.
Win KBC De Panne Tour
Another race that was picked with the good depth on the cobbles in mind. This race was picked especially for Wisniowski, given his good time trial ability. Wisniowski had a good Tour of Northern Europe last season, where he finished amongst the top 10.
In his second chance in a stage race with cobbles, he hope to do even better.
Risa-Ergon participated in the race back in 2015, where Øystein Stake Laengen finished in 15th place. The highlight in the race that time was the concluding time trial, where Zakkari Dempster and Michael Faerk Christensen were only beaten by Lars Boom.
Top 5 - 5 Jours de Dunkerque
The last goal around the cobbles is the french stage race. The race has huge significant for Grieg-Eftel, being the place where Matteo Trentin started a fantastic second part of the season in 2015. The Italian then won the first stage, placed second on the second stage, and kept the lead in the race all the way, thus securing the overall win.
In 2017 Lukasz Wisniowski will be the man we look for, when hoping to achieve a top 5 result.
Win Ringerike GP
The last race goal is a Norwegian one. The goal was first set up as an OR goal,
with the possibility of going after a win in the flat Berlin ProRace (where Michael Vink followed up Trentin's win in Dunkerque with a phenomenal break away win). After securing Edvald Boasson Hagen in the transfer window, it was clear that the star needed a home race to target.
Grieg-Eftel have never competed in the event before, and hope to get a good first experience from the race on home soil.
Top 5 PCT Standings
The last goal is the standing goal, where the team have the desire to promote to the PT. Securing a top five spot in the PCT rankings would ensure such a promotion,
and is therefore the goal for Grieg-Eftel.
Without having a great overview of all FA activity, I consider Grøndahl Jansen on 50k wage to be the biggest steal this year. Just comparing it to a slightly more promising Pedersen shows how lucky you were there.
Together with Würtz Schmidt and SKA, your talent department is impressive even for my standards. I'd give a lot for that trio. Congratulations!
Looking at your signature your team is still called Risa - Ergon though
Also I think that you, cio, are mistaking Grøndahl Jansen to the "old" Grøndahl Jansen who was removed from the DB just before transfers started. The one signed here will max out at 76COB and 75SPR.
Despite signing EBH I doubt it will be a promoting team, but I guess that doesn't matter always. It's a very nicely put together team with a strong focus on the hills and cobbles while also having a good TTT setup. It should be interesting to follow what EBH ends up doing in the PCT.
Agree with you SotD, both on cio probably mistaking Grøndahl Jansen and promoting. Relatively similar to UBS and Amador last season, you could say.
Should be a fun season, nevertheless.
And to you cio, I think we'll never reach your standards in talents But certainly we are happy that I got SKA and Würtz last season. Would probably have been much more expensive this season around, seeing the prices on the FA market.
Edvald Boasson Hagen | 30 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 840,000
Josh Atkins | 25 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 50,000
