Our first race in the calendar. Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev and Arnold Jeanesson will share the leadership in hopes of obtaining a podium place in here. Nelson Oliveira will be a joker, he is a big favourite for the flat TT and he has a solid ability in the hills and in the mountains, he has Top10 or a stage win as a goal. Stelios Ilios, Abdraimzhan Ishanov, Matthias Krizek and Zuberi Mondijo should provide enough support for them. TARGET: Top3 3 riders in Top10 Stage win
Tour of Toowoomba - WT
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Flakemore
76,3
77
66
70
78
76
70
70
68
72
67
70
72
71
Kozhatayev
76,3
75
76
75
72
71
61
66
74
70
69
73
67
75
Oliveira
75,1
74
70
71
77
75
65
64
67
68
67
71
71
73
Ilias
73,9
72
73
72
73
71
58
57
70
72
61
69
68
74
Ishanov
72,9
71
73
72
70
69
58
60
68
64
66
68
67
71
Krizek
72,7
72
71
73
71
71
58
66
67
69
70
72
67
71
Mondjo
70,7
65
70
68
69
67
54
54
66
70
58
66
66
71
Our first WT appearance, a very strong startlist will make our life hard. We don't know what to expect from this race, it's preety much going to the unknown. We bring a very strong TT squad to help Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev to a good place in the GC. Campbell Flakemore and Nelson Oliveira being the most important riders, also Stelios Ilias, Abdraimzhan Ishanov, Matthias Krizek and Zuberi Mondijo will again be in competition for some valuable support, and high speed in the TTT. TARGET: Nothing to note
Christchurch - Akaroa - CT.2
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Vakoc
75,4
72
67
75
67
69
66
71
76
71
73
74
68
72
Kern
74,9
73
68
75
65
67
68
74
74
70
70
73
68
69
Krizek
72,7
72
71
73
71
71
58
66
67
69
70
72
67
71
Ruijgh
72,3
68
70
72
66
67
63
66
69
65
73
72
69
72
Sicard
71,7
72
70
71
65
65
71
70
68
74
74
69
66
70
Mondjo
70,7
65
70
68
69
67
54
54
66
70
58
66
66
71
Martin
69,2
63
69
68
60
61
55
59
68
70
71
68
65
68
And to close out the month we will be present in New Zealand for a very hilly and rough one-day race, the Christchurch - Akaroa. Julian Kern sets out as leader, he has a good chance of a very good finish with is strong sprint, so does Petr Vakoc but he will try to support the German. Matthias Krizek, Rob Ruijgh, Romain Sicard, Zuberi Mondijo and Ikhlaas Martin will round out the team. TARGET: Top3 2 riders in Top10
Only days to go until the maiden race for the Aviva Cycling Team. As a new kid on the block we generally opted to race at the CT.2 level, but in January our only race is La Tropicale (CT.1), since the Tour of Indonesia and Christchurch – Akaora seem ill suited for our squad. While La Tropicale plays to the strengths of our two captains, Schorn (FLA 75 HIL 73 SPR 77 ACC 75) and Valgren (FLA 73 HIL 75 SPR 71 ACC 72).
While we put no pressure on our team in this first race, Schorn might have a chance of scoring a good result. His SPR is up there with the best and he's supported by Van der Sande and Bertilsson. If the race gets more difficult then Valgren Andersen will try and keep up with the top riders, but the competition in Gabon is very strong.
Polestar Cyan is introducing the NC Jerseys that will be worn by the team in this season - Finland (Joonas Henttala & Matias Laitinen) and Estonia (Martin Laas)
The 18 riders the Aviva Cycling Team hired in its first season had a total of 1291 race days available to them, the least of any team. It speaks for the overall quality of the small squad, since the better a rider is, the less RDs he has. But it made the planning of the race calendar fairly difficult, since we selected 179 race days for the squad, with 7 riders per race (except for the Copenhagen ITT) we had to fill 1245 individual race days. In fact, we didn't quite manage, by mistake we had selected Dwaars door Vlaanderen and Kobenhavn Byrundtur, which are both taking place on the 25th of March, and can only send 6 riders to Flanders and 5 to Kopenhagen.
Here are our 18 riders sorted by unused race days (in brackets, total race days):
0: Fuglsang (60), Poels (60), Stannard (64), Valgren (64), Denifl (69), Schorn (70) 1: Dowsett (67), Monsalve (70), Lowsley (74), Bibby (75), Van Winden (75) 2: Birch (82) 4: Minguez (76), Christian (77) 5: Van der Sande (75) 6: Bertilsson (74), Simon (75) 20: McCluskey (84)
Altogether, only 52 of the 1291 maximum possible race days remain unused, about 4%.
Oi why are you treating Mcluskey so bad? Loving the frequent posts Ripley!
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
Daniel Schorn nets a fine 5th place in the general classification of the CT.1 race in Gabon. The course turned out to be tailor made for him, he may not be one of the very fastest sprinters, but hilly lumps don't faze him. On the flatest of the stages, 5 and 6, he ended only 24th and 33rd. However, he was always near the front in the more difficult finishes, twice he finished 5th, once 4th and, crucially, he was 3rd on stage 4, which was rewarded with 4 bonus seconds. This tied him on time with the great Jose Joaquin Rojas (Santos), both just 6 seconds behind overall winner Bakelandts (Veranclassic). Schorn also finishes 5th in the points classification.
There were two minor disappointments. Valgren lost contact on the first stage, which prevented him from breaking into the top 20. And no Aviva riders managed to join the early breakaways, though the jersey was seen helping to reel in the breakaway at times with a rider or two.
Our first race in the World Tour gave us our first top 10 finish. We were hoping to get closer to the top 5 but a decent start nonetheless.
1
Danny Van Poppel
Filliers - Mora Pro Cycling Team
4h13'46
10
John Degenkolb
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
36
Julien Vermote
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
44
Nikias Arndt
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 2'08
62
Phil Bauhaus
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
102
Klaus Gießner
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 4'31
109
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 5'41
127
Emil Ritter
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
Tour of Toowoomba
Greg Van Averamet provided our first ever stage win as a World Tour team on Stage 3. We were poor in the Team Time Trial, which ruined our chances in the GC. Van Avermaet finished 2nd in the Points classifications.
In January Aviva chose to only ride La Tropicale, in February we will enter three stage races.
The Tour of Oman (CT.2) will see the whole team riding for Wout Poels, who is aiming for a top 10 finish. The GC will mostly be decided on stage 3, a mountaintop finish. However, stages 1 and 3 both feature late hills which might cause some suprises.
Schorn and Valgren will be back in action in the Volta ao Algarve (CT.2), they will be joined by our TT specialist Dowsett, who probably has the best chance of a top 10 GC finish. The ITT on stage 3 is 35 km long and mostly flat and should produce larger gaps. However, the final stage ends uphill and Dowsett will struggle, but the same is true for many other TT specialists, which should make it an exciting stage for the final GC, except for the number 1 spot, Tony Martin is the odds-on favourite.
A week later our team will be led by Poels and Schorn in the Vuelta a Mallorca (CT.1), where we'll face some stiff competition, including six WT teams. Stages 1 and 2 are too flat for Schorn to have a realistic chance at a good result, he's hoping to drop rivals in the hilly terrain of the final stage. The GC will probably be decided on stage 3, though a large group of decent climbers could stay together. It probably wasn't our wisest choice to race here, a good result is unlikely.
The CYAN POWER RANKINGS is the main team's ranking system which evaluates the riders' perfromances during the events. Riders will earn points for their position in the GC, Secondary jerseys and individual stage performance
The Scoring system:
Position
Giro
WT
CT.1
CT.2/U23
Pts/KoM
Stage
1
25
20
15
12
6
3
2
18
15
12
10
4
2
3
15
12
10
8
2
1
4
12
10
8
6
5
10
8
6
4
6
8
6
4
2
7
6
4
2
1
8
4
2
9
2
Riders will earn double points if they win GC, Stage or the secondary jerseys
Rankings
The only race in which Polestar Cyan Pro Cycling competed was La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
First Race First Win:
And so, the Reign of Bananito Begins!
Exciting times ahead for our spanish team, as the Palm Classic and Tour of Toowoomba have kicked off a new season, and possibly a new era to go along with it.
The post-Contador phase could not have started better. Whilst our riders were traditionally outsiders at the Palm Classic, and could not secure a significant result, Carlos Betancur, Mathieu Van der Poel, Tony Gallopin & Co. turned around the tide in an impressive display of team strength and climbing virtue.
Our youngster Mathieu, just age 23, won the opening stage and could celebrate thereby his first World Tour victory. In what was a late attack, Mathieu distanced his teammates and high calibre riders such as Peter Sagan, to snatch Liberty's first victory of the season. The next day, Mathieu successfully defended the leader's jersey in the Team Time Trial, as Liberty Seguros took its second win right away.
Mathieu gave his best on stage 4, the deciding GC stage, however lost about 1'30 to stage winner Warren Barguil. Luckily, Bananito rose to the occassion and took over the leader jersey from his teammate. On the last day, Liberty Seguros secured the overall win, as well as the win in the U25 competition by Mathieu Van der Poel and the win in the team classification by quite some margin.
Carlos Betancur could therefor celebrate in his first race his first win for the new squad, rounding up the podium where TVM's Slagter and our very own Mathieu Van der Poel. Tony Gallopin and Ruben Fernandez completed the Top 10.
With the team we bring to the Algarve we have the absolute obbligation of winning. Tony Martin is the undisputed favourite for this race, he may loose some time in the final stage but the TT is his playground and he should easily win that stage. Both Campbell Flakemore and Nelson Oliveira are targeting the GC too, they are slightly weaker versions of Martin but this race should suit them both enough for a very good overall placing. Frederique Robert will target the sprint stages, where he will look out for some honorable result. In a normal situation Petr Vakoc should be leading the team in a hilly race, here he will be playing a supporting role, but as a very luxurious domestique. Miguel Bryon and Mitchell Docker will be looking to add some flat power and protection to our leaders. TARGET: Win 3 riders in Top10 Stage win Teams Classification
Vuelta a Mallorca - CT.1
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Arnold Jeannesson
75,2
70
76
74
71
69
58
65
73
72
68
70
66
72
Frederique Robert
74,8
74
64
71
62
66
70
76
76
74
67
73
69
71
Matthias Krizek
72,7
72
71
73
71
71
58
66
67
69
70
72
67
71
Mitchell Docker
71,8
71
64
67
63
66
73
72
73
71
68
68
63
66
Romain Sicard
71,7
72
70
71
65
65
71
70
68
74
74
69
66
70
Zuberi Mondjo
70,7
65
70
68
69
67
54
54
66
70
58
66
66
71
Ikhlaas Martin
69,2
63
69
68
60
61
55
59
68
70
71
68
65
68
It will be a dificult race in Mallorca, the competition will be quite big, with several WT teams joining the party as it's a C1 race. Arnold Jeanesson will lead the charge, sole team leader and Frederique Robert will target the sprint stages, and the hilly one too as it suits him better than the average sprinter. Matthias Krizek, Mtchell Docker, Romain Sicard, Zuberi Mondjo and Ikhlaas Martin round out the squad. TARGET: Top10
Vuelta a San Luis - CT.2
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev
76,3
75
76
75
72
71
61
66
74
70
69
73
67
75
Stelios Ilias
73,9
72
73
72
73
71
58
57
70
72
61
69
68
74
Miguel Bryon
73,5
73
62
69
66
66
74
70
70
68
70
73
68
67
Abdraimzhan Ishanov
72,9
71
73
72
70
69
58
60
68
64
66
68
67
71
Antoine Pirlot
72,9
72
60
68
64
64
74
67
68
66
71
70
65
64
Rob Ruijgh
72,3
68
70
72
66
67
63
66
69
65
73
72
69
72
Gabi Pousa
67,5
66
57
61
59
59
68
60
62
67
62
68
62
61
Another week-long race where we present ourselves with a strong suqad. Not as strong as usual due to the clash with Vuelta a Mallorca though. Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev leads once more, in theory we predict him to finish in 4th, but of course these predictions are very easily missed. A podium seems to far with Moser, Henao and Nerz in the race too, but besides them he should have a clear run to a Top5. The team is fully focused on the GC mission. Stelios Ilias should have a minor U25 goal seeing his performance in Indonesia, Abdraimzhan Ishanov and Rob Ruijgh should provide some more support in the harder stages whilst Miguel Bryon, Antoine Pirlot and Gabi Pousa will protect in the flat. Breakaways are also a minor goal here. TARGET: Top5
National Capital Tour - CT.2
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Campbell Flakemore
76,3
77
66
70
78
76
70
70
68
72
67
70
72
71
Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev
76,3
75
76
75
72
71
61
66
74
70
69
73
67
75
Arnold Jeannesson
75,2
70
76
74
71
69
58
65
73
72
68
70
66
72
Nelson Oliveira
75,1
74
70
71
77
75
65
64
67
68
67
71
71
73
Frederique Robert
74,8
74
64
71
62
66
70
76
76
74
67
73
69
71
Stelios Ilias
73,9
72
73
72
73
71
58
57
70
72
61
69
68
74
Abdraimzhan Ishanov
72,9
71
73
72
70
69
58
60
68
64
66
68
67
71
And to end February we will be at the National Capital Tour once again to fight for victory. The main oppositon should come from van den Broeck and Geeraint Thomas, but as both Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev and Arnold Jeanesson are here we will target a win. Nelson Oliveira should also be up there in the GC as the TT should be decisive. Campbell Flakemore will target the TT, as a major favourite, Frederique Robert will target the sprint stages, Stelios Ilias, if he has the freedom he can target a solid GC placing and a good U25 placing, whilst Abdraimzhan Ishanpv is the only true domestique present, but he himself if lucky can be in the final Top25 to earn some points to himself. TARGET: Win
2 riders in Top5
3 riders in Top10
4 riders in Top25
Stage win
Teams Classification
Only months after the team first got together, Statoil Pro Cycling has gathered two great wins. The victories comes at the hands of Vegard Breen and Sondre Holst Enger. This is very promising for the rest of the season.
Sondre Holst Enger takes stage 2 of Tour of Oman aswell as the overall points classification.
Vegard Breen holds of the chasing peleton to take stage 5 of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo.
Loving the frequent posts Ripley!
He'll even race the only WT race we booked, unlike Fuglsang or Poels.
Volta ao Algarve
Vuelta a Mallorca
