While we may not have booked the Tour of Austria solely for the two Austrians in our squad, we felt we had to nominate Denilf and Schorn for their home race. The course isn't much to their liking, though, Schorn only has two flat stages to work with and they aren't difficult enough to play to his strengths. Though he might make it into the finale of the only hilly stage, which otherwise is the only chance for Denifl to show himself. Poels is leading the team, supported by Simon and Minguez in the mountains. There is more CT competition than we'd hoped, but Poels should slip into the top 10.
AVG
FL
M
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Poels
76.7
68
76
76
70
69
61
61
75
69
77
74
71
74
Schorn
75.2
75
66
73
64
63
67
77
75
72
73
70
67
70
Dowsett
74.7
73
64
71
76
76
64
67
71
69
67
75
70
70
Denifl
74.1
69
71
75
68
67
62
67
69
66
73
72
66
71
Bertilsson
72.6
74
65
70
66
67
70
73
73
74
71
72
70
70
Simón
72.2
68
73
70
66
67
58
61
71
70
72
69
65
71
MÃnguez
71.7
66
74
71
61
59
57
59
66
66
69
67
64
68
Then it's time for our second focus race, the Kigali GP. One focus race needed to be a one-day race, not our speciality, and we figured this tough cobblestone cookie is our best best. The man we are hoping to finish in the top 3 is, of course, Stannard. We failed to nominate Valgren, who would have been a secondary option. So everything rests on Stannard's shoulders, a puncture or crash and we'll fail the objective. A scary thought!
AVG
FL
M
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Stannard
75.6
76
64
72
72
74
76
68
71
69
78
75
72
68
Denifl
74.1
69
71
75
68
67
62
67
69
66
73
72
66
71
Van der Sande
73.4
72
66
70
66
68
66
74
76
74
68
73
70
71
Van Winden
72,0
73
63
71
70
70
70
69
70
66
73
70
70
70
Christian
71.6
72
62
69
67
68
72
70
73
71
69
71
68
69
Birch
69.7
72
64
68
63
67
65
70
70
71
65
71
68
69
McCluskey
68.9
69
64
67
66
69
68
67
68
74
68
71
69
69
After that we're off to the Volta a Portugal for the second CT GT. Poels will be the sole leader again. Three of our mountain domestiques will support him, Stannard and Denifl have free roles. It is perplexing how weak the field is in this race, Poels is the favourite and should definitely make it onto the podium. However, the majority of teams is hunting for stages, which will make the race very difficult to control. Stannard will hopefully join such a breakaway later in the race, there are even a few cobbled sectors. On the other hand, having him in the peloton would help to keep a breakaway in check.
AVG
FL
M
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Poels
76.7
68
76
76
70
69
61
61
75
69
77
74
71
74
Stannard
75.6
76
64
72
72
74
76
68
71
69
78
75
72
68
Denifl
74.1
69
71
75
68
67
62
67
69
66
73
72
66
71
Lowsley-Williams
72.5
68
73
70
64
63
59
62
70
69
75
69
66
69
Simón
72.2
68
73
70
66
67
58
61
71
70
72
69
65
71
MÃnguez
71.7
66
74
71
61
59
57
59
66
66
69
67
64
68
McCluskey
68.9
69
64
67
66
69
68
67
68
74
68
71
69
69
Two days after the Volta finishes, the Tour of Vancouver starts. Stages are either flat or finish on a mountaintop. We start with a MTT, later we face two stages with long final climbs and round the race off with a flat ITT. Fuglsang is our captain, Monsalve his lieutenant, Lowsley and Simon offer support uphill. Dowsett will focus on the ITT, but will have to offer support elsewhere. Valgren will have to be content with helping Fulgsang, especially on the important stages 4 and 6, which both feature lumpy rides up to the final obstacle. Fuglsang will face stiff competition, a number of good WT riders like Adam Yates, Talansky and Rosa join the usual CT competition. Fuglsang will need to be on top form to score a good result.
Team PostNL will be joining the 2019 ICL circuit as a new continental tour team. As you could probably tell from previous posts, our main focus will be the Benelux region of the Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg with smaller interests in Great Britain, Italy and also Germany.
The BGS group had set up plans for a new cycling team and have managed to secure the services of PostNL for one season with an optional extension of two years if agreed by us and PostNL. We will be looking to bring a diversely skilled team that can deliver results on the continental tour circuit. Riders will likely come from the countries of Netherlands and Belgium while actively seeking out German and Luxembourg riders who can make the cut. The team will be lead by Nacho63 with assistance from Dippofix. Not only that we will have an anonymous head of recruitment.
Currently we are in the process of scouting our key regions and are actively seeking minor sponsors and developing our kit.
Degenkolb rode the race of his life, leading the race for a stage, and eventually ending on the podium in a race not absolutely suited to him. The fact that this was his and our home race makes this performance even more satisfying. Shame he couldn't nick a stage win along the way.
1
Carlos Betancur
Liberty Seguros
33h11'13
3
John Degenkolb
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 32
42
Phil Bauhaus
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 8'33
45
Kenneth Vanbilsen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 9'02
61
Julien Vermote
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 12'00
99
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 21'34
106
Nino Honigh
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 25'15
137
Emil Ritter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h27'14
Vuelta a Guatemala
We did not have suitable riders for the GC in this race as Arndt was the designated leader. He managed 4th place on Stage 3 and that was all for us.
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Italo - Ventilair
19h41'41
63
Julian Runge
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 39'39
94
Martin Springer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 59'15
107
Carl Ilsanker
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h06'42
120
Denis Kathmann
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h17'43
127
Klaus Gießner
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h37'18
128
Lutz Berg
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h43'49
Tour of Mount Fuji
We came into this race once again hoping for a good result from Porte. He did well till Stage 3, being in 3rd position. He had a bad day on the next stage and ended up 9th in the GC. He finished behind riders we didn't think it was possible to beaten by!
I admit, we were a bit hesitant to do this after our Milan - San Remo preview and the disaster race following the preview. Still, Danny Van Poppel has his green jersey to defend, so we went for it.
The course:
When we saw the profiles, we knew Danny had to be there. Plenty of sprinter stages, but even better, plenty of flat finishes after a tough hill in the final. Stage 1 is rather flat, but there might be yellow jersey chances after a very tough stage 2. Stage 3 isn't easy either, a few sprinters will be tired. Stage 5 is hilly again, after which stage 6 and 7 are relatively flat. That's 6 chances in week 1.
Stages 10, 12 and 13 are very flat again, if it doesn't go to a breakaway more stage win chances are there for us. Stage 14 has a tricky final, but Danny might survive it. After that it's just waiting for the sprint in Paris.
The team:
I'll admit, we didn't give Danny the team he deserves because we also want Marc Goos to get a good result after showing himself in the prep races. We have no real lead out, but riders like Sepulveda and Krigbaum can do well on the flat. Clements and Karperkiewicz are in full support of Danny as well, while Eijssen and Geronboux can help Danny survive the mountains in the last week. We have to rely on other sprint train, but there should be plenty of them.
The opposition:
The only guy who beats Danny in pure speed is Marc Cavendish. Keukeleire-Pedersen isn't the best leadout though, so we'll have to see how they play it. Nacer Bouhanni does have a train with Daniel/Selig and Petit, we'll have to watch them. But the best train comes from wildcard team Cymru Wales. Their manager has gone full Sutty with Swift, Kreder, Serebryakov and Rowe in support for Andrew Fenn. The other wilcard team Statoil bring Andrea Guardini supported by Hoelgaard and Enger, that's not bad either. Bryan Coquard is fast but supportless. Finaly we come to a dangerous rider for green as Giacomo Nizzolo is the only sprinter that comes close to Danny on the hills. Outsiders for a stage win are Viviani, Appolonio, Blythe and Phinney.
We were only spectators for the first seven races in June, anxiously awaiting for our turn with the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt. We had not studied the course carefully enough before arriving in Germany and thought that our sprinter Schorn might be a top 10 candidate, but the last climb of the final stage was definitely too hard for him.
It wasn't Schorn's week anyway. On paper he was among the best sprinters, but only finished 16th and 14th in the mass sprints on the first two stages. On the first hilly stage he did make the top group of 17 riders and finished 3rd, only beaten by Clarke and Kern, who had escaped a little earlier and just managed to hold off the next group. The mass sprint on stage 4 was only for 9th place, still Schorn was only 26th that day. He'd eventually finish 26th in the points classification, too, but at least he was 20th overall.
Valgren on the other hand managed to beat Schorn in every mass sprint, proving his form was on the rise – he took 8th overall in the Tour of California - and he was still in the running for overall victory on the decisive last stage. With 25 km to go he and most of his team mates were in the peloton of 34 riders, but a group including race leader Rowe was a minute ahead. Our climber Simon helped to catch the group and 17 riders entered the final climb, only 2 km long, but extremely steep.
At the half-way mark Valgren launched his attack and nobody could follow! Aregger had been at the front of the group too long, his team mate Puccio was a little too far back, Vakoc had missed the group entirely, Roche crashed out of the race on stage 3. Valgren built up a lead of 50 seconds at the top of the climb and soloed to victory for both the stage and the GC! We are delighted with this unexpected victory.
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
1
Valgren
15'37'02
13
Denifl
3'30
14
Simon
3'41
20
Schorn
5'30
31
Birch
9'00
36
Van der Sande
10'47
56
McCluskey
16'45
The start list for the Tour d'Andorra contained many climbers and we could see Poels finishing from anywhere between the podium and outside the top 10. We are therefore happy to report he finished 4th overall, beaten only by the two superior climbers Nerz and Herklotz as well as Berhane, who put on another fantastic performance.
But Aviva was definitely a driving force in Andorra, too. Especially with the final stage we should have gained new supporters. Minguez finally made it into a breakaway, collecting lots of KoM points, he ends 3rd in that ranking, he was 8th at the end of the stage and came 19th overall. Bibby was working hard for Poels in the reduced peloton and then Monsalve attacked at the foot of the final climb and Poels was able to attack and join him a little later, a great move. It didn't quite pay off, we couldn't catch the last escapee Ki Ho Choi, were overtaken by Berhane and caught by Nerz and Herklotz, but cemented Poels' GC position in style.
Tour d'Andorra
4
Poels
6'01
11
Monsalve
14'40
19
Minguez
21'44
31
Simon
30'02
38
Bibby
33'31
44
Lowsley-Willams
42'31
84
Birch
1'58'14
The prognosis was similar for Le Geant de Provence, finishing atop the mythical Bald Mountain, and the finale would have the same protagonists as the last Andorra stage, only replacing Nerz with Caruso. Poels was very attentive leading up the final climb, staying near the front of a peloton that still contained 84 riders. And with 12 km to go, he was the first rider to attack, reminding us of Oman back in February.
He opened up a gap of 30 seconds, causing the peloton to splinter into small groups. Herklotz, Caruso, Berhane and Ki Ho Choi formed the chasing group and with an acceleration from Herklotz Poels was caught by the group 5 km from the top.
He hid behind Herklotz for a while, but 2.5 km out he decided he'd race this from the front. Surprisingly, Caruso was the first to crack and then Herklotz was powerless in the final sprint. But Poels crowned his performance with the win, and what a brilliant victory it was, not even Berhane could beat him on this day, nor Ki Ho Choi, who came closest.
Despite the euphoria we have to point out that Monsalve underperformed, his MON 76 should have been the ticket for the top 10, Lowsley-Williams did a good job catching the CCC train again, but Monsalve just didn't have the legs and finished only 25th.
Le Geant de Provence
1
Poels
6'13'42
15
Lowsley-Willams
6'10
25
Monsalve
6'23
34
Simon
7'53
67
Minguez
11'41
88
Birch
17'24
110
McCluskey
21'51
Aviva Prestige Points 2018
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Total
RD
Fuglsang
433
136
172
741
35/25
Poels
291
14
48
230
583
28/32
Schorn
133
139
317
17
606
36/34
Stannard
38
158
12
208
15/49
Valgren
9
1
66
178
254
32/32
Monsalve
33
1
41
75
42/27
Denifl
17
24
41
35/34
Dowsett
33
24
10
67
19/47
V. d. Sande
39
40
79
47/23
Bibby
16
4
20
40
49/25
Minguez
39
39
36/36
Bertilsson
1
4
5
36/32
Lowsley-W
2
6
15
23
40/33
Simon
20
8
21
49
28/41
V. Winden
21
50
1
72
29/45
Christian
115
11
17
143
29/44
Birch
3
3
48/32
McCluskey
39/25
Team Total
133
555
678
813
281
568
3028
Race Days
7
12
21
27
12
12
26
31
18
13
179
PpRD
19
46
32
30
23
47
33
RD column: Race days used/Race days remaining
Using the formula Points/(Wage*(RD used/RD total)) we currently get this value for money-ranking:
1
Christian
3.60
2
Schorn
2.77
3
Poels
2.14
4
Stannard
2.09
5
Fuglsang
1.68
6
Van Winden
1.67
7
Valgren
1.59
8
Simon
1.01
9
Dowsett
0.85
10
Van der Sande
0.65
11
Minguez
0.50
12
Monsalve
0.40
13
Bibby
0.39
14
Lowsley-Williams
0.30
15
Denifl
0.27
16
Bertilsson
0.07
17
Birch
0.05
18
McCluskey
0.00
Christian (still) holds the top spot thanks to his breakaway win and the other results that followed from it in Oman. He's bound to drop further and further as the season goes on, but his points/wage value can't drop below 1.43. Schorn the sprinter is the best value of our captains, he really had a great first half of the season. Poels moved up after this amazing June performance, altogether he's been consistently good, against strong competition, the Tour of South Africa was the only disappointment.
Stannard still has most of his racing days ahead of him, sadly, not enough cobblestone races for him to captain, he'll have to fulfil donestique duties, too. Fuglsang's been great, no complaints, he is our top earner and he gets the results, he sadly isn't the outright favourite in any of the races we picked for him. We gave away Merino to Grupo Argos to hire Van Winden and he's done really well so far. Valgren made a huge jump with his last two races, 8th in the Tour of California topped by the win in Rheinland-Pfalz. We can't expect a repeat performance, but we hope it gives him the confidence to score more regularly from now on.
We knew right away that we paid too much for Denifl, he was part of our panicky FA round 1 and considering how well we did overall, we can't complain. But still, Denifl has been underperforming, he should have done better in Rheinland-Pfalz, for example. Also, we had expected a little more from Monsalve. We hope that the riders at the bottom of the table improve and those at the top stay where they are.
May was really nice month for us. WT race in Japan was okay. We had our second stage win this year, and few great places. 3rd place in the final GC in the Suisse is also really nice. CCC is going wild this season!
Continental Tour Ranking
Prestige Ranking
June 2016
17th place (1229 pts)
33rd place (1229 pts)
June 2017
14th place (1316 pts)
31st place (1316 pts)
June 2018
5th place (2824 pts)
14th place (3152 pts)
Fine as hell so far
CCC Sprandi Polkowice - July preview
Int. Österreich-Rundfahrt
07.02 - 07.09
I would say Anacona is one of the favourites for this race. As long as he doesn't have great season, this race can be his gamechanger. Will Winner be a winner? Top 3 will be really awesome. Also Morton, Silin, Dall'Oste and Rivera will have a chance in this race. So a top 10? Rivera in the breakaways? Would be awesome. Even that this is our one of only two races this month, we can score massively here.
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Winner Anacona
75,5
69
77
75
67
65
58
61
73
70
68
72
30
Lachlan Morton
75,0
73
75
73
72
72
60
61
72
71
68
74
26
Ever Rivera
74,5
67
75
73
65
64
60
62
71
70
66
70
27
Daniele Dall'Oste
74,4
69
75
73
65
65
59
65
73
71
67
71
27
Paweł Poljański
74,4
72
66
74
68
69
68
68
72
74
68
71
28
Egor Silin
74,4
69
74
73
72
71
57
64
71
73
68
73
30
Konrad Kott
69,0
64
64
65
65
67
68
67
69
68
68
67
25
Tour of Vancouver
07.24 - 07.30
Chamorro is like Anacona in Austria - one of the favourites for the final win. Again a top 3 would be great. Also Morton with another chance. Top 15 maybe?
Like Valgren, Schorn started his ICL career with Celesio Pro Cycling back in 2014. The two men only raced one season together (2016) after Valgren's promotion from the development team. While Valgren stayed with Celesio until it disbanded before the current season, Schorn was let go a year earlier and joined The Spark Project, which also folded in 2017 after a disappointing season. Schorn's performances were part of the problem, he collected only 80 points at the WT level, 207 prestige points in total – as the third best rider of the team on paper.
This didn't dissuade Ripley from making Schorn his number 1 target to fill a lone sprinter spot on the Aviva Cycling Team. Stage racing would be the priority for the new squad, leaving no room or money for any kind of sprint train, flat stages and one-day races would mostly be avoided. Schorn certainly isn't the fastest sprinter in the CT with his SPR 77, but his HIL 73 sets him apart from most of his rivals. With a wage offer of 425 in FA round 1.2 Aviva secured Schorn's signature.
The Austrian thrived at the new, lower level of racing and outperformed our modest expectations. He finished 5th overall in our first ever race, La Tropicale, won two stages in Mallorca, one in South Africa and performed at his best in the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, winning two stages, the points classification and he was 2nd overall. We cannot expect him to continue in such convincing fashion and since Dunkerque he's had a couple of anonymous races. But even if he doesn't add another win to his tally of five this season we certainly won't be disappointed.
He'll turn 31 next year, but with his potential of 6 he might improve again and if he gains another stat point in SPR and/or HIL it will be hard not to offer him a new contract despite his age.
Continuing their theme from the last transfer season, Santos-Euskadi have confirmed they will be focusing on the talents as they most likely go down. This means the new scouting system with restrictions on number of scouts and where they can go is a problem for them - they only have one registered now, a wise Indonesian man by the name of Papa Novardianto. Therefore management have devised a method for getting at least one more: a cruel punishment for "hotshot" and "competent" new sporting director Jack Peralta.
With his limited skills for the sport of cycling Peralta has been sent out on scouting missions along with Novardianto. Time will tell if next year Santos get any good talents on his behalf - and if he will be any good and have a job next year.
The first reports on scouting should be delivered within the next few weeks and their missions will continue over the coming months. With a system change and a mission to stay relevant it's a fight against the clock for the unlikely duo. Can Santos get any good talents with such limited - very limited in Peralta's case - means? We'll find out when signing season comes.
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
We sat down for another interview with rookie manager Ripley. It's now the middle of July, two-thirds of the season are behind us and the Aviva Cycling Team is doing great on the Continental Tour, a promotion contender as 4th best CT team with 3028 prestige points at the end of June.
Q: We last talked just before the season started and you stated your goal was to regularly achieve top 10 results. You've certainly managed that and so much more, don't you agree? Ten wins and many more podium finishes.
A: 100%. I'm over the moon, the team is loving it, the sponsor couldn't be happier.
Q: Did you expect these results secretly and were only being modest in our last interview?
A: Honestly, no. Maybe I'm generally too pessimistic. (laughs) I did feel, and I said it back then, that we put together a good team, but the same is true for many other teams on the Continental Tour.
Q: So how come Aviva is doing so well?
A: Tough to say, a number of factors. Our season planning turned out to be pretty good, at least so far. Choosing CT.2 races over CT.1 over WT limits the quality of the competition. I have to admit, before the season I was unsure if Poels could deliver good results on his own, I had toyed with the idea of keeping him in support of Fuglsang regularly. Thankfully, I eventually placed more trust in him and he's been delivering top results all season, culminating in his Geant der Provence victory. Schorn also had a great season so far, not just winning five stages, but delivering two excellent GC results [2nd and 5th] in races we didn't expect anything from the GC. Basically, all our captains have been performing at their best.
Q: How likely is promotion?
A: It's too early to tell. Just taking a rational look at the prestige points and remaining races and how well July's been going I guess we'll be in a promotion spot at the end of the month. But we are bound to score less in August and September, lots of one-day and hilly racing which isn't our forte. But it's something I'm totally relaxed about.
Q: Not nervous at all? How come?
A: I mean, it's a competitive sport and we are a competitive team and will do everything to ensure the best results we can achieve. If that leads to promotion, we'd be honoured. But I'd be totally happy to stay in the CT. Here we are highly visible, we score great results... looking at the quality of the WT I fear we'd be pretty anonymous. It's an interesting challenge, and one I definitely want to tackle at some point in my career.
Q: What was the high point of your first season so far?
A: Oh, there's so many of them now. Schorn finishing 5th overall in our first ever race. Christian winning the opening stage in Oman – followed by Poels finishing on the podium. Fuglsang winning Paris-Nice in his first race with our team. With that early string of great results all pressure was off. But more great results kept on coming and the two wins lately by Valgren and Poels were both really special.
Q: Any disappointments?
A: Only minor ones. The Tour of South Africa didn't go as planned, and it made us a bit nervous because it was a goal race. But it turned out ok in the end. Dowsett, Denifl and Monsalve could have performed better, I'm not complaining at all, but the riders are a bit unhappy with their own performances. They will have more chances to prove themselves and I wish them each a result they can be proud of.
Q: What do you expect for the rest of the season?
A: A lot of fun. Honestly, we won't be able to continue this run of top results in the last three months of the season, many one-day races, which aren't our strong suit, several hilly stage-races we also don't expect much from. But we are totally relaxed, no pressure whatsoever.
Edited by Ripley on 30-03-2018 19:45
Lufthansa Announcement! Impending changes for next season
The team management would like to take some time away from concentrating on a somewhat disappointing Tour de France outing so far to make an announcement for next season. We are in the final stages of chalking out the details for our new Development Team. We cannot yet announce the name of the sponsors for the new team but the deal is 99% done and only pending the final approvals from the federation. Stay tuned for further details.
In addition, we will also be making a further announcement with regards to the direction the team will be taking from the next season. That too is almost finalized and we are just waiting for the right time to divulge the details to the press.
There is no more Polestar Cyan. The recent announcement that Geely would control all motorsport activities affected the Polestar Cyan cycling teams. This is by no means however that the team would cease to exist. Far from it - the team is evolving. Now the Polestar brand itself would be featured more prominently than ever with the announcement of Polestar ProCycling presented by (or p/b for short) Telenor. Norwegian telecommunication company would become the team's second main sponsor and would become the main sponsor of the U23 team in the process. "We're happy to announce that the future of the team is fimly in place and we have the full committment of our partners" - said ivaneurope, CEO of Polestar Cyan Cycling Teams AB.
It's unknown how the kit would look like, but it's rumoured to feature white and cyan as main colors.
August is our busiest month of the whole season with 31 race days, split into four stage races and three one-day races. We start with the Tour de Pologne with Schorn and Valgren. We had hoped there would be less sprint competition here, but among others Guardini and Nizzolo are making the trip. In the last two stage races Schorn was nearly invisible, so our expectations are low. Similarly, the competition from riders like Moser and Rui Costa will be too strong for Valgren. A top 10 would be a pleasant surprise.
Team: Valgren, Schorn, Bertilsson, Bibby, Simon, Minguez, Christian
Maybe we should have sent Schorn to the RideLondon instead, there's a little less competition here. Instead, Van der Sande is our only option for a sprint. We are bringing Stannard to this home race and would love to see him attempt a late attack. A rider in the early breakaway would be sufficient, too.
Team: Stannard, Dowsett, Van der Sande, Lowsely-Williams, Van Winden, Birch, McCluskey
Next is the Tour do Rio, the 2016 Olympics course. With Poels, Valgren and Denifl this is the best Aviva line-up for a hilly race all season, though it's far from impressive. Moser is the favourite, Ciolek would probably win a sprint from a smaller group but apart from that, anything goes. Our plan: Denifl should attack in the penultimate round to have any chance, Poels with his good ACC should attack on the final climb, Valgren should try to make it into the select group, he's got a decent sprint.
Stannard will be our captain for the Baltic Chain Tour. We would be hoping for a great result if not the WT teams had turned up with some top riders, Fillier especially with great depth, too. A top 10 result is still possible, Stannard has a good set of skills for this course. Schorn's also here for the sprints, with the best lead-out train we have to offer.
Team: Stannard, Schorn, Van der Sande, Bertilsson, Christian, Birch, McCluskey
Meanwhile, Fuglsang has a shot at another podium at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. He's equally good on hills and mountains and decent against the clock, this race is the best possible mixture for him on paper. There's a ton of competition, though, again many WT teams signed up, though without their top stars. A good result is only possible with good form.
Team: Fuglsang, Dowsett, Denifl, Monsalve, Lowsley-Williams, Bibby, Van Winden
There's definitely less competition at the Criterium Hainleite. We're bringing Stannard and Valgren, we doubt the small cobbled sectors will play much of a role, but it's still a good course on paper for Stannard. Valgren was 10th here last season, so he definitely has the right skillset.
Team: Stannard, Valgren, Lowsley-Williams, Van Winden, Christian, Birch, McCluskey
It wasn't strictly necessary to select races for Dowsett to captain, knowing that the chance of a good result is slim. But we felt we owed it to him. He bombed in the Copenhagen ITT, the Post Danmark Rundt is another chance for him to score. Only 5 riders are better than his TTR 76, two are his equals. Schorn is also here with his sprint train, we'd love to see him win another stage.
Team: Dowsett, Schorn, Van der Sande, Bertilsson, Van Winden, Christian, Birch
Int. Österreich-Rundfahrt was pretty decent. Morton with great 6th place while being 2nd in the ITT. Anacona again below expectations. Hard times for him. But few important points in the fighting for the promotion.
Tour of Vancouver was not that good race for us. Morton again almost the best from our team. Chamorro not in the biggest form... August will be the most important month for us!
CCC Sprandi Polkowice - August preview
Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
08.01
We start our August campaign in this race. We need to score a lot of points, if we want to think about promotion. Ulissi came back from his break to start his campaign of great racing. At least we hope so! Really strong team with attacking duo of Rivera/Ochoa. We are expecting fireworks! Top 10 is a minimum, top 5 would be awesome. Especially that it is our 2nd goal for this season.
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Diego Ulissi
76,9
66
75
78
72
74
58
67
78
72
69
74
29
Mateusz Nowaczek
75,9
71
67
76
69
67
69
69
72
75
69
71
27
Lachlan Morton
75,0
73
75
73
72
72
60
61
72
71
68
74
26
Diego Ochoa
74,6
69
75
74
65
63
59
63
71
71
66
72
25
Ever Rivera
74,5
67
75
73
65
64
60
62
71
70
66
70
27
Daniele Dall'Oste
74,4
69
75
73
65
65
59
65
73
71
67
71
27
Egor Silin
74,4
69
74
73
72
71
57
64
71
73
68
73
30
World Ports Classic
08.01 - 08.02
Komisarek isn't the best sprinter here, so it will be really hard for him to find himself in the top 10 situation. At least we hope someone will show our great orange color!
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Patryk Komisarek
74,7
74
68
72
70
71
72
76
75
74
70
71
25
Eugenio Alafaci
71,6
70
64
68
63
66
65
73
73
70
66
67
28
Adrian Tekliński
71,5
71
65
67
64
67
64
73
72
70
67
69
29
Konrad Tomaszewski
69,2
66
70
67
62
59
58
61
67
67
63
66
27
Konrad Kott
69,0
64
64
65
65
67
68
67
69
68
68
67
25
Kacper FrÄ…ckowiak
67,9
62
69
66
60
58
56
57
64
65
60
64
24
Tomasz Brzeziński
66,5
66
56
59
58
64
58
68
67
64
64
65
21
Tour de Pologne
08.03 - 08.09
We never had enough luck here. Ulissi twice wasn't capable of doing his stuff. Third time's a charm? Another strong team so we are hoping for great spectacle. Not our sponsor race, but the only race in Poland, so we have to be there!
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Diego Ulissi
76,9
66
75
78
72
74
58
67
78
72
69
74
29
Mateusz Nowaczek
75,9
71
67
76
69
67
69
69
72
75
69
71
27
Patryk Komisarek
74,7
74
68
72
70
71
72
76
75
74
70
71
25
Paweł Poljański
74,4
72
66
74
68
69
68
68
72
74
68
71
28
Adrian Tekliński
71,5
71
65
67
64
67
64
73
72
70
67
69
29
Konrad Tomaszewski
69,2
66
70
67
62
59
58
61
67
67
63
66
27
Konrad Kott
69,0
64
64
65
65
67
68
67
69
68
68
67
25
Course du Lac d'Annecy
08.10
WT classic with Chamorro as our leader. It's hard to expect even top 10. So Chamorro need to focus and ride that race really well. But knowing our results from previous months, I'll not be surprised if Morton will be the highest classified rider from CCC at the end.
New race on the calender and already Ulissi and Nowaczek are one of the favourites. C'mon guys, to me, yourselves, and team the favour and score massively there!
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Diego Ulissi
76,9
66
75
78
72
74
58
67
78
72
69
74
29
Mateusz Nowaczek
75,9
71
67
76
69
67
69
69
72
75
69
71
27
Lachlan Morton
75,0
73
75
73
72
72
60
61
72
71
68
74
26
Diego Ochoa
74,6
69
75
74
65
63
59
63
71
71
66
72
25
Ever Rivera
74,5
67
75
73
65
64
60
62
71
70
66
70
27
Konrad Kott
69,0
64
64
65
65
67
68
67
69
68
68
67
25
Tomasz Brzeziński
66,5
66
56
59
58
64
58
68
67
64
64
65
21
Baltic Chain Tour
08.16 - 08.20
Our last focus race this year. A bit of experiment we have to add. If I'm not wrong we have never rode this race before, so I don't know what to expect. Komisarek is our leader and probably only hope for a decent race.
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Patryk Komisarek
74,7
74
68
72
70
71
72
76
75
74
70
71
25
Paweł Poljański
74,4
72
66
74
68
69
68
68
72
74
68
71
28
Maciej Bodnar
73,8
73
65
68
75
75
69
67
68
69
69
74
33
Eugenio Alafaci
71,6
70
64
68
63
66
65
73
73
70
66
67
28
Adrian Tekliński
71,5
71
65
67
64
67
64
73
72
70
67
69
29
Kacper FrÄ…ckowiak
67,9
62
69
66
60
58
56
57
64
65
60
64
24
Tomasz Brzeziński
66,5
66
56
59
58
64
58
68
67
64
64
65
21
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
08.16 - 08.22
Chamorro is a big favourite here. Nerz is probably the biggest threat with his ITT ability, but Juan can also do a decent TT. Top 3 would we awesome, top 5 acceptable. Below that? I don't want to think about that.
AVG
FL
MO
HI
TT
PR
CB
SP
AC
ST
RS
RC
Age
Juan Chamorro
76,3
70
78
75
70
67
61
64
71
71
66
72
27
Lachlan Morton
75,0
73
75
73
72
72
60
61
72
71
68
74
26
Diego Ochoa
74,6
69
75
74
65
63
59
63
71
71
66
72
25
Daniele Dall'Oste
74,4
69
75
73
65
65
59
65
73
71
67
71
27
Egor Silin
74,4
69
74
73
72
71
57
64
71
73
68
73
30
Konrad Tomaszewski
69,2
66
70
67
62
59
58
61
67
67
63
66
27
Konrad Kott
69,0
64
64
65
65
67
68
67
69
68
68
67
25
Post Danmark Rundt
08.26 - 08.31
Another flat race for our only sprinter. He is overperforming this year, but it doesn't mean he can have an easy race here! We are defending 2nd place from last year!
Definitely more points for CCC than Aviva in August. Probably unwise to pick the Balitc Chain Tour as a focus race considering the tough WT competition, good luck for that!
The Tour de France. The worlds biggest stage. And our sprinting squad were sent to defend our colors. We had high hopes for maybe a stage win or two. Allready on the first stage, our last leadout man, Daniel Hoelgaard snatched the victory on the line in front of Appollonio(Santos - Euskadi) and Coquard(Allianz - BMW Cycling Team). Our leader, Andrea Guardini finished fifth.
And with our goal allready achived on the first stage, the team could relax and enjoy the french countryside, riviera and prestigious mountains.
The following few days after our suprising win, the team had the hangover. Not being able to perform like on the first stage. But on stage 5 however, Andrea "Muscoli" Guardini flexed his muscles and snatched the stage win in front of Swift(Team Cymru Wales) and Coquard(Allianz - BMW Cycling Team).
Stage 6. The stage we all will remember for a long time. And for the wrong reasons. Daniel Hoelgaard celebrating prematurely while Bouhanni( Équipe Cycliste Peugeot) could only laugh, as he was the real winner. We had 3 guys within the top 5 on that stage. Worth mentioning.
The next days was mostly "swing and miss" for us. A top 3 was the closest we got. Then, like before, Andrea Guardini showed up and delivered again. Taking stage 10 and the lead of the green jersey.
Then followed the rest of the tour. Andrea picking up 3rd on stage 16, doing whats needed to protect his green jersey. It was all set for a showdown on the last stage. And yes. We managed to deliver way above what we had in mind coming into this race. What a race.
CCC Sprandi Polkowice - June results review
Int. Österreich-Rundfahrt
Tour of Vancouver
Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
World Ports Classic
Course du Lac d'Annecy
Gran Premio San José
Baltic Chain Tour
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Post Danmark Rundt
