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Isostar - Adriatic 2017
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| Ripley |
Posted on 19-06-2018 10:30
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Classics Specialist
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A travesty!
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| SotD |
Posted on 19-06-2018 10:53
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World Champion
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Indeed... Quite interesting, especially since no one know how many Racedays the different categories will receive.
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| Booker |
Posted on 19-06-2018 11:37
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Breakaway Specialist
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Miran ‘Moron’ Tepes needs to get his head screwed back on - what an opportunity he’s passing up...potentially
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 22-06-2018 14:30
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Directeur Sportif
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You can't play on broken strings...
Press Conference in Ptuj, Slovenia. Miran Tepes is speaking to the news, backed up by the management personal of former PCT team
Isostar - Adriatic
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear guests,
we have had a great couple of seasons together with the squad. The glory we achieved will stay as a monumental part for Slovenian Cycling. And not only that, the whole region of the balcans and also Estonia have been boosted by the success of Isostar-Adriatic in the previous two seasons. Cycling has taken a step forward in this region, and Isostar-Adriatic could fill the gaps disbanding teams as for example Live Healthy have opened up.
And it wasn't only that. Back-to-back promotions have been excelling the widest dreams we had when starting our own regional project. We found great partners to promote our little project. And we enlarged it. To a scale that would have led Isostar - Adriatic in the Pro Tour. Something that will go down in history, as only the great partner teams of Strava and Evonik-ELKO have achieved.
But some say that you should stop when it feels the best. And the time has come.
It's time for a change. We believed in our project from the beginning on. But we feel like it has outgrown itself, potentially by rising up too fast. We feel like there is no possibility to survive in the see full of sharks which is the Pro Tour while still sticking to our principles. Hence we took the decision that was incredibly tough to take.
It is time to end our commitment to the project right now. The men in lime have been a success story for each of us personally. Having Adriatic stepping down from the title sponsor role was the nail in the coffin, as some other sponsors have stepped down from minor roles in before.
Let us quickly explain what led us to the decision: Sticking to our principle of being a Slovenian fist led team wouldn't have given us the opportunity to further strengthen our team, as we feel like paying our main actors of last season is a vital part of acknowledging what they did for Slovenian Cycling. In our current sponsorship situation there wouldn't have been enough space to set up a competitive team. But giving up our principles is not an option, and getting slaughtered by the opposition is neither.
Hence we took the only way out.
For the general management: Miran Tepes
I'd like to thank Bostjan, Mitja, Robert, Przemyslaw and Karl for their commitment on promoting the project and their values in it's successful development over the last two years. For further questions we'll have one last time an open session right now. Only Robert will be available for questions however, as the others are already working on their future in talks with teams.
I'd like to honor Karl-Patrick here in first line, as while doing his sport managements studies with us he also developed into an awesome rider that is very much looking forward to become a pro this season. He, as everybody on the team - riders and staff -, has been a vital part of our cycling family. May this lime family stay in the minds of it's members forever.
Miran Tepes |
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| Vien |
Posted on 22-06-2018 14:41
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Small Tour Specialist
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Hey man, sad to see your team go. Have you considered not promoting and remaining as a PCT team as an option instead? |
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| sgdanny |
Posted on 22-06-2018 14:48
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Classics Specialist
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Good luck in the PT, dunno what focus you're planning on, but great planning should hopefully continue for you
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| redordead |
Posted on 22-06-2018 16:02
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Wish you good luck in whichever next step you take  |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 24-06-2018 20:47
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Directeur Sportif
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Questions to: Robert Kranjec
After Miran closed out his press conference with the unavoidable speech, Robert Kranjec, former Sports & Health Coach of Isostar - Adriatic, takes over the mic to answer some leftover questions of the listening crowd.
Spoiler Credits to the managers that sent questions in. Special mentions to our fellow friends from the Netherlands.
Why this sudden decision? Wouldn't it have been easier to phase out the backroom staff over a longer period of time than go for this major overhaul?
RK: The story has been written for quite some time now. We've communicated the imminent need for new sponsors for a couple of months now. Especially if the Pro Tour should've been realistic. But you know, it is not that easy. Funds could not be raised in the manner my fellow team members would've felt that it could be enough to sustain PT level.
What will happen to the quartet of officials that has left the project now?
RK: That is yet to decide. I know that Przemyslaw is about to sign a contract at another squad, but that's up to him and his new team to reveal. Bostjan is in talks with other slovenian cycling teams to build up something different, while for Mitja and Miran it's destination unknown. Miran though has said something about sports representation between the lines: To be fair a spot in the sports ministry would be a huge deal for him.
How's the mood in the camp? The riders can't be happy with this sudden change of plans!
RK: Of course there has been intern communication. We had very open talks to the riders, so that each of our riders could draw his future and we had a transparent process throughout the inside. Of course, that means significant change for a lot of riders.
Something still doesn't add up. Was there a revolt among the riders or the staff? The management has been known to be especially harsh when riders have an off day. Did it become too much for some of them to take?
RK: It has not been about being harsh. Our season has been remarkable. We had great success, and every single rider on our squad worked hard for that. There has been great chemistry in our squad, even outside riders will confirm that to you. The project has not been just some cycling project. It is a cycling family. And we will stay a cycling family, even if all good things come to an end.
There has not been a significant clash between the riders and the management. We are proud of what we achieved. We believe, that everybody did an outstanding job. If this sounded different towards the media, then that's because of what the media made out of it. We just always want to win every race. Our ambition is to exceed our limits and push ourselves to the best. That is how we communicated - call it being harsh or call it being ambitious, the truth is that we just believed in our project and every member of it.
The next part of the interview will come in the next days. Feel free to hand in some questions via PM. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 12:59
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 26-06-2018 11:38
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Questions to: Robert Kranjec
The Press Q&A with Robert Kranjec, former Sports & Health Coach of Isostar - Adriatic, continues. After the first part on what will happen in the future, tension is sharpening with further questions about the team's direction are asked.
Spoiler Credits to the managers that sent questions in. Special mentions to our fellow friends from the Netherlands and Bulgaria.
With Planica set to host the 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championship and you are also part of Slovenia's ski jumping traditions, have you ever thought with the organizers to promote the event via the cycling team?
RK: Ski jumping has been the past for me, and may become some sort of engagement project for me in the future. But right now my dedication lays in promoting our cycling project and the team we built.
When can we expect more clarification about the new direction for the team?
RK: Oh you can have it right here, right now. The time may be right to draw our plans.
Go on then, tell us. What are we going to see from you in the coming season?
RK: I can confirm that we'll see a Slovenian Pro Tour team in the upcoming season. Our main Sponsor has decided to raise his funds once again, thanks again to our tight partners: Isostar. This opportunity would not be possible without their dedication. We also found 5 new minor sponsors, including big local player Perutnina Ptuj, that will step on our side in terms of funding. Adriatic has decided to step down from it's Co-Sponsoring role, but will stay on board as a secondary sponsor together with ZeroTurnaround and Perutnina Ptuj.
What does this mean for your riders, the very people who got your team this far in such a short time?
RK: It is almost clear that we will have one of the most spare budgets next season. Therefore it will be a tough call to say what will happen. We are looking forward towards keeping our core together and building on the base of riders that brought us into PT. We feel like there is the need to give these riders the opportunity to try their best at the highest level, hence we won't have a shuffle-up in the team in the manner of last season. We have grown together as a family.
Further, our focus on Slovenian riders will increase even more. We are planning on having an 80% minimum of riders in our squad that are either Slovenian or self-developed riders. That line is meant to beware ourselves of our roots and the image of a team with a family mindset that we want to share with the world of cycling.
Have you identified how the new team will be structured? What about personnel?
RK: Well, by loosing a lot of dedicated members of the team we will start over with a pretty unexperienced team. Right now we are searching for the right persons at the right jobs. What I can tell you is that this team will not be a 1-person led squad. We've decided to pick up the huge tasks together. And with we I mean that one man, who was meant to step down a level after the season, is about to step one up. Matej Mugerli has been mentoring our star puncheur Mohoric for the last season. And now he's going to mentor the whole team from the management level. He is the perfect example to what it is like to be part of the Isostar family. Now he has the opportunity to shape our tomorrow even more.
Where do you see Slovenian cycling in the coming years?
RK: I can't tell you. But we can tell you, that as long as our project exists you can be sure that nothing will change towards our roots. In our first season we had the slogan "I feel Slovenia" on our sleeves. While the shirt has changed, the message didn't. We will promote Slovenian cycling as well as the balcan region and our estonian partners for however long this project may exist.
Wish you all the best and will look forward to your future developments. Thank you for your time. That's all for now.
For the Isostar project: Robert Kranjec
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| Ripley |
Posted on 26-06-2018 12:48
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Classics Specialist
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80% Slovenians sounds like quite the challenge, I'm sure you are up to it. Good luck!
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 26-06-2018 23:16
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Directeur Sportif
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Ripley wrote:
80% Slovenians sounds like quite the challenge, I'm sure you are up to it. Good luck!
Thank you very much honorable friend! It's kind of just writing down the streams we already swam in with the project though.
Also thanks to all others that have been involved in discussions about the future of the project. We'd have liked to answer some raised questions earlier, but felt like it would be the best idea to keep it behind closed doors till stuff could become official.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 27-06-2018 00:24
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World Champion
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Very excited for the new direction! Best of luck with the new challenge, love it 
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
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-06-2018 06:05
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Directeur Sportif
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Good to hear that Slovenian cycling still has a home in the peloton. Would love to see what you have planned for the team going ahead
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 27-06-2018 07:28
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All the best of luck in PT.
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| SotD |
Posted on 27-06-2018 08:08
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World Champion
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80% slovenian... That will be quite some task given that most of their current stars are 28 or above:
Simon Spilak 32
Janez Brajkovic 35
Marko Kump 30
Primoz Roglic 29
Kristjan Koren 32
Blaz Furdi 30
Jan Tratnik 28
Nejc Kosic 28
That leaves just Mohoric, Polanc, Dzamastagic, Pibernik and some unmaxed talents like Per and Novak to really build upon. Will be very difficult at PT level, but I really do hope you manage your ways. In a team of 20 riders only 4 must be foreign. Can be done, if they have a lot of quality - Much like Aker and Tinkoff, but surely their base and pool of riders is bigger.
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| redordead |
Posted on 27-06-2018 09:10
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Happy to hear the news about your team, but leave some Slovenian riders for me!!! |
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| knockout |
Posted on 27-06-2018 11:46
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Grand Tour Champion
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Interesting decision. It will be a tough transfer season for you to go more slovenian while also trying to adapt to the highest division. Best of luck!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 27-06-2018 12:02
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Grand Tour Specialist
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To be clear, the big news are that you'll be even more Slovenian?? 
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 01-07-2018 19:09
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Directeur Sportif
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@janda7l: Thanks a lot! Happy that we can make you proud.
@AbhishekLFC: indeed some big news for us - and you can be sure the backroom works 24/7 on next season plannings
@Tamijo: Thank you very much, according to our plans we'll need it.
@SotD: That's why we feel the need to promote the young talents of Slovenia especially. But remember that homegrown's can also be foreigners that joined the team on lvl 3 or earlier. We need a bigger talent pool though, that is certainly true.
@redordead: There are always solutions for that, we'll of course be in touch on a shared Slovenian future.
@knockout: True. But we had to keep that challenge up, thinking of how our plans developed. We'll try to do our best, but we can't exactly promise to be a top tier team in the PT of course 
@Aquarius97: Clear commitment to a Slovenian future, a drastic change in the management leading to new future valuations going away from best possible team in the PT to become the best possible regional representative in the PT.
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 11-07-2018 13:59
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In the last couple of months our riders have been on a journey throughout the world, where our riders competed in their national road championships. This is how they performed:
 Albania
Loan rider Kamberaj participated in the colours of VMP -Argon18. He did an awesome job in the road race, covering the attacks and outsprinting Redi Halilaj for the title. Great job! In the ITT he almost doubled his success up, but finished second to Giogieri here.
 Austria
The mountain circuit implicated a clear favourite for the race in Stefan Denifl. And while our guy Brändle fought well, he failed to deliver and fell to 6th in the sprint for 3rd, while the main favourite took the party.
In the ITT however Brändle has been the defending champion and main favourite. With an awesome run he managed to live up to the expectations to wear the shirt for another year!
 Belgium
Winning on the cobbles was always going to be a tough task for our duo Jans/Giaux. They did fairly well, but 35 for Giaux was our best result. Vanbilsen took the glory.
The ITT was just one to show our flag as well. While Dominique Cornu took the expected win for Euskaltel, it was our man Giaux again who finished on a rather nice 15th place.
 Belarus
The climbers national championships in Belarus have been not to the likings of Stan Bazhkou. While he did a great job of keeping up with Koshevoy, Samoilau was too strong for our hybrid chrono-puncheur.
On the specialists track he was about to fire back though. Bazhkou won the race in dominant fashion of almost 1 minute advantage against Samoilau.
 Chile
In a tense finish of the National Championships in Chile it was Luis Mansilla that fell short on the final sprint at the hilly parcours. On the time trial however the took his revenge on Bravo, taking the better of him and winning the chrono NC.
 Colombia
Daniel Jaramillo did a great job to compete in the flat colombian NC, eventhough it wasn't to his liking. He managed to achieve 7th on the flat roads. The time trial, not falling to his strengths, was not that successful. Daniel finished in 22nd.
 Croatia
In Croatia Potocki faced the opposition of Ugrinec and Kiserlovski. He failed to deliver on flat roads though, missing out in the battle against them. On the time trial he was almost 2 minutes away of Ugrinec. Clearly he was still influenced by the promotion party in the Lime Lounge on these runs...
 Estonia
Well Rein Taaramae happened. If you try to compete against him as an unmaxed rider either on climbs or in a TT you loose. That's what happened to Laas as well, who could neither challenge the superstar in the road race or the time trial.
 Guatemala
There is no opponence for Romeo Quicibal on a similarly professional level in cycling. Hence our Stagiare from Guatemala took both RR and TT with ease.
 Lybia
Similarly to Guatemala, also in Lybia Ahmed Belgasem didn't face notable opposition that was able to challenge him. Another double-NC for Ahmed Belgasem.
 Lithuania
Ramunas Navardauskas was our man for the title here. But on the hilly final of the day, Ignas Konovalovas proved to be the stronger one, beating former Isostar Juodvalkis.
In the ITT however we had the favourite role. Opposed to many times this season, this time Navardauskas couldn't fully live up to our expectations. He finished only 3rd, while Gediminas Bagdonas took home the title for his team. Better luck next time.
 Venezuela
On the hilly road race, Quevedo was named the main challenger for the Venezuelan star Monsalve. Together with Becerra he fought hard to challenge the Ayubowan-captain, but at the end it just wasn't to be. Monsalve took the race on the final 200 meters.
In the ITT he took it a bit easier. 2 minutes behind Abreu Quevedo managed to place himself as a solid 5th.
 Slovenia
In Slovenia Simon Spilak was the favourite on a hilly circuit, but with our depth we planned to challenge him. Spilak ripped the race apart on the last hill, with our loanee Pibernik to react first. Soon Mohoric took over to try and reel him in, but it wasn't to be. A 2nd place for Mohoric, while our other guys kept it calm here.
On the time trial it was again Spilak to beat. Brajkovic and Per came closest to do so, but we couldn't prevent him from winning the double-NC.
Brajkovic in 2nd
Per in 3rd, for the last time in Philips-colours? |
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