3 Seasons back-to-back champions, Festina-Dexia, are back for yet another Pro Tour season. Team manager, Andreas Jøhnke, stated in a press release earlier in the month, that in order to keep the team developping a rather big change was needed. A big focus have been on winning the title aswell as the Tour de France in the past 2-3 seasons. Now it is time to make the talents go from talent to leader, meaning that room will be made for the french talents within the team.
Average age of team: 28,4 year old
Average age, including loan out: 25,6 year old
Team Standings - Top 3 | ACHIEVED | 3rd PT Rankring Tour of Qatar - Win | FAILED | 3rd Bryan Coquard GP Moscow - Win | FAILED | 5th Bryan Coquard Tour de France - Top 5 | ACHIEVED | 5th Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier Milano San Remo - Top 10 | FAILED | 15th Sascha Weber
Grand Tour Riders
Simon Spilak
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Tour de France | Stage 20
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Giro d'Italia | Stage 9
Georgos Tzortzakis | Giro d'Italia | Stage 2
Bryan Coquard | Vuelta a España | Stage 1
Bryan Coquard | Vuelta a España | Stage 5
Bryan Coquard | Tour d'Afrique | Stage 4
Panagiotis Vlatos | Tirreno-Adriatico | Stage 1
Maxime Daniel | Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha | Stage 2
Clement Koretzky | Tour of Northern Europe | Stage 3
Clement Koretzky | Volta a Portugal | Stage 8
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Tour de France | Stage 16
Bryan Coquard | Vuelta a España | Stage 4
Bryan Coquard | Tour of Qatar | Stage 3
Bryan Coquard | Tour d'Afrique | Stage 2
Bryan Coquard | Deutschland Tour | Stage 2
Panagiotis Vlatos | Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha | Stage 3
Georgos Tzortzakis | Tour de France | Stage 2
Georgos Tzortzakis | Tour de France | Stage 11
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Giro d'Italia | Stage 20
Bryan Coquard | Vuelta a España | Stage 1
Bryan Coquard | Vuelta a España | Stage 6
Bryan Coquard | Tour of Qatar | Stage 1
Bryan Coquard | Tour d'Afrique | Stage 1
Bryan Coquard | Deutschland Tour | Stage 1
#1 Maxime Daniel | Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
#2 Bryan Coquard | Tour d'Afrique
#3 Bryan Coquard | Deutschland Tour
#4 Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Tour de France
#4 Bryan Coquard | Tour of Qatar
#4 Panagiotis Vlatos | Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
#5 Clement Koretzky | Tour of Northern Europe
#6 Bryan Coquard | Vuelta a España
#1 Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Tour de France
#1 Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | Giro d'Italia
#1 Yuriy Vasyliv | Paris-Nice
#3 Yuriy Vasyliv | Tour de France
#8 Pascal Ackermann | Tour of Tasmania
#9 Pascal Ackermann | Tirreno-Adriatico
#9 Pascal Ackermann | Deutschland Tour
#9 Matteo Fabbro | Paris-Nice
Edited by SotD on 31-07-2019 20:15
We have assembled the best result of all races throughout our presence at the Man-Game, under the name of Festina (+/- something else). These are our best results in all races we have ever ridden. A lot of races have changed status throughout the years. The "Status" column shows at what level the result was achieved and the "Current" column shows at what level the race is currently ridden - if still on the calender.
Below the spoiler you will find the same table, without the status of the race added. This only because of the table format and the way the site reveals information.
Emerson Santos, 27 years old (Leadout sprinter)
Emerson Santos is a talented sprinter with a huge diesel engine, signing a contract at the start of the 2017 season. In 2016 he was contracted at Flores - Ceitic in the lower divisions where he was the leadout prospect for Jaime Alberto Castañeda. And before that he was winning small flat, domestique, races in Brazil. Something that the bigger teams never really got to witness due to the low commercial interests of local south american races.
On the final stage, Emerson Santos opened up his sprint early and was leading within the final km, but in the end he wasn't strong enough to keep pushing, and hence ended up losing speed in the end, to take 10th. But there was no doubt in anyones mind, that Emerson Santos was a sprinting talent, that could potentially become dangerous, even at the highest level.
"I believe that Emerson is among the strongest possible leadout riders in the peloton. He is very durable, and works well on the flats, while actually surviving mountains better than most european leadout riders. He is clever in his positioning and will be able to pull Coquard to some great results I believe. He has wits to outsmart others on a tactical level, and we are very interested in bringing such an element into our sprinting team. We have never really worked well in creating sprint trains.
As a leading sprinter he might not be the fastest, but he did show last season at the Vuelta, that if the peloton isn't packed with the best sprinters he stands a fighting chance. And his chance will certainly come. Even when man-marking Coquard for most of his season."
In the upcoming season, Emerson Santos is expected to be the last rider in line to deliver Bryan Coquard, while the team is looking to use Georgios Bouglas and Manuel Stocker while the team is believed to be searching for a strong rider to pick up speed within the final 10km.
After putting together a very nice debut season, we evaluate him like this:
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Emerson Santos
76
63
64
66
71
72
76
53
78
78
70
67
74
27yo
Career Highligts
4th Stage 11 Vuelta a España 2017
5th Stage 2 Vuelta a España 2017
Absolutely juggernaut you've put together there SotD...
Looking forward to seeing how you tackle the GTs in particular this year, as well as how you swindle/rebuild another top roster through the transfer market
Renewals have been a struggle in the past couple of seasons, but this time was by far the most difficult. Several riders had to be cut in order to save money, and still we are far far above our budget.
Everyone of our leaders asked for a big wage increase, and we couldn't land them even close to their previous wage level. This means that:
Name
Previous Wage
New wage
Difference
Simon Spilak
900.000 kr.
1.200.000 kr.
300.000 kr.
Jerome Coppel
550.000 kr.
700.000 kr.
150.000 kr.
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier
525.000 kr.
625.000 kr.
100.000 kr.
Bryan Coquard
190.000 kr.
450.000 kr.
260.000 kr.
Clement Koretzky
280.000 kr.
350.000 kr.
70.000 kr.
Tom David
175.000 kr.
175.000 kr.
- kr.
Panagiotis Vlatos
120.000 kr.
125.000 kr.
5.000 kr.
Jakub Novak
120.000 kr.
100.000 kr.
-20.000 kr.
Yuriy Vasyliv
80.000 kr.
110.000 kr.
30.000 kr.
Emerson Santos
50.000 kr.
95.000 kr.
45.000 kr.
Murilo Affonso
65.000 kr.
50.000 kr.
-15.000 kr.
Pieter Jacobs
50.000 kr.
50.000 kr.
- kr.
Aidan van Niekerk
50.000 kr.
50.000 kr.
- kr.
Matteo Fabbro
50.000 kr.
50.000 kr.
- kr.
Just 14 riders have been contracted for the 2018 season, and we have received a staggering 1,26mio € fine by the UCI for being over the wage cap!
Big changes will have to be made in order to get within the overall wage cap, aswell as having atleast 20 riders.
This means that the following riders will be put for sale: Simon Spilak (Reigning Tour de France winner, 2nd. overall ranking) Jerome Coppel (Winner of Tasmania and Norway and 5 stage wins) Tom David (7th Ronde van Vlaanderen and 2 stagewins) Jakub Novak (GC lieutenaint, several top 25 GC, including Giro 2016) Yuriy Vasyliv (Same as above - Still U25 eligeble!) Murilo Affonso (GC helper, newly maxed) Pieter Jacobs (Cobbled lieutenaint or PCT/CT leader, 78COB)
Huge changes awaits. Festina wants to get back to French/Greek focus, and having some very interesting talents for the future. It is time for Lecuisinier, Coquard and Koretzky to take the final step towards PT leadership!
whitejersey wrote:
Definetely interesting riders on the chopping board in terms of being up for sale. Interesting to see where Spilak winds up.
Indeed. Some interesting things are likely to happen this off season. I must admit, that I am looking forward to being an active part of the off season again, instead of just doing a little bit here and there.
Vien wrote:
Tom David for sale? Somewhere over the world, I can hear a certain Jandal celebrating
Good luck in transfers!
Hehe yeah probably
Thanks a lot - It is probably needed
Sykkel_Freak wrote:
Some huge wage increases here, which I guess must have been expected (at least in part) after a great 2017.
Certainly making note of your likely departures in the cobbles area as Delvaux are likely to spend some money in that department come transfer season
It was expected to some extend, but those were just crazy. Spilak very big increase, which really is too much imo. Also Jerome Coppel performing similar to the season before shouldn't ask for more. Coquard asking for 250% or so is a bit too high, but I was part of the reason for that asking for sprinters to be valued higher.
Vien wrote:
Tom David for sale? Somewhere over the world, I can hear a certain jandal celebrating
Good luck in transfers!
This is the moment I have been waiting for/pestering SotD about since I joined MG
Best of luck in transfers, interesting to watch what directions you take it in with those Greek guys available on the market now and the increasing wages of the team.
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
Riders up for sale: Simon Spilak (Reigning Tour de France winner, 2nd. overall ranking) Jerome Coppel (Winner of Tasmania and Norway and 5 stage wins) Tom David (7th Ronde van Vlaanderen and 2 stagewins) Jakub Novak (GC lieutenaint, several top 25 GC, including Giro 2016) Yuriy Vasyliv (Same as above - Still U25 eligeble!) Murilo Affonso (GC helper, newly maxed) Pieter Jacobs (Cobbled lieutenaint or PCT/CT leader, 78COB)[/quote]
It has been a nervewrecking couple of days, but we are now happy to announce that two lost sons, have found their way home!
Georgos Tzortzakis
4.100
33yo
€80.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
60
64
58
70
64
73
57
81
77
57
63
58
Georgos Tzortzakis have a great run for the team, having won stages in the Giro d'Italia, also leading the points competition for quite some time, aswell as taking a major win (the first ever greek classic) in Lisbon Classic. Last season we came to a precarious situation where young sprinter Rick Zabel announced he would ride in the Festina colors, which immidiately led to Tzortzakis searching elsewhere. We accepted this, and sold him to Project: Africa. Unfortunately Rick Zabel decided to move to Team Degenkolb, leaving Festina-Dexia in a bad situation.
Elsewhere Georgos Tzortzakis started of the season in manor, winning the first stage of the season in Tour of Qatar. The fortune was shortly lived, however, as the Team, Project: Africa came to a drastic halt, leaving all riders as prisoners not being allowed to race all season long, due to technicalities in raceplannings.
Circumstances made way for a happy reunion between the two teams, and Georgos Tzortzakis have accepted a very empathic 80.000€ wage in what is likely to be his final season at top level.
Georgos Tzortzakis winning Lisbon Classic in style in 2016!
Charalampas Kastrantas
4.100
27yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
73
75
62
70
71
65
64
62
73
75
78
62
It was not as spectacular when Charalampas Kastrantas left the team in the renewals proces. The team had gotten in trouble due to being above the wage cap of the MGUCI, and thus a handshake was made between team manager and Kastrantas, that the initial contract was to be revoked, while a new would be signed immidiately after the processes of MGUCI had taken place.
Charalampas Kastrantas have performed well above pundits expectations the past two seasons, winning first a stage at the Criterium du Dauphine in 2016 and later also proved among the strongest breakaway specialists in 2017. It is expected to see more of that in the future.
Kastrantas on the podium after winning stage 5 of Criterium du Dauphine, 2016
And while we are in happy mood, regaining contact with lost Greeks, the mythology will take no end, as we present the future of the Greek gods...
Miltiadis Giannoutsos
1.00
21yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
65
69
67
65
69
71
66
57
64
65
74
66
70
Knowing that Greek riders look firmly at our setup we dared making a bald move, and offer this young talent minimum wage. It was of huge surprise when he ended up accepting the offer, however. Below you can see what experts expect him to develop into:
Miltiadis Giannoutsos
4.100
24yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
66
78
75
67
73
76
74
57
64
71
81
69
72
We have been prepared to go very far for this future great, and are extremely pleased to see him developping at this rate! We expect Giannoutsos to be the first ever Greek Top 10 Grand Tour rider with some added nuturing along the way. Welcome aboard!
We are happy to announce another 3 additional riders.
Armanto Archimandritis
4.100
32yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
68
73
74
58
74
75
70
74
64
70
64
66
58
For more reasons, Archimandritis is a new rider for us. Not only because he has not, literally, ridden for us before, but he is also the first cypriot rider in our team. And to add to that, we have also never had a rider who is equally good at climbing and cobbles, so we get ourselves a very versatile rider, who will be of good use as a domestique basically everywhere. We only want to keep him out of Team Time Trials, but other than that, he is a perfectly suitable rider.
Georgios Karatzios
3.00
28yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
74
58
70
59
72
68
66
73
60
65
70
61
59
Georgios Karatzios is our 4th! Greek rider added to the team this season. We are very happy to announce that Karatzios will be the first ever Greek cobbled rider with potential to actually fight for top 20's at PT level. Here we get his expected level:
Georgios Karatzios
4.100
30yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
77
58
71
59
75
71
67
77
63
65
70
61
59
The final addition, is actually not new, as he was on a similar agreement as Kastrantas. He was in our squad last season, and now he's back.
Manuel Stocker
4.50
26yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
60
65
69
70
72
73
59
75
76
64
65
71
Manuel Stocker is a potentially strong leadout sprinter for the seasons to come, and we look forward to see him help us, if not already, then atleast next season! Here is what he will look like:
After a list of new riders being signed, we are also going to say goodbye to some riders. This season of substantial level!
Last seasons runner up of the overall ranking, and winner of the Tour de France, Simon Spilak have left the team to join Isostar Slovenija. What more suitable way to end his Festina era, than to join the first real slovenian PT side.
Also former world TT champion, Jerome Coppel have decided to leave the team, due to a heavy disagreement on his paycheck. Jerome Coppel joined the team as a leading rider and left after two superior seasons at the very top of the individual rankings. 6 stagewins and 2 GC wins did he end the 2017 season with. Next season he will, however be looking to fight in the PCT, where experts believe he will smash any competition.
Besides the two big leaders, also Tom David have decided to leave the team, although in a more orderly fashion, giving the team an opportunity to cover the loss on a 1:1 scale - More on this later. Tom David never really managed to fulfill his true potential in the team, and will also look to go down a level.
A final farewell goes to Jakub Novak, who has been playing second violin for quite some time, but having had his chances to shine. Jakub Novak did his best at the Grand Tours, where his diesel engine would come to it's true meaning, but it was always going to be a last for him in 2017. Also Novak will step down a level.
We wish to thank those 4 riders a lot, as they have all been an integral part in the team's 3 time winners streak. Having to say goodbye to significant riders like this, will definately hurt our PT chances, but we will soon be joined by a new flank of riders.
We are very happy to present another 3 new team members.
Maxime Daniel
4.100
27yo
€280.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
56
69
56
76
76
74
80
76
72
69
74
64
A huge assignment for us to land Maxime Daniel. We have been so eagerly looking to strengthen the core of French and Greek cyclists this season, and we are pleased that it is seeming to work. Maxime Daniel has been on the block for several years, and through several teams. We believe he belongs at Pro Tour level, and expect him to be a step up from Tom David who unfortunately had to leave in the deal.
For more reasons, Archimandritis is a new rider for us. Not only because he has not, literally, ridden for us before, but he is also the first cypriot rider in our team. And to add to that, we have also never had a rider who is equally good at climbing and cobbles, so we get ourselves a very versatile rider, who will be of good use as a domestique basically everywhere. We only want to keep him out of Team Time Trials, but other than that, he is a perfectly suitable rider.
Juan Ernesto Chamorro
4.10
27yo
€230.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
66
78
75
64
72
76
70
51
66
74
78
74
64
After selling Simon Spilak we were in desperate need of a new GC rider, and while we are well aware that Chamorro isn't the new Spilak, by any means, it is a heavy upgrade from our former 3rd tiers. Chamorro will be having quite a lot of responsibility at the team and will get to ride atleast one Grand Tour as a captain. We look very much forward to this, and hope he might be able to fight for the KOM or stagewins.
Sascha Weber
4.100
30yo
€90.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
57
67
59
74
69
71
75
77
77
60
66
62
Sascha Weber joins from our friends at Puma, whom we expect to take the thrown from us, or atleast podium in our absence. Weber is an obvious pick as we have targeted him before, and will massively strengthen our cobbled setup, while also giving aid to Bryan Coquard in the sprints. We can't wait to see Weber in action.
After having already waved goodbye to Simon Spilak, Jerome Coppel, Tom David and Jakub Novak we have achieved offers of sufficient quality to also wave goodbye to another two riders.
Murilo Affonso have left after just one season at our side. Affonso is a good mountain domestique and will leave a gap we are not quite happy with, but a mistake in the process of updating finances left us with no choice.
We also have to say goodbye to Pieter Jacobs, who also joined last season. We were happy to sign Jacobs as he would serve Tom David well, but after having said goodbye to Tom David, it was natural to also say goodbye to Pieter Jacobs.
We wish both riders the very best in their new teams.
It is time to present nothing short of 6 new riders!
Robin van der Hugenhaben
4.100
33yo
€327.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
72
76
79
70
75
74
73
64
67
64
79
65
70
Robin van der Hugenhaben is a very experienced rider, which should go well with our young and talented pool. Robin has been in the lower levels for the past couple of seasons, and while his prime is no longer present we do believe that he does have the potential to do well in the races where we need a rider of his level. The dutch veteran goes extremely well over hills, and climb real mountains fairly well aswell, which makes him a perfect fit for a few races this season, where neither Lecuisinier or Koretzky fits in all too well.
Jocelyn Bar
4.10
30yo
€148.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
77
55
70
61
75
72
79
68
77
76
72
63
61
Jocelyn Bar is a leadout sprinter that we have actually been chasing for quite some seasons, so we are happy to finally have him secured, although we do find his wage demands slightly higher that what he has proved so far. But having a great need for leadouts for Bryan Coquard we have accepted terms, and are instead looking forward. Bar is a powerhouse and goes rather well over hills aswell as cobbles which makes him a perfect fit together with Emerson Santos in the leadout.
Pascal Ackermann
3.00
24yo
€200.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
70
63
72
60
70
69
74
61
75
76
63
62
67
Despite not being French or Greek, Pascal Ackermann was our no. 1 target of the off season. Ackermann have the perfect combination of hill and sprints to be a very useful future lead sprinter together with Bryan Coquard, and while he is fast, he will never become as fast as Coquard - but likewise he is a lot more durable, so should target a completely different set of races. A duo threat we have always dreamt of. Below is a few of the possible options for Ackermann in the future:
Pascal Ackermann
4.100
26yo
€200.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
65
75
60
74
71
80
63
79
80
64
63
67
Pascal Ackermann
4.100
26yo
€200.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
74
64
73
60
74
71
80
64
80
80
63
63
67
Pascal Ackermann
4.100
26yo
€200.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
72
65
77
61
75
71
79
61
77
80
66
63
68
A lot of choices. Should he become a top sprinter? Should he become a potential top puncheur? Should he become something in between? No matter what, Pascal Ackermann is (for us) among the 3-4 biggest talents available, and we are happy to land him, despite of the 200K pricetag.
Rudy Barbier
3.76
26yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
70
50
66
56
69
69
67
66
74
75
63
63
60
Rudy Barbier has been on our target list before, but it became evident for us that he should be one this season, when we noticed how easily we could develop him, and that Coquard could use a decent leadout in a couple of seasons time too. Barbier will develop into this:
Rudy Barbier
4.100
28yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
74
50
67
56
72
70
77
69
78
79
63
64
60
The flat and acceleration quality was key for us, and we believe it will be enough as a 3rd-in-line rider for a top class sprinter.
Nikolaos Ioannidis
3.07
25yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
66
71
70
71
73
71
69
57
58
69
71
67
72
Another greek rider we have wanted for several seasons, but just hadn't managed to fit in. Ioannidis will become a valuable GC domestique in the future, but unfortunately won't have the acceleration to become a leader himself. This is what he will look like:
Nikolaos Ioannidis
4.100
27yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
67
75
73
75
76
74
73
57
58
70
72
67
76[/b]
A very strong GC rider for Lecuisiniers future GT surge.
Romain Le Roux
4.03
26yo
€50.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
70
65
75
63
72
70
68
64
65
71
70
66
63[/b]
Romain Le Roux joins on a one-year loan deal. We are very happy with adding such a strong puncheur as a domestique, while also helping another manager with development.
As usual an active transfer period for but even more active this season I suppose.
A lot of interest signings, espacially those greeks since that one of your focus.
Weber & Daniel could be a nice duo on those cobbles as said in cio´s HQ Weber caught my eye aswell.
Ackermann is a very very nice rider to have aswell when maxed