the transfer season's madness is still underway, but we're happy to have sealed three more deals since yesterday. the first transfers have been confirmed in the meantime and while we will dedicate a separate news post to those riders, who will leave bennelong - mitchelton via transfers this year, it's now time to show you those additions to our roster, that easily can be considered as the most important deals for us in this off-season.
leigh howard
with lahcen saber leaving the team (news on this will come at a later point) and our team lacking a top sprinter since matthew goss left us, it was good news, when leigh howard did not extend his contract with rbc pro cycling. quite unexpected news for the management close to the transfers season, but after years of interest to acquire via trade offers, it's obvious, that he had to become a main target for bennelong's free agency efforts this year. howard is a proven protour sprinter, who may not be amongst the very best, but should be capable to fill the whole, that goss had left here: score notable results in sprints on a regular base. the contract is quite expensive, which shows the value of howard, who had other teams showing big interest to get him as well.. a mission impossible for those teams though and so it happened the way it had to: welcome home, leigh!
leigh howard | 29 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 380,000€
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
76
63
68
68
75
70
79
63
82
79
64
65
68
rohan dennis
and another aussie, who had been on our list of targets for several years: rohan dennis finally made his way into australia's premium cycling team. it's maybe our most risky deal this year though, as dennis joins bennelong in a swap deal with our long time team member luke durbridge going the other way down to the pct and joining cycleyorkshire. a kinda heartbreaking deal for our management, but just like durbridge himself, we felt like it would be a great chance for durbo to change colours and start something new. also dennis spent quite a time with his former team and since he's been our manager's favorite for almost the same span of time, he was obviously delighted to see us going for such a risky move just to get him on our roster. in addition to his outstanding prologue skills, we fancy his combination of climbing hills and timetrial qualities. he probably won't become a big scorer on this level, but since our tt horses were always lacking climbing skills, it's great to have such a fitting premium domestique for bobridge.
rohan dennis | 28 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 150,000€
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
72
74
75
78
73
75
67
53
65
68
69
56
81
calvin watson
speaking of bobridge's support, we can also announce the arrival of calvin watson - our only pure cash transfer deal (when it comes to incoming riders). also watson has been on bennelong's list for quite a while and with nathan haas leaving the team, we're very happy to replace his role as our second best puncheur with watson (and the previously announced patrick lane). watson is still quite a young professional, who served last season as the premium domestique for the world's best puncher edvald boasson hagen. he's obviously no one, who should score big time in the protour, but there's hoping that he will add some decent backup results behind bobridge - our show some aggresive racing, wherever he will attend as our leader.
calvin watson | 25 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 85,000€
knockout wrote:
Rohan, Howard and Dennis are three amazing additions to Oz!
Rohan AND Dennis would be even more amazing
I expect us to be weaker than last season, but I'm kinda fine with it right now I actually like my plans for this year and of course there's a chance to avoid relegation easily. Depends mainly on three guys this time. Maybe four. We will see.
it's been some rather quiet days recently, but there is and was still some work to be done. it took us quite a while to sign or final free agent (except of maybe some stagiares at a later point this week), who will add some well needed depth tour timetrial departement.
zakkari dempster
zakkari dempster is an experienced professional, who will join our team for the first time. a solid tt horse, who comes with some decent skills on flat stages, too, adding some sprint abilities as well. we've never been able to get a notable sprint train going and this probably won't change this season, but anyway: dempster will add some support for leigh howard. obviously, he will be more important in timetrials though and with the departure of luke durbridge and an aging richie porte (who wasn't given a new contract prior to the season), dempster will become an important piece mainly to our ttt setup. we may not be amongst the favorites for the copenhagen - malmo ttt anymore, but of course we want to challenge for another podium result at least. and that's why we fought hard to sign dempster on this wage. welcome home, zak!
zakkari dempster | 31 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 140,000€
fl
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hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
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fi
dh
prl
74
54
64
79
71
74
73
60
71
72
60
57
79
shane archbold
shane archbold came as a rather surprising transfer deal, joining bennelong in a 248k deal from grieg - eftel. the kiwi is another solid roleur and mainly adds depth to our ttt setup, too. since we decided to move miles olman on a similar deal back to the ct (joining sauber petronas), we had to find a proper replacement from our focus area oceania. shane "the flying mullet" archbold ain't as strong as olman in the fight against the clock, but he's the better allrounder than our long-time team member. and that's why we believe, he will make for a good replacement.
shane archbold | 29 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 50,000€
The Mullet <3 Very nice skillset
Four other great signings, especially grateful to you for getting Dennis out of PCT for Bazhkou's sake
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
@SotD: Thanks, mate. While definitely lost some TT power with guys like Olman and (last year) Ford leaving, I'm pleased to have brought riders instead, who can actually handle other stages than timetrials
@jandal: You gotta love the Mullet, don't you and thanks as well! Mixed feelings about the Dennis / Durbo swap, but it was about time for a change. Dennis had been a long time target and I'm glad we finally got him. Will probably lose some points through this, but on the other hand, Dennis can potentially score some backup points behind Bobridge, so maybe we will even benefit from this move? If the luck is on our side, at least
Thanks for the feedback, guys! With the latest stagiares signed, our transfer season is over today
transfers #5 | three stagiares join us in august
and it's finally over, at least for bennelong's management: the last deals of the transfer season are finalized and so we're off to start the planning for the upcoming protour campaign. three more riders will join the team from august onwards, it's time to show you those guys, who will have the chance to present themselves as stagiares for bennelong - mitchelton in 2018.
lucas hamilton
sam gaze
lucas hamilton has shown some potential in the past couple of seasons and we're happy for the opportunity to see him riding in a few races in our colours later this season. after signing already quite a bunch of talents earlier this week, we could not offer a full-time contract to this talented young gun (it's been a tough decision between hindley and him), but we will definitely consider to sign hamilton on a permanent deal after the season.
the same goes for matthew ross, who we mainly signed to just do that: show us, if he has the potential to become a solid member of mainly our cobbles setup. he may not go through as one of the biggest talents around, but we were impressed by his work ethics and are happy to give him a shot at some race days later this season.
lucas hamilton | 22 years old | xp: 1.00 | wage: 10,000€
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
67
67
64
66
69
69
55
64
70
68
69
66
possible max stats
69
76
75
65
69
73
76
55
64
77
76
70
67
sam gaze | 23 years old | xp: 1.00 | wage: 10,000€
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
67
68
66
69
71
68
66
66
66
69
74
66
possible max stats
69
74
69
66
73
78
72
66
66
70
73
82
66
matthew ross | 22 years old | xp: 1.00 | wage: 10,000€
as already mentioned, there were quite a bunch of riders leaving the team this off-season and of course they deserve a special news. some long time team members will ride in new colours next year, which will be followed with mixed feelings. of course, every season moves like these have to be done though and we wish all of the following riders the very best for their future.
luke durbridge
and so it's time for a goodbye to one of only a few riders, who we signed back in our first season 2012: luke "durbo" durbridge will join cycleyorkshire to ride in the pct next year! when durbo signed with the oz cycling project back in 2012, he was meant to be one of three key signings for oz cycling's future: jack bobridge and george bennett as the other two. his timetrial skills would always be a perfect fit to our lineup and after spending two years as loanee on protour level (2013 and 2014), durbridge came back as one of our most important riders for the team's first protour season in 2015. his 4th place at the chrono des herbiers was quite promising for more things to come and it helped the team surviving it's protour debut rather comfortable. unfortunatelly, durbridge couldn't repeat this first success in the following campaigns: an 8th place at praha - karlovy - praha would be his best race result in 2016 (alongside three stage-podiums in different races) and an underwhelming 16th place at herbiers was followed by a 18th place in 2017. he struggled at praha, too, finishing 13th this time, adding a 19th place in the tour of qatar's gc. just like durbridhge himself, we felt like it was about time for a change of colours and we're quite happy that he joins a team, that stands for timetrials as well.
pieter vanspeybrouck
pieter vanspeybrouck joined our team one year ago, following into marcus burghardt's footsteps as our leader for cobbles. the veteran did quite well, despite missing out on a podium result eventually: his 5th place at the ronde van vlaanderen would become his best result last season, adding a 9th place in paris - roubaix and a solid 10th place at the strada appia. he might have had a better season with some more luck, but one thing is for sure: his points will be missed anyway. losing our cobbles leader was something we always had on our agenda, but since we couldn't afford a deal for new zealand's best cobbler tom david, bennelong - mitchelton is back to where the oz cycling project stood in former days: almost zero cobbles.
nathan haas
several more riders left the team as well: nathan haas, who spent the last two seaons with us. his best result in two years: a good 20th place at liege - bastogne -liege last season. a few more top-30 results in addition, but he never could finish higher than that. still, we're happy for the time we had together and wish him all the best for his new role at the bnz cycling team (ct division).
lars van der haar had to be sold due to our new policy of building an 100% oceanian squad this year. he should be a fun rider to follow next year and we're glad to have helped him becoming a fully "grown" professional.
miles olman, another long-time team member, also left the team. in a rather late transfer move, we agreed terms to a deal that will move olman down to the ct, joining a promising sauber petronas team. olman struggled to score big results in the protour, but had a solid 10th place at the crono des herbiers back in 2015. in our years in the pct though, olman had quite a few notable results: a 4th place at the olmypia's tour and a 5th place at the tour de faso back in 2014 (our protour promotion campaign), as well as a 2nd place at the windhoek itt and a 7th place at the olympia's tour (his favorite race) back in 2013. of course adding several stage (or race) wins as part of our ttt setup! thanks for some great year, miles. you will be missed.
lahcen saber has left the building as well. coming off a stellar late season run in 2017, where saber finished a strong 7th in the tone's gc and 2nd at the rheden gp, we might have expected some more interested teams, but we're glad he found a great pct lineup in philips - continental. we're quite confident, that he can turn into one of the season's most surprising riders and wish him all the best for his future outside australia.
chun kai feng as the next departure, who will be missed in long and challenging flat races. a solid allrounder, who can basically do any possible terrain (except of sprinting). he struggled to score notable results for us last season though and so his 19th place at the gp moscow, as well as a strong 26th place in the tone's gc would remain as his best results in 2017. in 2016 though, he managed to finish a strong 13th at the 4 jours dunkerque and an impressive 14th in the tone. which proves his allround sills for challenging stage races with cobbles and timetrials. he will be missed as well. good luck, chun kai feng!
Prior to the transfer season, we did not extend contracts with the following riders: richie porte, mark o'brien, trent lowe and last year's stagiare anton cooper. thank you, guys, for the time we spent together and good luck for whatever you will be trying in 2018.
transfers #7 | toovey will join the team in august
our transfer season seemed to be done, but we went for a late move to add another stagiare from august onwards.
ayden toovey
a late addition to our squad, ayden toovey will join our team in august - our fourth and final stagiare for the upcoming campaign. toovey has shown some promising flashes of potential in his years in the national road series and with one more available spot on our squad, we decided to give him a chance to show himself in maybe something like three races this season (and of course the tour de l'avenir in addtition to those race days). he looks like someone, who could potentially add some depth to our flat and timetrial setup. just like every trainee, who will joins us in august, toovey will definitely be considered to stay with bennelong for at least another year. we will follow his developement with interest.
ayden toovey | 23 years old | xp: 2.00 | wage: 10,000€
We hope to take good care of Saber and believe he can become a great asset for us.
Love those signings of Howard, Dennis and Watson. You've also picked up some useful talents. The future of Aussie cycling still looks strong, despite the changes in the team setup
Durbridge leaving was a real surprise for me though!
@Abi: Thansk for the words. Hopefully, you're right about Australia's future Durbridge did hurt and close to the transfer season, I actually threw away my plan to sell him (like I do every year).. but then again, I always tried to get Dennis in the past and so we needed to take the chance this year.
@Booker: Yap, quite some changes indeed. Let's keep our fingers crossed, that a solid season is ahead
| roster |
bennelong - mitchelton 2018
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/jL1JzPS.png[/img-l]jack bobridge 29 years old | xp maxed | ovl 79.92
wage 680,000€
on the team since 2012
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
73
69
83
77
74
74
69
53
69
80
66
66
77
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/KttTZrO.png[/img-l]lachlan morton 26 years old | xp maxed | ovl 79.12
wage 550,000€
on the team since 2015
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
70
84
76
73
79
78
78
54
57
67
68
68
73
*received training on mountain & acceleration
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/5X7xKyG.png[/img-l]leigh howard 29 years old | xp maxed | ovl 78.01
wage 380,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
76
63
68
68
75
70
79
63
82
79
64
65
68
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/DXA67b6.png[/img-l]jack haig 25 years old | xp maxed | ovl 77.26
wage 300,000€
on the team since 2014
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
72
78
74
77
76
75
78
58
61
73
70
67
77
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/8JVhrjq.png[/img-l]rohan dennis 28 years old | xp maxed | ovl 76.36
wage 150,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
72
74
75
78
73
75
67
53
65
68
69
56
81
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/oXWk4AV.png[/img-l]benjamin dyball 29 years old | xp maxed | ovl 75.18
wage 95,000€
on the team since 2016
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
71
76
73
75
75
71
72
54
61
72
69
64
73
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/DtdeEdM.png[/img-l]michael hepburn 27 years old | xp maxed | ovl 74.94
wage 100,000€
on the team since 2017
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
71
64
66
79
74
77
72
60
66
69
67
62
79
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/XDR5rme.png[/img-l]zakkari dempster 31 years old | xp maxed | ovl 74.81
wage 140,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
74
54
64
79
71
74
73
60
71
72
60
57
79
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/ApFeVtD.png[/img-l]calvin watson 25 years old | xp maxed | ovl 74.64
wage 85,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
70
65
78
68
76
72
70
57
62
72
73
61
67
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/IRtjNYS.png[/img-l]alexander edmondson 25 years old | xp maxed | ovl 74.50
wage 88,000€
on the team since 2017
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
73
58
64
64
72
71
77
74
77
75
67
64
74
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/ynjvNpO.png[/img-l]dion smith 25 years old | xp 4.44 pot 5 | ovl 74.42
wage 86,000€
on the team since 2016
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
69
76
73
68
71
73
73
59
66
72
73
71
65
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/VC2mhQz.png[/img-l]patrick lane 27 years old | xp maxed | ovl 74.22
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
69
74
76
63
70
68
72
56
63
73
78
66
63
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/RpTHQCn.png[/img-l]brendan canty 26 years old | xp maxed | ovl 74.16
wage 60,000€
on the team since 2016
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
70
75
73
75
71
71
73
52
68
67
66
65
74
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/2qNbRQB.png[/img-l]cameron bayly 28 years old | xp maxed | ovl 73.93
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
71
74
74
67
70
72
69
58
65
74
78
73
65
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/WuEjWOB.png[/img-l]glenn o'shea 29 years old | xp maxed | ovl 73.38
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2012
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
73
52
64
77
70
73
72
51
71
72
59
56
77
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/xOsJLWe.png[/img-l]james oram 25 years old | xp maxed | ovl 73.11
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2015
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
73
56
64
77
72
72
68
57
69
70
64
64
77
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/XKZtxSK.png[/img-l]alex wohler 26 years old | xp maxed | ovl 73.07
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2014
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
77
58
66
76
72
71
73
51
71
72
80
60
76
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/Ikyehtf.png[/img-l]adam phelan 27 years old | xp maxed | ovl 72.87
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2013
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
71
64
74
70
73
70
65
56
64
79
80
62
70
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/0g8rYw7.png[/img-l]shane archbold 29 years old | xp maxed | ovl 72.21
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
73
58
62
77
72
71
70
60
73
75
68
66
67
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/y9XfR47.png[/img-l]jacob salcone 29 years old | xp maxed | ovl 72.17
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2016
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
71
72
70
74
67
70
70
50
52
63
70
64
72
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/5C0mjQT.png[/img-l]hayden mccormick 24 years old | xp 3.00 pot 4 | ovl 70.55
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
64
71
64
70
69
68
53
72
70
64
58
64
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/Ko9PGhR.png[/img-l]robert power 23 years old | xp 3.00 pot 3 | ovl 70.28
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2017
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
66
73
68
63
74
73
75
59
56
61
61
65
62
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/gq2vmyh.png[/img-l]sam gaze(stagiare) 23 years old | xp 1.00 pot 3 | ovl 68.91
wage 10,000€
on the team from august 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
67
68
66
69
71
68
66
66
66
69
74
66
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/xwZbx1s.png[/img-l]lucas hamilton(stagiare) 22 years old | xp 1.00 pot 5 | ovl 68.34
wage 10,000€
on the team from august 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
67
67
64
66
69
69
55
64
70
68
69
66
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/cn1jePq.png[/img-l]matthew ross(stagiare) 22 years old | xp 1.00 pot 3 | ovl 67.12
wage 10,000€
on the team from august 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
67
57
67
64
68
65
66
67
63
66
70
67
64
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/s5T1Pil.png[/img-l]ayden toovey(stagiare) 23 years old | xp 2.00 pot 4 | ovl 65.84
wage 10,000€
on the team from august 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
60
65
66
70
69
67
59
59
67
72
67
69
loaned out
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/8gg2Aaj.png[/img-l]chris hamilton(on loan to team popo4Ever / pct) 23 years old | xp 3.29 pot 4 | ovl 70.44
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2017
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
70
66
71
66
67
72
72
55
63
70
67
67
68
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/9MKJWfx.png[/img-l]callum scotson(on loan to xero racing / pct) 22 years old | xp 2.00 pot 4 | ovl 69.51
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
68
56
62
72
67
66
67
69
66
74
67
63
74
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/7qrLw9v.png[/img-l]ben o'connor(on loan to team popo4Ever / pct) 23 years old | xp 2.62 pot 5 | ovl 68.81
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2017
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
67
70
66
65
64
68
69
53
58
67
67
69
64
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/RynPSAG.png[/img-l]cyrus monk(on loan to team reddit / pct) 22 years old | xp 1.00 pot 4 | ovl 68.49
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
69
60
65
64
69
65
67
69
61
69
71
77
64
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/21lLJHA.png[/img-l]ryan christensen(on loan to repsol - netflix / pct) 22 years old | xp 1.00 pot 4 | ovl 67.62
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
fl
mo
hi
tt
sta
res
rec
cob
sp
acc
fi
dh
prl
71
66
67
64
70
70
73
51
66
60
65
74
64
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/hhKoLcT.png[/img-l]jai hindley(on loan to bnz cycling team / ct) 22 years old | xp 1.00 pot 6 | ovl 67.55
wage 50,000€
on the team since 2018
Man I sure do hope you have good luck this season if there's a team that deserves it it's you! Morton looking very good after training and yet you manage to have many riders for the future, really like it
Thanks, guys. Not sure if we are really THAT good, Gustav, but of course I appreciate such kind words on our team time will tell. And yes, I can't deny that it will be good to see Morton not falling off his bike for a year. If we again have some luck with startlists, he can be up for something big
That`s an impressive teams with couple of hugely interesting riders. Best that you made it possible with just Oceania.
Like the new additions a lot. Howard finally should deliver you in the sprints.
And cool to see some former riders of mine there as well. Edmondson an all time favourite and I think McCormick was a stagiare once, who looks like a decent rider in the future.
Shocking how young Morton still is. Had him older in mind, but another very young addition I guess and already at 84.
leigh howard | 29 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 380,000€
I actually like my plans for this year and of course there's a chance to avoid relegation easily. Depends mainly on three guys this time. Maybe four. We will see.
shane archbold | 29 years old | xp: maxed | wage: 50,000€
Durbridge did hurt and close to the transfer season, I actually threw away my plan to sell him (like I do every year).. but then again, I always tried to get Dennis in the past and so we needed to take the chance this year.
jacob salcone
