Polanc:First race of the season and I think the boys are itching to get things underway. We come here with our strongest mountain lineup looking to support Janez in his bid for a high GC placing. We also have pro debuts for Rui Oliveira and Izidor Penko.
Brajkovic:Great to get the season finally started. I have a clear goal, the team has my back so I'm looking to put in a strong performance.
Seibeb:Watching Clasico San Cristobal last week certainly got my juices flowing. Can't wait to get out there and mix it up on the road!
Briceno:It feels fantastic to be here racing in my homeland to start our season. I have an important job to keep Janez in contention in the mountains. I'm ready to give my all to the team!
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
Nothing really happened for us as the sprinters battled for the win and the leaders jersey. Kip from Festina-Canal+ took the win.
Stage 2
Another sprint stage, but some big crosswinds came about and Briceno got caught on the wrong end of the pack losing over 4' in turn ending any GC hope. Von Hoff from BNZ Cycling Team took the win.
Stage 3
Near carbon copy of stage 2 with Briceno losing another 1'44. Kip from Festina-Canal+ took another win.
Stage 4
First hilly stage that would have ramifactions on the GC. Briceno turns to pure domestique and makes sure to bring Brajkovic back to main contenders after a slow start to the climb. Pinot took the win for GCN ProTeam, Teuns finished 2nd while Brajkovic and Seibeb finished in the main group 1'04 down on Pinot
Stage 5
Another sprinters stage and the 1st time we got a rider in the break. Young Rui Oliveira formed a break where he held out to 5km till the finish. But behind the front another split occured and all our riders got caught behind, losing another 1'18.
Stage 6
First true mountain stage and another day in the break this time a chance for Miha Poljanec to give us a bit of TV time. Lots of attacks featured on the last climb. Briceno and Seibeb fell behind while Brajkovic stayed in a group futher up trying to catch up to the main GC leaders Pinot, Cataldo, De Marchi, Grmay. He finished 13th, 2'18 down on winner Pinot. Sitting 11th in GC just outside top 10.
Stage 7
A 24.2km mountain time-trial and a chance for Brajkovic to show he is good rider against the clock. He was 3rd across all the time splits and while suffering a bit towards the end of the climb he still finished on the podium behind Ratiy and Warbasse. A very good performance that vaulted him up to 5h in GC, but 2nd and 10th were only 1'30 apart.
Stage 8
A stage featuring 4 categorized climbs. Ratiy was in the break gathering up KoM points. Briceno was given some freedom on the day attacking on the last climb, but getting caught by the peloton on the downhill before the finish. Pinot took another win in the sprint while Brajkovic finished 13th s.t. in the main bunch. No changes on the GC.
Stage 9
The last and perhaps queen mountain stage of the race. Things remained quiet until the last double climb. Campero attacked towards the end of the penultimate later being joined by Atapuma and Bardet, but they never built a big gap. Brajkovic played it cool staying in the leader group as the race came back together 1.6km to the finish. Pinot then attacked for the win, yet again showing his strength. Brajkovic finished 7th, losing a few seconds to Hacecky and Atapuma, but remaing 5th overall.
Stage 10
Final stage and hilly circuit that ended up favouring the punchers. This time Teuns timed his attack to perfection as no one was able catch him till the end. Seibeb capped off the race with an impressive 2nd place in the uphill bunch sprint, who knows what would have happened, if he decided to go with Teuns earlier. Brajkovic finished comfortably in the bunch.
Polanc:We came here with our climbing setup and Brajkovic leading our GC hopes. We were able to achieve both our goals:
Top 10 GC (Brajkovic 5th)
2x Top 5 stage: Seibeb 2nd (stage 10), Brajkovic 3rd (stage 7)
It was also nice to see our young lads Rui and Miha in breaks. What we need to improve on is our positioning in the peloton to avoid splits and to be in the best position to counter or follow certain moves.
Brajkovic:Happy to finish 5th in the end. It's a good start of the season for me personally, I'm optimistic for the season ahead. The team did a great job working for me to finish top 5.
Seibeb:Feels good to finish the race on a high note with 2nd place on the last stage. I wasn't at my best here, but I did my best to help Janez. I'm looking forward to the next race.
All in all a positive start to the season. In hindsight we probably made a mistake not sending a sprinter here, but our climbers performed pretty well and that's all we can ask for.
Race score: 7/10
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
Awesome result by Brajkovic, I saw him as an underdog who could really benefit from the time trial and he sure did! He raced very well and it's a much earned result
Brajkovic still has some quality despite age catching up to him quickly, and he has proven it with a Top5 in Tachira.
Seibeb was a rider i had in my list pre-transfers, but i focused on other riders instead and also was starting to reach a wage that i wasn't keen to pay him. In hindsight, i should have bid on him, given i end up with Levarlet for 100k. But that's a gone story
Yellow Jersey wrote:
Awesome result by Brajkovic, I saw him as an underdog who could really benefit from the time trial and he sure did! He raced very well and it's a much earned result
He sure did didn't he But to be fair he has to use the TT to his advantage against the younger superior climbers. The team also seemed to work for him nicely. Expect to see him in more TT stage races
Aquarius97 wrote:
Brajkovic still has some quality despite age catching up to him quickly, and he has proven it with a Top5 in Tachira.
Seibeb was a rider i had in my list pre-transfers, but i focused on other riders instead and also was starting to reach a wage that i wasn't keen to pay him. In hindsight, i should have bid on him, given i end up with Levarlet for 100k. But that's a gone story
The old dog still has a few tricks up his sleeve
Still expecting to see more from Seibeb, but he showed he can do it in that final stage. Races more suited to his skills hopefully still to come
Hvastija:First chance to show our sprinting prowess. It's not a short race this and over 200km crosswinds could play a factor. Ideally we will try to get a man in the breakaway then sprint with either Marco or Luka, whoever is in the best position.
Guillen:Excited to start the season with this race as it's a big goal of mine. If I'm feeling good and the team puts me in a good position I feel confident my speed can take me far.
Mezgec:I'll be looking to save my energy for the final and looking after Marco, but if he isn't there, then myself and the team need to readjust on the fly to compete for a good result.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team Edited by redordead on 01-09-2018 11:59
A very cool Tachira for you guys. I thought Brajkovic could be a very good CT rider, but 5th is a super result, congrats! Love the recap
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
It was a very windy day Down Under with weather having a big impact on how the race eventually unfolded. After a few attempts to form a breakaway, the young German Schinnagel from Oberfranken became the solo escapee.
With winds blowing around 60km/h the peloton were a nervy bunch as they chased Schinnagel. 44km from the finish Magnusson from Telia attacked. His successful breakaway and the pelotons unwillingness to chase made our decision for us as we put Zhupa on the attack 30km to go.
But the peloton speeds up reacting to Zhupa's attack and brings him back, in turn splitting the peloton amidst the heavy wind and rain. After the big split the confusion in the peloton grows and Schinnagel's gap increases over 2'. With less than 10km left the chase is over with Schinnagel's soloing to victory while Magnusson takes 2nd. The sprint for 3rd ensues.
Guarnieri confirms his sprinting prowess easily taking the last podium spot. Behind him it's all mess and it's everyone for themselves. Pibernik finds the strength to finish 10th while Guillen without a leadout comes in 17th.
Hvastija:It was a strange race and the wind and rain made it even more difficult to make heads or tails of it. Not particulary enthused at how everyone reacted to Eugert's attack and then slowed up allowing the break to go. We did end up filling our minimum goal with Pibernik's brave ride:
Top 10 (not Guillen, also not Mezgec)
Pibernik:I tried my best to finish as high as possible, somehow I got to 10th. I would have more liked to put Guillen or Mezgec in position to sprint for it though.
Guillen:Myself and the team didn't have much help out there today and in the end I wasn't positioned well enough to fight for higher placings.
Zhupa:No comment. (walks away)
Not the race we expected that is fair to say, but we somehow managed to get 10th which puts at least a few points on the table. Hopefully we can do better in Marco's and Luka's (Mezgec) next race.
Race score: 6/10
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team Edited by redordead on 01-09-2018 11:58
It's been a solid opening month for us here at Swisslion HQ. We never expected to dominate the competition, but we have been front and center in a lot of stages so far which is really encouraging. Brajkovic 5th place in Tachira shows that some of our season goals are achievable which was something we were hoping to get a sense on. In hindsight we missed a trick not sending our sprinters to Venezuela, but the riders that were there performed well and that all we can ask from them and staff. Everyone especially myself is accountable for our results.
We do hope to score at a higher clip in February till then I'll leave you with our individual team ranking:
Team
Total
20
Janez Brajkovic
SLO
Swisslion Cycling Team
29
35
Luka Pibernik
SLO
Swisslion Cycling Team
14
52
Costa Seibeb
NAM
Swisslion Cycling Team
8
61
Marco Guillén
CRC
Swisslion Cycling Team
5
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
Polanc:Second stage race of the season, this time we are here to compete on two fronts. We have Janez again for GC in the high mountains, but we are also looking to take advantage of the fact some top CT sprinters aren't here.
Brajkovic:It's gonna be difficult to repeat the result from Tachira as the climbing field is much stronger here. I have my goal for the race, but it's not just about me. We hope we can perform well as a team.
Guillen:The Great Ocean race left a bit of a bitter aftertaste, so I'm looking for better results this time around. The team looks in good condition.
Kovalev:First race and the first stage will be my aim to do a good result in the prologue. After that I'm gonna help both my leaders to achieve their goals. Feels good to start my season here in Malaysia.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team Edited by redordead on 01-09-2018 11:59
Hvastija:Real Belgian classic is this race. Cobbles, hills, cobbled hills and some very technical roads to navigate through. We have a very young classics team (25 yr avg.) in our 1st season, spearheaded by Eugert Zhupa. Thymides gives us experience and is our road captain. Talented 21 year old classics rider Matija Mestric will make his pro debut.
Zhupa:Happy to start the cobbled classics season. It's a very difficult route so it's probably gonna come down to a small group of riders. I have to make sure I'm there.
Thymides:I had good experience riding Tachira in Venezuela, but I know I was brought to this team mostly for riding classics, mainly over the cobblestones. It's my job to guide Eugert and the younger lads through this race.
Mestric:Excited to make my pro debut in a famous race like Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne. I'm gonna do my best to help our leader do his thing. It's a big season of learning for me and I can't wait to get started!
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
jandal7 wrote:
A very cool Tachira for you guys. I thought Brajkovic could be a very good CT rider, but 5th is a super result, congrats! Love the recap
It was a very good Tachira and when Brajkovic is off the pace Seibeb is there to fill in the gap
Hvastija:Gisborne is a long race, one that requires not only a strong hill attribute, but there is quite some flat riding as well as some crucial descents in the latter part. Leader wise we don't have someone that stands out so we will look to ride for each other to achieve a good team result.
Pibernik:A first proper race for myself to show what I'm capable of. Seibeb and Othman are good riders to have beside me, while Thymides and Briceno will help us with their experience.
Seibeb:I feel like I'm well in rhythm now after racing Tachira and Langkawi. The hilly classics is something myself and the staff believe I can perform in. I'm gonna try to race aggressive, that's where I'm at my best.
Othman:The plan is quite simple really. Stay up front for as long as possible and finish as good as possible. I expect a long tough race here.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
I really like your hilly trio for some top 10s and solid scoring - good luck in Gisborne!
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
An opening 2km prologue to start the racing. Kovalev was the man we brought here for this stage in particular and he performed well. Sitting in the leaders chair for a while, he eventually finished 3rd. A nice podium to start the race.
Stage 2
A sprinters stage of only a 116.5km, but with a big Cat. 1 climb in the middle. A 3 man breakaway formed that contested 2 intermediate sprints and KoM. In the peloton we had our big guns put a shift in for our sprinters as Brajkovic, Seibeb and Kasa all worked to bring back the breakaway.
The break was succesfully caught with 10km to go and it was time to organise and position our sprint train. Seibeb went up front to keep the pace, while a train of Brajkovic and Mezgec was ready to leadout Guillen. Brajkovic delivers Mezgec and Guillen to the front to start the leadout.
The pair are at the front of the bunch under the flamme rouge. From that position it's a perfect leadout by Mezgec giving Guillen the path to start his sprint in front of everyone else. The latter sprints uncontested for the line as he delivers Swisslion's first ever victory in terrific style.
Stage 3
The first of two big mountain stages that will decide the GC. We finish in the Cameron Highlands, firstly doing a long "flatter" climb before a short descent and a steep 6km kick to another downhill towards the finish. The latter of the climbs proves to be decisive as Compal-Merida's Suaza escapes the peloton. Brajkovic cannot handle the acceleration and finishes 2'35 down on the leader, 14th on GC. Seibeb, Briceno and Kasa all finish in the next group 4'01 down.
Stage 4
A pan flat stage and another opportunity for Mezgec and Guillen to show their teamwork as sprinters. We did our work helping reel back the 4 breakaway riders. With Brajkovic resting for his GC showdown, this time it was a train of Guillen, Mezgec and young Zekavica. Though it did not work as the train collapsed Guillen showed some good legs finishing in 4th place, enough to don Swisslion's first ever distinctive (points) jersey.
Stage 5
The final GC battle as the road takes the riders to the Genting Highlands. First 100km or so is almost pan flat, but the last 20km is pure climbing allowing the riders no respite. Costa Seibeb being 4'28 down in GC joins the early 6 man breakaway.
The break is joined by a rider's solo effort to bridge the gap halfway through the stage. The peloton then turns up the pace as the gap is less than a minute heading into the long climb. Seibeb and Hoelgaard from Team Cerveceria are the only ones that can maintain a higher pace to keep a minute's gap to the peloton.
A short while after the chase slowed and the gap grew to over 2 minutes. The pace picks up again significantly about 3.5km to the finish and Brajkovic again loses contact with the main leaders. Pinot and Suaza are the strongest peeling away from the others and being just 20s off the front of the race 2.5km to go.
Just as Pinot and Suaza reach Seibeb and Hoelgaard the front two accelerate one final time to fight for the stage win. It's a close call, but in the end Seibeb is simply stronger as he delivers the winning kick for Swisslion's 2nd stage victory in Langkawi. Seibeb's stage win and gap towards the rest puts him as high as 5th on GC, while Brajkovic limits his losses to protect his 14th position.
Stage 6
A 213km long flat stage, the longest of the race. 7 riders in the break and while ourselves and Sauber Petronas tried our best to bring the race back together, the break succeded, with the winner being Umerbekov from team Eddie Stobart. Guillen finished 10th to regain the points jersey.
Stage 7
A carbon copy to the previous stage. Another 7 riders in the breakaway and another failed attempt to chase them down. This time Jai Hindley from BNZ takes the win, Vichot finished 2nd and being present in many breaks picks up the points jersey of Guillen who finished the stage 11th.
Polanc:It would be an understatement to say we performed well in this race. It was fantastic effort from all the lads allround. There were stronger sprinters and trains in this race and yet we came away with a stage win. Also Costa's ride on stage 5 was something special, but we knew he had this in him. Janez had a difficult time with no time-trial against this climbing talent, but nonetheless still hit on our GC goal:
It was a good team effort as everyone got involved in the sprint preparations, it was just a shame we couldn't catch a breakaway in the last couple of stages to give Marco a chance to defend his points jersey.
Seibeb:I think I came into this race with good legs coming of racing Tachira. I was initially meant to help Janez, but after he struggled on stage 3, I was afforded to sit up a bit and save my energy for the last mountain stage. It was a perfect day for me, I was in a good group and had the strength to finish it off in the end. 5th on GC is just the icing on top!
Guillen:I feel like I proved to people I can not only race on this level, but I can compete and I can win. I can still improve I feel. Mezgec did a great leadout for me and on stage 4 and I simply wasn't positioned right. But the team worked great for me and I'm very grateful. I'm looking forward to more wins and perhaps a points jersey in the end as well!
Brajkovic:I think I did a good race. There were many strong climbers on these parcours. I did my best to hold my ground. 14th place would always be a success here. We are also all very excited for Marco and Costa. It's great to get the teams first couple of wins on the board.
This was as close as a total team performance you can get. It's not easy to balance hunting stage result and fighting for GC, but we were able to excel in both. A huge confidence boost for our entire team, especially the sprinting department.
Race score: 9/10
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
Polanc:This is going to be quite a unique situation for ourselves with the lineup we bring to Hong Kong. There is a lot of stage win and GC potential stacked up here. Costa, Luka and Muhamad will target the hill stage while others look to stay at the front. Kai, Tony and Ivan will all target the TT, while Janez will look to put in a strong performance across all 3 stages to fight for GC.
Brajkovic:The 1st stage is the one that doesn't suit me the best, so if I can limit my losses there. Then I can do my thing in the TT and mountain stage.
Reus:This is gonna be my 1st race this season and my goal is to start off strong. The TT is obviously my goal, but if I am up there on GC then I will give that a good go as well.
Martin:It took a while, but I'm finally ready to put on the Swisslion jersey for the 1st time. It should be an open and fun race. We come here with very strong lineup, but we must make sure we deliver the result.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Swisslion Cycling Team
Vuelta al Tachira 
But to be fair he has to use the TT to his advantage against the younger superior climbers. The team also seemed to work for him nicely. Expect to see him in more TT stage races 
Great Ocean Road Classic 
Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne 
Gisborne GP 
Hong Kong Challenge 
