Following their earlier application to the MGUCI Tryg Insurance Cycling Team has been granted a place in the next season's Continental Tour competition. The focus of the project will be on ensuring the growth of Denmark's next generation of cyclists, with many new MGUCI prospects in the sights of team manager liefwarrior.
Generally, the advent of a new team sees a flurry of activity in the transfer window as the signing of an entire squad takes place. Unfortunately, Tryg's failure to find significant sponsorship outside of the TryghedsGruppen will limit the budget available to construct the squad, as such Tryg might find it difficult to compete for the stars necessary for instantaneous success. Instead the team's sponsor has decided to look to the future, with a three season deal currently in place.
As a part of these restrictions, the team has opted for complete cycling novice liefwarrior as their team manager. Not only lacking any previous managerial experience, even in series outside the MGUCI, liefwarrior doesn't come from a cycling background. The sponsors hope that his inexperience will quickly be overcome as he grows with the team. For his first season in charge Tryg have opted to focus on regional competition, with results expected in competitions in Germany and Scandinavia.
Edited by liefwarrior on 29-08-2020 06:41
Welcome to the ManGame and good luck with the coming season!
The future of Danish cycling looks really bright right now, so this will be a very exciting project to follow. I'd expect you to have some competition in the transfer market from NENT and Carlsberg, but there should be lots of nice talents to choose from both this year and the next, so looking forward to see what you'll come up with
Wow, love the text of the opening post and the clear goals for the short and long-term project. Welcome aboard and I have a feeling I’ll be following you closely
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
Sykkel_Freak wrote:
Welcome to the ManGame and good luck with the coming season!
The future of Danish cycling looks really bright right now, so this will be a very exciting project to follow. I'd expect you to have some competition in the transfer market from NENT and Carlsberg, but there should be lots of nice talents to choose from both this year and the next, so looking forward to see what you'll come up with
Thanks. I have a feeling I'm going to need to come into the transfer window with my elbows up, but here's hoping I just don't screw up too badly.
jandal7 wrote:
Wow, love the text of the opening post and the clear goals for the short and long-term project. Welcome aboard and I have a feeling I’ll be following you closely
Well I'd be lying if I didn't have a tab with your own HQ open the entire time I was designing this, trying to make it even half as impressive. Looking forward to getting stuck into ManGame with you guys.
Welcome to the Scandinavian market. Should be plenty of riders for us all even though it will probably be a tough battle for the top talents. Would love to see other teams than my own sign a Finnish rider, by now there's more domestiques than I can sign.
Speaking of experience you should probably be ready to soften you're budgetary restrictions during transfer season though.
That is quite the jersey! You've got a really good structure already on the HQ and a lot of potential in the whole scandinavian market (as others have mentioned) so there's every reason to believe you can be successful, good luck!
jandal7 wrote:
Wow, love the text of the opening post and the clear goals for the short and long-term project. Welcome aboard and I have a feeling I’ll be following you closely
Well I'd be lying if I didn't have a tab with your own HQ open the entire time I was designing this, trying to make it even half as impressive. Looking forward to getting stuck into ManGame with you guys.
Wow, thank you very much
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
With the MGUCI Transfer Window opening in only a short few days it only stands to reason that the buzz emanating from the Tryg Cycling headquarters has been picked up by a couple of resourceful journalists. Although nothing official has been announced, this is what the media have managed to suss out.
Employees have been spotted scouting out the upcoming season's cobbled terrains, which they believe to be the most open in the Continental Tour. The more astute among you will notice that all of the strong domestic cobble riders are currently held under contract. The biggest prospect Mads Pedersen is riding for Netia-Vonin, hilly classics rider Christopher Juul-Jensen is at Carlsberg - Danske Bank alongside sprinter Thomas Vedel Kvist, while Sebastian Lander rides for Farfetch Pro Cycling. Instead it may well be that the list of free agents is the place to look, with world class cyclist Alexander Kristoff looking like a prime target; however with competition for his signature likely to be fierce, alternatives such as Christopher Laporte and Ricardo Ferreira. Once they've secured a strong rider for the next seasons cobbles, the team shall likely look to the future, and once more the domestic scene appears relatively weak; as such it is unlikely to prioritised.
The obvious signing that any new team needs to make is their flagship GC rider, and it would appear that Tryg have already highlighted one specific cyclist for this position: Magnus Cort Nielsen. Sources have indicated that the management does not believe that Cort Nielsen won't see significant interest from outside the domestic scene, and thus are hoping to acquire him for a decent wage, but they are willing to spend a significant amount of their budget on the young climber. Compared to the cobbles, the regional scene appears to have a plethora of young talent, with the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Lennard Kamna, and Tobias Foss all available on the scene.
Other talents that Tryg is pushing to sign include the puncheur Mikkel Honore, climber Georg Zimmermann, as well as sprinters Max Kanter, Niklas Larsen, and Casper Pedersen.
Newspaper Predictions
B.T. Metro Alexander Kristoff Magnus Cort Nielsen Jonas Vingegaard
Ekstra Bladet Magnus Cort Nielsen Mikkel Honor Ricardo Ferreira
Berlingske Magnus Cort Nielsen Max Kanter Alexander Kristoff
- Due to uncertainty over the validity of some of the sources used by the news institutions named above, some of the information has been withdrawn as innaccurate
Edited by liefwarrior on 18-09-2019 23:02
Suddenly I've gone from being the only Danish team to one of many overnight. Plus tons of Scandinavian mainstays. It will be a frantic transfer season in our market, that's for sure!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
viking90 wrote:
Always interesting to follow new teams in this wonderful game, and your team espacially since you have some Scandinavian focus as do my team!
Good luck!
Thank you! I might say that your misfortune is my fortune, in that it has put a couple more Scandinavians on the market, but that might be a tad rude. Just hoping you won't be targeting the Danes as well.
Atlantius wrote:
Welcome. The Scandinavian market might not be the easiest to navigate, but there should be plenty of solid riders to base the team on.
Good luck, even though it's not unlikely that we will clash a bit...
Thank you, and obviously I wouldn't look to step on the toes - I'm sorry, hooves - of everybody's favourite bovine squad.
Suddenly I've gone from being the only Danish team to one of many overnight. Plus tons of Scandinavian mainstays. It will be a frantic transfer season in our market, that's for sure!
I might've hoped to be the only one joining you in our little domestic scene, but alas it was not to be. It's going to be tricky to build a squad for sure, but hopefully we'll be able to work for the betterment of Danish cycling.
Looks like you're gonna have a lot of "fun" in transfer season with all the Scandinavian teams around. Really like the HQ layout and clear, but quite strict sponsor constraints
A day of jubilant celebration at the Tryg Cycling HQ as they confirmed their first signing of the season earlier this morning. Although much had not gone to plan, with competition for their targets much tougher than expected, and at least one inexperienced scout negotiating a deal far higher than the team had hoped to pay. In spite of this, Tryg have secured the services of a rider that they hope will grow into a leader for the team, introducing:
Just as Honore is Tryg Cycling's first rider, Tryg Cycling is Honore's first professional team, as he arrives a neo-pro from the Danish amateur scene. Scouts have noted that he operates well on a variety of terrains, but that he seems to prefer either an uphill finish or a cobbled section, preferably both. As it stands, his development will tend towards the former, as the team aims to mold him into a high-class puncheur.
Rider
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PRL
Level
Age
Mikkel Honore
69
60
69
65
70
69
65
67
65
68
65
69
65
1.00
22
Mikkel Honore
72
63
77
66
78
73
69
67
68
75
71
70
66
MAX
25
***
Further Talent Acquisition
Having secured their first rider yesterday, this morning has seen the addition of another two talents on year long contracts. The pair had been highlighted early on as potential signings, and mean that the majority of this years domestic talent pool will be riding in Tryg's colours. Thus Tryg Cycling is proud to announce:
The two are young neo-pros aged just 22 and 23 respectively, and are reportedly very excited to be joining the squad. Neither are the strongest riders as of current, and not known for pushing into breakaways, so expect a quiet year from them. Larsen has potential development routes as either a time-trialist or a sprinter, with the coaching staff focusing on the latter. Vingegaard is a strong climber, but it is uncertain if he will be developed into a more well-rounded rider or if his training will remain focused on the mountains.
Rider
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PRL
Level
Age
Niklas Larsen
70
60
67
69
70
67
65
64
70
71
65
65
72
1.00
22
Niklas Larsen
77
60
68
70
73
74
76
64
79
78
65
66
79
MAX
25
Jonas Vingegaard
64
69
65
64
69
72
70
60
61
65
67
68
64
1.00
23
Jonas Vingegaard
65
78
68
64
77
79
74
60
61
69
72
76
64
MAX
26
***
General Classification Leader Confirmed
On his way to seventh in Stage 14 of the 2018 Vuelta a Espana
The first big signing in the teams history is that of Magnus Cort Nielsen from free agency. He joins Tryg following the disbandment of RBC Pro Cycling Team, for which he had ridden in the 2018 editions of Vuelta a Espana and Giro d'Italia. He had been a superdomestique for Phinney in the former, before riding for himself in the latter, managing 31st and 21st in the General Classification respectively. Cort Nielsen is also incredibly young, just 26 years old, and scored second places in the U25 classifications of the two Grand Tours he attended last year. The machine that is Herkoltz defeated him in La Vuelta, while he was beaten by Lecuisinier in the Giro. This is the pedigree that he brings with him to the Continental Tour, where he will hope for strong results after his sometimes disappointing appearance at the top level of cycling.
Cort Nielsen: "I'm glad to be riding for a Danish outfit for the first time in my career, and as their flagship rider I intend to forge a fruitful long-term partnership with strong results this season."
Rider
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PRL
Level
Age
Magnus Cort Nielsen
72
77
74
72
76
75
74
60
54
71
65
64
72
MAX
26
Career
Team B&O
2013
€35,000
Swedbank-PEAB
2013
Loan
Team B&O
2014
€67,500
Spotify-Haglöfs
2015
€120,000
Spotify-Haglöfs
2016
€100,000
Spotify-Haglöfs
2017
€85,000
RBC Pro Cycling
2018
€105,000
Tryg Insurance
2019
€260,000
***
Star Cobbler Purchased
Sprinting to the finish in Gent-Wevelgem
Another big signing for Tryg Cycling, as they secure their second leader for the upcoming season. Hailing from Belgium is cobbled specialist Nikolas Maes, who joins us from newly promoted outfit Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ on a deal worth €350,000. Having done well on the cobbles in last season's PCT, Maes has now stepped down to a lower level of competition, so the management is looking to see him push those Top 10 finishes into Top 5s.
Nikolas Maes "I'm grateful for another opportunity to ride at the front of the peloton, and I will be working towards some victories in this latter part of my career."
Rider
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PRL
Level
Age
Nikolas Maes
79
55
66
63
78
73
70
78
61
66
71
61
63
MAX
33
Career
Wikipedia
2010
Not available
Auber 93 - Look
2011
Not available
Team Bpost
2012
€270,000
Allianz-BMW
2013
Not available
Allianz-BMW
2014
Not available
Team TomTom
2015
€245,000
Arrinera - La Mondiale
2016
€200,000
Iberia - Team Degenkolb
2017
€130,000
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
2018
€130,000
Tryg Insurance
2019
€90,000
2018 Palmares
Macskako Kerekparverseny
8th
Baltic Chain Tour - Stage 1
9th
GP Kigali
13th
Veenendaal-Veenendaal
11th
GP Herning
7th
Le Samyn
8th
KBC De Panne Tour - Stage 1
7th
Gent-Wevelgem
6th
***
Big Spend on Sprinter
During the 2017 Deutschland Tour, there at the back
The latest signing by Tryg Cycling have left many in the Danish media scratching their heads. Why on earth would a team focused on national development sign a mediocre 28 year old from Japan, much less spend a rumoured €200,000 to do so? It has been theorised that it is a result of the GM's failure to acquire a suitable scout for sprinters had meant he was unaware of hometown favourites such as Thomas Vedel Kvist, who is rumoured to be leaving Carlsberg - Danske Bank, or the PT star, Alexander Kristoff. Tryg Cycling has so far denied this speculation, and asserted that they believe in the talents of Genki Yamamoto, claiming that his domestique role has prevented him from attaining the results he is capable of. After a false start in 2012, Yamamoto returned to professional cycling in 2014 as a domestic for (the then called) Meiji-Cannondale. He would ride for the team for the next five years; his only notable results coming in the 2017 Deutschland Tour, where he managed three points finishes, including a 9th place in Stage 5, pictured above. Aside from this, Yamamoto has primarily ridden as a domestique, occasionally taking part in a lead out train for other sprinters.
Genki Yamamoto "For most of my career I have ridden for other riders, been an important part of others' success. The Deutschland Tour gave people a glimpse of what I can do when I ride for myself, and now, here at Tryg, I'm looking to solidify myself as a sprinter in my own right."
Rider
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PRL
Level
Age
Genki Yamamoto
72
56
65
58
71
67
77
57
78
78
59
60
59
MAX
28
Career
Team Meiji - Fuji
2012
€55,000
Meiji - Cannondale
2014
€10,000
Meiji - JR East
2015
€50,000
Meiji - JR East
2016
€50,000
Meiji - JR East
2017
€50,000
Meiji - JR East
2018
€50,000
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
2019
€50,000
***
Deutsche Expansion
In entering cycling, Tryg where not only looking to expand their general profile, but more significantly in Germany. As such, it is important for the sponsors desires that at least some German talents ride in their colours, and several potential prospects were identified by the scouting team. Their signatures now secured, the team is proud to announce Max Kanter and Georg Zimmerman as part of the squad. Tryg will be the first professional team for both of these riders, and joining them will be a third young German: Jannik Steimle, who joins the squad on loan from Team Puma - SAP. We are grateful to have been granted the privilege of hosting him in his first season of professional cycling. We intend to have Kanter develop into a sprinter, while Zimmerman will grow into a world class climber. In addition the Germans, the team has picked up another Dane: Casper Pedersen.
Name
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PL
Level
Age
Georg Zimmermann
67
69
69
61
73
72
71
52
60
66
64
69
61
1.00
22
Georg Zimmermann
68
77
72
61
79
79
75
52
60
70
69
77
61
MAX
25
Max Kanter
68
62
66
67
69
69
65
66
70
73
65
70
66
1.00
22
Max Kanter
75
63
67
67
76
72
77
71
79
80
65
71
66
MAX
25
Casper Pedersen
69
61
66
66
72
71
64
63
70
70
71
68
71
1.00
23
Casper Pedersen
76
61
67
67
73
76
75
63
77
77
71
69
78
MAX
26
Jannik Steimle
69
66
69
65
66
68
62
64
71
73
61
62
71
1.00
23
***
Punching Pedigree
His stage-winning attack during the 2018 Benelux Challenge
In the first few days of transfers the team had managed to secure a leader on three of the four terrains. Danish mountains, Belgian cobbles, Japanese sprints, leaving only the hills untouched. The team had asked about, looking at various riders from other professional squads, before landing on Daniel Hoelgaard. Hoelgaard had ridden for Team Cerveceria Costa Rica in last seasons Continental Tour, amassing an impressive number of results despite playing second fiddle to Dylan Teuns. As Cerveceria chose to pull out of cycling at the end of 2018, Hoelgaard was left without a contract, and despite competition from several others, Hoelgaard decided that a return to Scandinavia was on the cards. Although he is strongest on short, sharp, slopes, Hoelgaard also has decent capabilities on more gradual inclines, and even the flat. Despite his only mediocre physical abilities, Hoelgaard makes up for it with a better than average attacking skill. This comes together in a rider who is capable of scoring a handful of Top 10s in the Continental Tour. In fact, last season he pushed Teuns to 19th in the Continental Tour Individual Standings, while himself scoring 35th, meaning he is already a proven force at this level of competition.
Daniel Hoelgaard "It was fun to have a year based in Costa Rica, but I missed the the weather up here. Coming to Tryg Cycling will allow me more time in Norway, and it'll be good to race for a Scandinavian team again."
Name
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PL
Level
Age
Daniel Hoelgaard
72
74
77
65
72
72
72
62
68
74
73
69
65
MAX
26
Career
Team PrivatBank
2013
None
Loan from Aker - MOT
Team CSC-Orbea
2014
€80,000
Loan from Aker - MOT
Aker-MOT
2015
€65,000
Aker-MOT
2016
€100,000
Aker-MOT
2017
€110,000
Team Cerveceria Costa Rica
2018
€125,000
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
2019
€185,000
Palmares (2018)
Tour de Romandie
2018
U25
1st
Benelux Challenge
2018
GC
3rd
Benelux Challenge
2018
U25
1st
Benelux Challenge
2018
Stage 5
1st
Tour de Slovenie
2018
U25
1st
Tour de Langkawi
2018
Stage 5
2nd
***
Foreign Imports
As the number of available domestic talents began to dry up, Tryg talent scouts began to head further afield, searching for young riders in other nations who were looking to secure a professional contract. They encountered two such riders in Norman Vahtra and Didier Munyaneza, from nearby Estonia and the distant Rwanda, respectively. Vahtra was a stagiare for Generali during the 2018 season, and rode at two professional events, Macskako Kerekparverseny and Rund um Koln, failing to make any impact in either. Vahtra also rode in the Tour de l'Avenir and the U23 World Championships, meaning he already possesses some experience riding in MGUCI events. Munyaneza has only been brought on as a stagiare, and will be fighting to earn himself a full-time contract in the few events he will attend throughout the coming season.
Name
FL
MO
HL
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FT
DH
PL
Level
Age
Norman Vahtra
67
58
68
55
69
69
67
69
71
70
66
65
55
1.26
23
Norman Vahtra
72
58
69
55
74
70
79
72
78
77
66
65
55
MAX
26
Didier Munyaneza
66
58
68
60
69
67
62
58
56
68
72
68
59
1.00
23
Didier Munyaneza
67
61
75
60
74
70
65
58
57
73
77
69
59
MAX
27
His singular televised appearance in the Stage 8 of the Tour de France
Talents aren't the only ones being acquired from overseas, on the final day of the transfer window a more experienced rider came to an agreement with Tryg Cycling. Hailing from the South American nation of Chile, and riding in the Pro Tour for Hugo Boss throughout 2018, Wolfgang Burmann will be in Tryg colours in the coming season. Burmann is strongest in the mountains, riding as a domestique for Jose Alacorn in last seasons stage races, including the Tour de France. Only scraping in at domestique level in the PT, Burmann will be asked to fulfill rather similar roles, this time riding for Cort Nielsen.
Wolfgang Burmann: "With the dissolution of Hugo Boss, I was left without a contract. Towards the end of the window I was worried I wasn't going to have anywhere to ride this season, but now I have the fortune to have found a team which isn't that distant from my last home."
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team 
Genki Yamamoto 
Wolfgang Burmann 
El Mehdi Chokri 
Didier Munyaneza 
Rio Vista Chinesa
Grand Prix Cyclistes
Tour de San Luis - Stage 4
Vuelta al Tachira - Stage 10
Tour of Eritrea - Stage 6
Great Ocean Road Classic
Ricardo Ferreira
