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[CT19] McCormick Pro Cycling
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 29-09-2019 20:46
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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McCormick Pro Cycling is pleased to announce 5 international riders that will be joining the team for 2019.
Croation strongman Mateo Frankovic has joined in a free agent signing. We expect to see long turns on the front from Mateo riding in support of Dan Holloway. At just 25 we think Mateo has the chance to be long-term stalwart for McCormick.
Also joining the team is another young but strong Eastern European, Slovenian Ziga Groselj. Zika was acquired from Isostar Slovenjia and will support Holloway in the tougher flat stages but he will also have a chance to lead the team in hilly races where a small bunch sprint is anticipated.
The last permanent signing is Sri Lanka cobbler Nipuna Shira Manamalage, who was acquired from SPAR. Mana will be another strong rouleur for Holloway but also lead us on the cobbles. The team is sure Mana will be one of the most interesting riders in the CT peloton.
In addition to these signings the team is happy to welcome Daniel Habtemichael from Xero Racing and Ka Hoo Fung from SPAR, on loan. As the team will be very focused on development this year we expect both these riders will thrive.
McCormick Pro Cycling remains committed to a primarily American squad but will always be open to international signings that meet a need consistent with the team's broad goals. |
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| Azerbaijan |
Posted on 29-09-2019 20:47
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 276
Joined: 08-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Pretty handy squad. |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 04-10-2019 03:09
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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So with the addition of 2 CT draftees the 2019 squad is complete. In the draft we added 2 US veterans, Robert Sweeting and Evan Huffman. Huffman will take a pass at the TT's while Sweeting supports Holloway.
I always intended this to be a building season and wasn't trying to compete on all fronts. So on one hand the transfer season was a complete success as I had two main objectives, both of which were met: (1) build a core of young US riders who can develop with the team and (2) recruit a leader who can give us a good shot at our goal races to maximize income next year. On the other hand things could have gone better.
Goal 1: With 7 US riders aged 25 or less who should all reach level 3 by the end of the season we have a young core. The downside on this one is there just weren't any particularly good US riders in the pool. So while all 7 can be solid none of them is anything close to a future leader. Guess we will begin planning for the Quinn Simmons derby now.
Goal 2: Dan Holloway fulfills this perfectly - he is the kind of all round tough sprinter who will thrive in our target races. The fact he comes from our focus country is a bonus I wasn't counting on. However, I don't think I did a great job putting a team around him. I believe in PCM18 a lead out is of mixed value particularly in longer stages, so I planned to test that theory and not focus on a lead out. But in retrospect building a lead out wouldn't have distracted that much from my overall plan and having one is better than not having one.
Full Roster:
| Age | OVL |  Dan Holloway | 32 | 77.86 |  Ziga Groselj | 26 | 73.58 | | Robert Sweeting | 32 | 73.28 |  Mateo Frankovic | 25 | 73.16 | | Phillip Gaimon | 33 | 72.67 |  Nipuna Shira Manamalage | 27 | 72.16 | | Ethan Weiss | 29 | 72.16 | | Connor McCutcheon | 28 | 71.78 | | Evan Huffman | 29 | 70.22 |  Daniel Habtemichael | 22 | 69.82 |  Ka Hoo Fung | 22 | 69.51 | | Taylor Eisenhart | 25 | 68.42 | | Thomas Revard | 22 | 67.90 | | Noah Granigan | 23 | 67.33 | | Brendan Rhim | 24 | 67.31 | | Connor Brown | 23 | 67.06 | | Alex Hoehn | 22 | 66.27 | | Zeke Mostov | 23 | 65.62 |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 04-10-2019 03:16
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World Champion
Posts: 10845
Joined: 29-10-2007
PCM$: 500.00
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
But in retrospect building a lead out wouldn't have distracted that much from my overall plan and having one is better than not having one.
Now don't tell everyone, but honestly, I'm not even sure about this.
As long as the AI recognizes your sprinter to be good enough for priority positioning, you might not want to be left with just one rider in front of you for the last 8km.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 11:27
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 04-10-2019 03:47
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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cio93 wrote:
Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
But in retrospect building a lead out wouldn't have distracted that much from my overall plan and having one is better than not having one.
Now don't tell everyone, but honestly, I'm not even sure about this.
As long as the AI recognizes your sprinter to be good enough for priority positioning, you might not want to be left with just one rider in front of you for the last 8km.
I agree with you, I wondered if having a bad leadout is worse than no lead which was part of why I didn't move decisively even when I realized I could probably build one without messing anything else up. My suspicion is that in anything beyond about 175k there won't be any lead outs anyway. Having roulers who can close the gaps will be more important. |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 04-10-2019 04:03
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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McCormick Pro Cycling is sad to announce that Jakob Rathe, who had already established himself as a fan favorite, will not be riding with McCormick in 2019. Instead he will be loaned out to SPAR - Siam Cement so he can focus on his development as a rider.
"While we regret Jakob won't be riding in our colors this season we are sure he will come back stronger next year" said team Sports Director Ken Ulricksen, "We look forward to following his progress with SPAR - Siam Cement."
Jakob showed his team commitment by wearing his McCormick uniform one last time as he made his way through BWI's packed international terminal on the way to meet up with his new team.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 04-10-2019 04:54
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World Champion
Posts: 11392
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Manamalage in particular but also Groselj are very interesting leaders for their own terrains behind the amazing Holloway leading your team. Don't know too much about how your talents develop as they're not ones I'd seen before, but building a regional base of homegrown guys is very cool  Also Frankovic is a very cool rider with that res and the HI/SPR/ACC combo, as well as a great support rider for Holloway I really hope that he can get some breakaway opportunities for himself as he's great for that and could bring in a surprising amount of points through that route if the AI treats him as a baroudeur! FTR won't help though 
Thanks a lot for taking on Habtemichael (though with that fee I feel like you've been well compensated ), I hope he can do some decent work for you and hopefully with your lack of a top mountains leader get involved in some breakaway action there!
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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| redordead |
Posted on 04-10-2019 08:41
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
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Groselj and Frankovic!! <3
Love the commitment to the regional focus. Seems it's something all the new managers have done a great job accomplishing. Even if promotion is not on the cards I'm looking forward to seeing Holloway bringing in some nice wins
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 05-10-2019 03:00
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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@jandal - yes was a fair fee for habtemichael, he should have plenty of chances to ride for himself.
@jandal, @redordead - my hope was Frankovic and Groselj both have the sprint stat to do something out of a breakaway or in a moderately selective race. Manamalage I am doubtful about, I think he can stay in some of the cobbled races but when he does he can't sprint. Might get away with a longer range attack |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 03-11-2019 19:32
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Congratulations to Taylor Eisenhart for carrying McCormick colors in the breakaway of our first ever race. He is working hard but he is hanging on, the spirit we will look for from all our riders.
Photo Credit: Abhishek |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 10-11-2019 03:36
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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McCormick Pro Cycling Congratulates Tour Down Under Squad on Outstanding Results in Australia
"Dan Holloway's 2 stage wins, GC and points titles are more than the team expected to in achieve in months of racing so to achieve it in our first stage race and at the C1 level is incredible" said Sports Director Ken Ulriksen, Ulriksen continued "this is definitely the salt in our soup."
McCormick Pro Cycling CEO Ulrich Ulriksen patted himself on the back by noting that "while this remains a long-term project to develop American cycling we brought Dan on because we knew delivering some results in the near term would be a key ingredient to our long term success".
Congratulations to the entire squad all of whom contributed to the victory: Dan Holloway, Robert Sweeting, Phil Gaimon, Zeke Mostov, Ethan Weiss, Connor McCutcheon, Mateo Frankovic and Nipuna Shira Manamalage.
The McCormick boys hunt down the breakaway on the way to Holloway's Stage 6 victory at the TDU. From front to back: Weiss, Sweeting, Manamalage, McCutcheon, Holloway, Frankovic
[img-r]https://pcmdaily.com/images/mg/2019/Races/C1/TdU/mg19_tdu_06_PCM0210.jpg[/img-r]
Photo Credit: Roturn |
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| Azerbaijan |
Posted on 14-11-2019 08:10
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 276
Joined: 08-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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I don't like being in the same division as Holloway....Doping ban!!!
On a more serious note, congratulations on some excellent results.
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 16-11-2019 16:11
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Azerbaijan wrote:
I don't like being in the same division as Holloway....Doping ban!!!
On a more serious note, congratulations on some excellent results.
Good news is when Holloway isn't racing you don't have to worry about us at all. Although good to see Manamalage in two breaks in Venezuela, I am sure he had something to do with the first one holding off the pack and 3rd place isn't to bad for a truly terrible sprinter like him.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 01-02-2020 20:05
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Leading the Holloway
With a third of his season complete McCormick Pro Cycling Management leaders Ulrich and Ken Ulrichsen took a moment to recap the massive contributions of sprint leader Dan Holloway.
Observed lead sport director Ulrich, “Dan has been everything we could ask for, providing an identity for our fans, taking he pressure off our young guys and still finding time to lead the most recent CT individual point rankings. I think Dan’s confidence has rubbed off on our neo-pros and they have been peppering the breaks in races where we aren’t working for Dan”.
Team manager Ken Ulricksen added, “I don’t know if Dan can keep it up but he has already done more than enough to put the team on the map. We look forward to giving him the best support we can as he tackles the team’s US goal races later this year.”
To honor Dan’s fine start the team put together this Hollowatch:
Dan powers home in winning S2 of the Tour Down Under ahead of Matti Manninen
Holloway celebrates the stage and the GC at the Tour Down Under after edging Jacopo Guarnieri in S6
Holloway has a clear gap in beating Gerald Ciolek in S2 of Ras Taiteann
A perfect lead out sets Dan up to beat Jonas Ahlstrand in S2 of the Tour of Uppsala
Holloway beats Sondre Holst Enger to the line in S5 of the Tour of Uppsala
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 23-04-2020 03:05
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Holloway and McCormick Show the Peloton the Way in Gabon
McCormick Pro Cycling congratulates Dan Holloway and the rest of the McCormick team for an outstanding race at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo. DS Ken Ulriksen commented "Dan showed outstanding leadership. After a win in Stage 1 the team could have collapsed when Stage 2 went so badly, but having his experienced head kept the team focused and we turned it around. We brought Dan on board to help the young guys see how a top rider handles himself and I was glad that 2 of our American neopros got a chance to play a part in the victory."
Congrats to Dan, Mateo, Ethan, Robert, Noah, Zeke, Ziga and Connor M. from the entire McCormick organization.
McCormick Proc Cycling swarm to the front of the peloton late in Stage 5 of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo
To honor the great result we have updated the Hollowatch for all Dan's fans:
Dan powers home in winning S2 of the Tour Down Under ahead of Matti Manninen
Holloway celebrates the stage and the GC at the Tour Down Under after edging Jacopo Guarnieri in S6
Holloway has a clear gap in beating Gerald Ciolek in S2 of Ras Taiteann
A perfect lead out sets Dan up to beat Jonas Ahlstrand in S2 of the Tour of Uppsala
Holloway beats Sondre Holst Enger to the line in S5 of the Tour of Uppsala
Holloway has time to celebrate as he beats Suyadi in S1 of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Holloway heads to victory while wearing Green in S3 in Gabon, Mohs hangs on for second.
Holloway does his version of Sagan's running man as he celebrates the stage, the GC and the Green jersey in S5 of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Von Hoff is second
Edited by Ulrich Ulriksen on 05-09-2020 03:33
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 23-04-2020 05:22
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11676
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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I think the award for CT signing of the season is clear 
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 23-04-2020 13:15
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World Champion
Posts: 11392
Joined: 17-12-2014
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As the manager of two high FL sprinters, a most sincere thanks for taking Holloway out of the PCT, what a beast of a rider he is
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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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 23-04-2020 20:46
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Thanks. The big question now is what do I do with him next season, his last before decline. His salary isn't going to be cheap.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 29-06-2020 03:42
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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McCormick Pro Cycling is excited to participate in our first ever Tour de l'Avenir. Participation in this race is an important part of our goal to develop American cycling. To that end we are thrilled to have one of the best young American riders in the peloton, Gazelle's Neilson Powless, riding in our colors and leading the team.
Powless will look hope to show himself in the time trials as well as holding a solid overall position. Powless will be supported by 5 of McCormick's young American riders: Connor Brown, Alex Hoehn, Zeke Mostov, Thomas Revard and Noah Granigan. To complete the team we are joined by our loan-in rider Ka Hoo Fung from Spar and ISA-Hexacta's Jesus Villegas.
Good luck to all the teams.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 05-09-2020 03:58
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Holloway Wraps a Memorable Season with Gallant 2nd in the US NC RR
McCormick Pro Cycling congratulates Dan Holloway and the rest of the McCormick team on his fine 2nd place in the US national championship. Congratulations also to Danny Summerhill on a brave attack and victory. Dan is going to have to settle for just the 12 stage/race wins in 2019 (plus 3 GCs). In honor of his accomplishment we have updated the Hollowatch to include all 12 of his victories.
The Final Hollowatch
Dan powers home in winning S2 of the Tour Down Under ahead of Matti Manninen
Holloway celebrates the stage and the GC at the Tour Down Under after edging Jacopo Guarnieri in S6
Holloway has a clear gap in beating Gerald Ciolek in S2 of Ras Taiteann
A perfect lead out sets Dan up to beat Jonas Ahlstrand in S2 of the Tour of Uppsala
Holloway beats Sondre Holst Enger to the line in S5 of the Tour of Uppsala
Holloway has time to celebrate as he beats Suyadi in S1 of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Holloway heads to victory while wearing Green in S3 in Gabon, Mohs hangs on for second.
Holloway does his version of Sagan's running man as he celebrates the stage, the GC and the Green jersey in S5 of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Von Hoff is second
Holloway takes a comfortable win over Moser in S3 of the USA Proc Cycling Challenge. The next day he clinches the GC in the teams biggest goal of the season.
Holloway chases down Cavendish to take S4 of the Baltic Chain Tour
Holloway pips Drapac on the line to defend his title at the Ronde van het Ijsselmeer. It is his only classic win of the season (one out of three isn't bad).
Awang becomes the 12th different rider to finish second to Holloway as Holloway take S4 of the Course de Solidarnosc. By winning on his last race day and finishing 2nd in the GC, Holloway assures himself of the CT points title
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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