The baltic domination plan has entered phase 2. Both Pro Tour and PCT now boast a powerhouse blessed by the Baltic Gods. Sheer magnificance of the current manager of DK Žalgiris has even seen fan clubs pop up all over the world, with team's PO Box overflowing. And even after countless youtube unboxing videos, people wanted more.
But the holidays are over, and it will soon be go time to completely gut PCT and show our superiority once again. Bold moves were made, Gulags are already filled with underperforming riders on the pro and junior teams. The goal for 2020 is simple - command and conquer.
Some 'critics', or as intellectuals call them, fools, have criticised some planning and personnel decisions made last year, but if you've achieved what you'd set out to do, who cares?
2019 did seem like it was going to be a very boring year with Intxausti completely wiping the floor with the opposition in Vuelta a Tachira but the team got complacent. After some negotiations with the riders they pulled through and finished the season in style and without much problem got promoted.
Andreas Hofer has received a fern flower for his incredible accomplishments, with Šiškevičius, Nepo and some youngsters getting spared from punishment. We hope they will do better next year or they may have to find a new career path.
Some of our bigger victories include Philips finishing in the dumps of PCT, Navardauskas shitting the bed, Videika almost outscoring Beka in PT rankings amongst other. We hope to celebrate our success after next season as much as we have at the conclusion of 2019.
So, the season is over, time go over some of offseason housekeeping. Due to uncertainty of which division we will riding in next season I am gonna hold off doing a recap of entire year, as context does change just a tiny bit.
First off, renewals!
Pretty great in some aspects, pretty strange in others. 11 riders will be brought back for the preliminary 2020 roster, although, depending on whether were in CT or PCT, quite a few could be riding for others teams on loan or permanently. Financially it was quite a big W for us, vast majority signed for the same, or lower salary than they were earning in 2019. Heres an overview
Name
2019 Salary
2020 Salary
Change
Benat Intxausti
300k
220k
80k
Evaldas Siskevicius
145k
125k
20k
Alexandr Nepomnyachsniy
90k
65k
25k
Darijus Dzervus
50k
50k
0k
Andreas Hofer
50k
55k
5k
Egidijus Juodvalkis
50k
50k
0k
Alexandr Ovsyannikov
80k
55k
25k
Jhonatan Narvaez
55k
50k
5k
Airidas Videika
50k
50k
0k
Justas Beniusis
50k
50k
0k
Sulkhan Akhmaevi
50k
50k
0k
We are saying goodbye to:
Aidis Kruopis, Azizulhasni Awang, Kai Reus and Tushantha Rajapakshage, who sadly do not possess the required ability to produce at profession level or will most likely be available for minimum salary and we do not want to commit to them yet.
Johan Le Bon and Tesfar Teklit are leaving due to their wage demands. Wouldve liked for them to come back, but not willing to overpay them as they havent shown that they deserve it, unlike Mr. Hofer.
---
Now, the offseason development of our youngins. We've had 5 fellas showing drastic improvement this offseason, with Ovsya and Narvaez being the cream of the crop
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Alexandr Ovsyannikov
67
61
67
64
70
71
68
70
72
71
71
72
64
70,16
Alexandr Ovsyannikov
70
61
67
64
72
71
74
72
75
74
71
72
64
72,94
Alexandr Ovsyannikov
74
61
68
64
75
72
80
75
79
78
71
73
64
Maxed
Has already become a pretty damn decent rider, good leadout for CT, can possibly even do some damage in cobbled races. One of very few foreign youngsters that I do intend to keep for foreseeable future.
-
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Jhonatan Narvaez
67
67
70
67
68
67
70
61
71
68
66
65
65
69.75
Jhonatan Narvaez
67
70
73
67
68
69
72
61
71
71
69
65
65
72.11
Jhonatan Narvaez
69
72
78
68
72
71
74
61
72
74
72
66
66
Maxed
Jhonatan has turned into a decent domestique already. He is ways away from achieving big things, but has had some breakway success in his maiden season, so cant write him off just yet. His future at the club is cloudy however, he may appear to be just a tad too exotic for a Northern European side
-
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Justas Beniusis
68
64
55
72
66
67
66
56
57
66
66
68
71
67.85
Justas Beniusis
70
65
57
75
68
70
68
56
57
66
67
68
75
70.79
Justas Beniusis
71
69
60
79
71
73
74
56
57
67
68
68
78
Maxed
-
Sulkhan Akhmaevi
63
66
65
68
62
64
64
60
61
65
60
62
64
66.55
Sulkhan Akhmaevi
65
68
66
72
65
66
67
60
61
65
61
62
68
68.85
Sulkhan Akhmaevi
68
71
68
77
69
69
71
60
61
65
63
63
73
Maxed
These two are aight. Beniusis has become a fairly useful TTT member, unlikely to score many points on his own, while Akhmaevi has improved all around, still years away from being a truly valuable part of the team, but he do be working doe.
-
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Airidas Videika
70
63
64
66
65
66
69
70
70
75
51
64
68
70,15
Airidas Videika
72
63
65
66
67
67
71
72
72
77
51
65
68
71.68
Airidas Videika
74
63
65
66
68
67
72
73
74
79
51
65
68
Maxed
Well, he is not a superstar and will probably never be one, but he has come back stronger following his year at Aker - MOT, and he could controbute, but chances are that he will spend another year in the PT to round his abilities up. Perhaps he wont be travelling far, couple hours to the north maybe?
---
That concludes our development report, but we also have to sadly announced that two core members of last years team in Benat Intxausti and Mr. Nepo are starting to feel the dad time creeping up on them. While still certainly capable of performing at highish level, that could also mean that their time in Lithuania could be over soon. Here is how provisional post renewal roster looks like:
Some very interesting names in that "potential sales list".
Inxausti with a decent wage, albeit I'll probably look more forward to having some sort of chat regarding Narvaez, Nepom and Ovsyannikov - All 3 have a pretty good fit as to where I'm looking to recapitalize for the future.
If I can somehow fit a good TTer into my roster this year, expect some messages...
Narvaez looks great, too, but doesn't really fit my focus regions. Let's see...
You got a Generali alumnus in your team with Dees and it might be 2 of them in 24h, that's true recipe for success and really makes you relegation proof. Bunch of all-round great deals here indeed.
matt17br wrote:
You got a Generali alumnus in your team with Dees and it might be 2 of them in 24h, that's true recipe for success and really makes you relegation proof. Bunch of all-round great deals here indeed.
Wish I was a woman so I could birth your children.
Some other deals we've made in the meantime. Rocking and rollin, close to being done for the season.
Sulkhan Akhmaevi and Airidas Videika have left Zalgiris for a season to gained experience at Bakkafrost and Aker respectively.
Lucas Hamilton rejoins us on loan for the second straight year. Bennelong youngster will be responsible for serving drinks to his much more gangsta compadres.
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Flg
Wage
Lucas Hamilton
68
71
70
64
67
71
72
55
64
73
71
69
66
70,58
25k
We've also completed a double swoop of Fablok's Nareklishvili and Jallays. Giorgi has been on our radar since forming partnership with Qartvelian government, and we are ecstatic to welcome to him.
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Flg
Wage
Giorgi Nareklishvili
74
68
69
78
70
74
69
67
66
67
76
58
76
74,67
84k
Welle Jallays
75
61
71
75
69
74
73
64
61
63
81
64
75
71,29
50k
Another transfer that we've made with another club involves Matthias Krizek from Generali. 225 points scored last year in PT, he only cost us 150k and we expect 800 points from him this year.
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Flg
Wage
Matthias Krizek
70
74
75
66
72
71
75
52
67
76
75
62
66
74,17
70k
Lastly, a couple of free agent signings. Robin Carpenter is a sweet allrounder, and he will either be a complete dud, or surprisingly good scored. Ahmad Zamri is mountain dom who can timetrial, fits right it.
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Flg
Wage
Robin Carpenter
67
76
76
68
72
71
73
52
66
72
72
69
68
75,86
125k
Muhamma Afif Ahmad Zamri
70
75
70
75
72
74
75
52
59
69
71
59
75
74,34
150k
We still may do some deals, however, it doesn't seems like it's likely other than maybe sending Beka on loan.
@mre Yes lad, hopefully Denifl + Intxausti combo can Sky their opponents (but mainly Tenorio)
---
We're basically done for the year barring any extreme situations, but we have added some extra pieces to bolster our squad.
First up, Mihkel Raim, a couple good things about him - he's Estonian.
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Flg
Wage
Mihkel Räim
74
62
67
61
73
72
75
71
76
75
76
68
74
73,97
65k
In another deal with King Power, we have given up our Daniel Teklehaimanot, who has spend whole few days in Lithuania for a power sprinter Oscar Guerao and climbing talent Jan Drago Patelin.
Name
Fla
Mo
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Co
Spr
Acc
Ftr
Dhl
Prl
Ovr
Flg
Wage
Oscar Guerao
74
57
65
57
71
64
81
68
83
76
71
78
57
77,59
280k
Jan Drago Petelin
68
74
70
62
69
69
68
50
54
71
68
60
61
70,93
50k
Jan Drago Petelin
69
78
73
62
72
72
71
50
54
74
71
63
61
Maxed
50k
Aime De Gendt has also left the club to join Generali on loan.
Here's what (probably) final roster for 2020 looks like.
Damn you've assembled a really stong squad. Decline won't like your riders, but as long as they keep you high up in the table there is always the chance to rebuild the next season. Congrats on a great transfer season!
2nd strong team from the Baltics on the team to Baltic world domination. Now we only need an estonian team to build around Taaramae and noone can stop us
