Are we doing football wages now where half of it is paid by the sponsors off the official books and also managing to make it tax-free?
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
Seeing the rise of fellow Kazakhi puncheurs Lutsenko and Gidich has made Roman Senyenov proud and during this off-season he expressed a strong desire to join them.
Gazelle management has promised Roman to not stand in the way of his dream if he is welcome at King Power.
@jandal: Lutsenko's earnings as an ambassador for the world championships 2024 in Thailand have nothing to do with his engagement for the King Power cycling team!
@DubbelDekker: That's good to know and depending on how transfers go he might become an option at a later point. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of his team, Senyenov did not recommended himself with his performances last season. We'll see!
The second season is the most dangerous for a newly promoted team, they say. Here is how we prepared for it, after only closely staying in last year:
#1 Departures
This year we have to say goodbye to a number of riders, including some that shaped the team for a number of years. Jaoa Costa and Ajay Pandit Chhetri were already released during renewals. While the former was only in the team for this season and failed to prove himself for a longer commitment, Chhetri was part of our team already since its foundation in 2014. He was a loyal supporter for all our climbing leaders through the years. His biggest success for himself was the win of the mountains jersey at the 2016 Tour of Southland.
Headlining our departure list are long term leaders of the team Stefan Denifl and Oscar Guerao. Both were brought on the team when we were in PCT - Denifl in 2016, Guerao in 2017. They were essential for our successful push for promotion in 2018. Guerao's first season for the team was his most successful when he won two classics, 3 stages and finished 2nd at the Barbados Cycling Festival, a race he would go on and win the following year. Denifl impressed mostly through his consistency. He rarely won a race but always was up there, including three top 6s in GTs. Both of these riders will be part of DK - SVA Zalgiris in the coming season. Potentially they'll continue their feat of 2018 and lead another team to promotion to the PT.
Stefan Denifl sprinting to the Austrian road champions title 2019 - his second for SPAR
Tom David leaves after 2 years as the leader on the cobbles. While he was close multiple time, he never could secure a win for the team. His best result was a 2nd place in 2018 Le Samym. Tom David moved closer to his home and will captain Bennelong - Mitchelton's team in the Flandrien races. Nacer Bouhanni was signed last year to give the team some competitiveness in Grand Tour sprints. He did that successfully by placing 9 times in the top 10 in Giro(2) and Tour(7). Next season he will lead Strava in CT sprints.
Final departure is Gyung Gu Jang who was looking for some more chances to ride for himself in CT as well - in the colors of Carrefour - ESPN. Jang is another rider that was signed by the team in its inaugural season in 2014. Spending the first year away on loan he was a factor in any race going uphill ever since.
Temporarily we have to say goodbye to Nur Amirul Marzuki who joined Evonik - ELKO only for this season to help them fight for the PT title.
#2 New Signings
Joanis Albert Nielsen creating a gap for his captain Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz at the 2019 Lincol GP
Our biggest signing of this off season is Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz who was brought on as a longterm leader of the team on the cobbles. Last year he rode for the now defunct team Netia in CT.
Second big name joining us is Rafael Reis who was bought from Duolingo for a fee of 1.6 million to replace Denifl as the GC leader. He keeps our tradition of having a Portuguese rider on the team alive.
Rafael Reis, 28, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 290,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
77.27
70
81
73
76
78
76
78
56
50
63
66
68
76
As we will be riding a quite timetrialling heavy calendar in the upcoming season we were on the lookout for a strong man against the clock. After several moves fell through we finally could secure ourselves Elia Viviani with a late move on the transfer market.
Elia Viviani, 31, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 82,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
74.92
78
60
66
79
71
77
74
60
71
70
73
64
79
In exchange for Tom David leaving to Bennelong - Mitchelton we secured 100th of last years PT rankings Dion Smith. He'll be Reis' strongest helper in the mountains but also get plenty of chances to ride for himself.
Dion Smith, 27, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 135,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
75.40
69
78
75
68
72
74
75
59
66
74
75
71
65
A similar role in the team will be given to Daniel Teklehaimanot who might not be as strong as Smith uphill but is also a great addition to our team-timetrialling squad. Last year he had a convincing season in PCT for Kraftwerk Man Machine.
Daniel Teklehaimanot, 32, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 120,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
74.88
68
77
74
74
72
72
76
55
64
70
73
67
74
To strengthen our core of South East Asian talents, we this time went to the Philippines to convince Ronnilan Quita to sign for us from the free agency with a big paycheck. Quita can do almost everything. Exceptions are cobbles and time trials. The focus of his future development is not clear yet. After having two in our first two seasons, it is great to have a rider from the Philippines present in our team again.
Ronnilan Quita, 25, 3.50 XP, Wage: € 265,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
72.51
73
71
72
65
73
73
71
60
70
70
79
71
65
2022
75
73
77
66
77
75
73
60
71
73
82
72
66
At the very end of the transfer window we reached a deal with Michael Vanthourenhout who is a very versatile rider but was mainly signed as an addition to our squad for the cobbles and time trials.
Michael Vanthourenhout, 27, 4.0 XP, Wage: € 50,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
71.79
73
66
68
70
66
72
67
72
68
68
70
73
68
2021
75
66
68
72
68
73
68
74
68
68
70
73
70
Sakchai Phodingam will wear our jersey for the first time in the 2021 season. The climbing talent from the team's home nation will spend his first season out on loan with Nordstrom - CA Technologies.
Sakchai Phodingam, 22, 1.0 XP, Wage: € 50,000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
68.40
67
69
68
61
68
67
67
60
64
66
69
68
61
2023
68
77
74
61
69
71
72
60
64
73
76
70
61
Finally we offer a temporary home to 5 loaned in riders in the coming season. Mano is one of the brightest talents from Thailand, Nielsen was already supporting Kasperkiewicz at Netia, Jakobsen is already now a very strong sprinter, Stash can sprint and do prologues and Revard will be a useful helper in the mountains:
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
Fabio Jakobsen
75.38
72
59
66
59
73
72
79
72
78
78
67
68
69
Mamyr Stash
72.18
71
56
64
67
67
71
69
67
75
75
72
66
76
Yuttana Mano
71.83
70
68
72
75
69
70
70
62
60
65
68
72
73
Joanis Albert Nielsen
71.72
74
54
67
66
70
74
72
72
72
71
64
67
70
Thomas Revard
70.37
68
72
66
68
67
71
71
61
58
67
64
63
67
#3 Full Team
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
V. Darbinyan
74.20
72
58
66
62
72
71
71
76
76
74
64
68
65
M. Brändle
77.16
75
76
71
79
73
73
72
56
60
69
62
68
79
M. Vanthourenhout
71.79
73
66
68
70
66
72
67
72
68
68
70
73
68
D. Teklehaimanot
74.88
68
77
74
74
72
72
76
55
64
70
73
67
74
J. Nielsen *
71.72
74
54
67
66
70
74
72
72
72
71
64
67
70
C. Leung
73.96
73
57
64
78
65
77
69
50
69
71
66
63
82
K. Fung
71.50
67
73
68
72
66
70
71
50
62
70
70
67
70
E. Viviani
74.92
78
60
66
79
71
77
74
60
71
70
73
64
79
A. Lutsenko
79.63
69
73
83
68
76
73
70
54
72
81
69
70
68
Y. Gidich
76.63
72
75
78
73
77
76
72
55
62
74
75
68
73
M. Azman
76.41
69
76
77
63
69
72
73
50
65
75
76
69
64
N. Marzuki **
73.90
70
71
74
64
71
72
70
74
72
72
64
71
63
F. Jakobsen *
75.38
72
59
66
59
73
72
79
72
78
78
67
68
69
D. Van Winden
72.71
73
52
62
79
68
68
72
56
58
70
78
62
79
D. Smith
75.40
69
78
75
68
72
74
75
59
66
74
75
71
65
R. Quita
72.51
73
71
72
65
73
73
71
60
70
70
79
71
65
P. Kasperkiewicz
76.47
74
66
73
70
73
75
69
79
59
66
79
68
72
R. Reis
77.27
70
81
73
76
78
76
78
56
50
63
66
68
76
M. Stash *
72.18
71
56
64
67
67
71
69
67
75
75
72
66
76
S. Sirironnachai
73.99
71
66
77
65
77
74
70
57
64
73
80
69
65
Boonratanathanakorn
73.07
70
70
73
67
78
74
72
50
69
73
80
79
67
Y. Mano *
71.83
70
68
72
75
69
70
70
62
60
65
68
72
73
S. Phodingam **
68.40
67
69
68
61
68
67
67
60
64
66
69
68
61
H. Hsu
76.02
75
64
67
69
75
70
73
72
79
79
67
71
69
T. Revard *
70.37
68
72
66
68
67
71
71
61
58
67
64
63
67
* - Loaned In
** - Loaned Out
Edited by Bikex on 14-10-2020 11:33
You definitely strengthened your team imo, really like what you did during these transfers despite some bad luck here and there. Looking forward to seeing Van Winden & Viviani reunited! Both were almost gone during the same transfer window after I messed up my 2nd PCT renewals, but I have some great memories with them together.
Some great signings! Looking at the FA market this year, I'd say 660k for Kasperkiewicz is a bargain. With Wisniowski and Pedersen in our team, I expect some good fights the next years
Denifl has been replaced with Reis and good depth on the climbs, while Kasperkiewicz is an excellent signing imo. The team looks good to hopefully prevent second season syndrome and build on the performance of last season in the PT.
Some really really great signings here as the others have said. Hope Smith gets sick of working for Reis quickly and wants out though
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
@matt: In the end I'm also quite happy. I remember the transfer season you are talking about very well
Adding Viviani in the end even allowed me to add one more rider compared to if it was Hepburn who has a 8k higher wage.
@tastasol: I would not necessarily say bargain, as he is not yet maxed, but yeah I had hold back some more for him. Maybe not this season already, but I sure hope he can challenge your team on the cobbles at least a little bit in the years to come.
@Abhishek: My plan was to replace the scoring power of Denifl (and Guerao) with some more depth. I also think it worked out quite well. We'll see if it's enough.
@jandal: Smith will get plenty of chances to ride for himself. I don't think he would want to switch to a team where he will only be the third strongest climber.
@redordead: His lack of sprint and acceleration is his letdown indeed. I hope that his stat combination (HI && TT strength) still allows him to be around the best in some races that are suiting.
@DubbelDekker: Thanks! I noticed that as well, Quita suddenly became quite expensive.
Also with some of my targets that I haven't even placed a bid on (Kozhatayev, Carcueva, Malecki).
Edited by Bikex on 14-10-2020 14:19
Bikex wrote:
@jandal: Smith will get plenty of chances to ride for himself. I don't think he would want to switch to a team where he will only be the third strongest climber.
He knows he won't stay that way - he's seen the pathways we have in place for 78MO Kiwis
Spoiler
Glad to hear he'll get some freedom though, he did really well with his chances at bennelong last season, hope it continues!
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
Bikex wrote:
@jandal: Smith will get plenty of chances to ride for himself. I don't think he would want to switch to a team where he will only be the third strongest climber.
He knows he won't stay that way - he's seen the pathways we have in place for 78MO Kiwis
Spoiler
Glad to hear he'll get some freedom though, he did really well with his chances at bennelong last season, hope it continues!
It might become an option in the future, if it helps supporting my own training plans
I hope so too, in races where I can't send Reis to, him and Tekle will have to score us some points.
The first month back to racing was mostly one to forget for the King Power squad. Alexey Lutsenko turned up at the startline at the season opener in China slightly overweight and couldn't break into the top 10 of the day. In Qatar prologue specialist Chun Wing Leung failed to fulfill the teams expectations. In the end Dennis Van Winden was the only one of the team to finish in the top 30 of the GC.
Notable results:
12th
Classic
Badaling International
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
26th
GC
Tour of Qatar
PT
Dennis Van Winden
5th
Team
Tour of Qatar
PT
King Power
February: Picking up pace
February started like January ended with disappointment. The expectations for 9 day PTHC race Volta a Portugal weren't big but in the end the team only managed to score a mere 46 points. Leung again didn't have the best legs on the day of the prologue, the team failed to participate in any of the successful breakaways and so in the end the only aspect worth mentioning was Dion Smith's 17th place in the final GC. The team's fate would change for a better though. Not yet at the Copenhagen-Malmo TTT, where King Power achieved a respectable 7th place, but at the following triple header, where from all three races successful results can be reported.
Dion Smith celebrating his victory of stage 8 at Paris - Nice
In Italy, at Tirreno - Adriatico, Gidich and Brändle used their decent timetrialing skills to earn themselves good results in the final GC, as 7th and 12th. At Paris - Nice the first and last stages were won by King Power, respectively by Chun Wing Leung who has found his legs in the prologue and Dion Smith who won stage 8 from the break after him and his teammates took the days prior to that easy to the annoyance of their DS. And finally, Lutsenko returned from Luxembourg with a 2nd place at the Classique Grand-Duche after having worked on his fitness level and staying off the cake.
Pos
Team
Total
TA
PN
CdGD
1
Festina - OAKA
933
205
576
152
2
Bennelong - Mitchelton
845
500
300
45
3
King Power
633
278
169
186
4
Evonik - ELKO
617
120
227
270
5
Air France - KLM
562
202
325
35
...
These performances resulted in King Power being the third best team in all of the triple-header races combined. With the two one day races Pro Hallstatt Classic and Milano - San Remo, the first monument, the month of February was completed. In Austria expectably not many points were achievable for the team and at the Classicissima three riders got into the top 30.
Notable results:
2nd
Classic
Classique du Grand-Duché
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
7th
Classic
Copenhagen-Malmo TTT
PT
King Power
17th
Classic
Milano San Remo
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
21st
Classic
Pro Hallstatt Classic
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
21st
Classic
Milano San Remo
GTM
Alexey Lutsenko
27th
Classic
Milano San Remo
GTM
Elia Viviani
7th
GC
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
12th
GC
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Matthias Brändle
17th
GC
Volta a Portugal
PTHC
Dion Smith
1st
U25
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
4th
KoM
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Elia Viviani
4th
Team
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
King Power
1st
St. 1
Paris-Nice
PT
Chun Wing Leung
1st
St. 8
Paris-Nice
PT
Dion Smith
5th
St. 2
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
6th
St. 7
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
6th
St. 4
Paris-Nice
PT
Fabio Jakobsen
8th
St. 3
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
9th
St. 4
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
10th
St. 1
Volta a Portugal
PTHC
Chun Wing Leung
March: Mediocrity
After the mood was much better in the team, the results in March would be more depressing again. Kasperkiewicz got to lead his first races for the team. 11th place at the Strada Appia Antica was a decent start, but with 20th in Ronde Van Vlaanderen he couldn't really keep his momentum. Lutsenko was also in action at the Ronde van Nederland where he could achieve a respectable 8th place. However the highest hopes of the month were for Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha, the race for timetrial specialists where Brändle finished 4th 2 seasons ago when the back then called SPAR team acquired a wild card for the Czech race. The race was another disappointment. In the end King Power did even worse than last year, when they already underperformed. Viviani was the best in 11th place, Brändle was 25th after being dropped on bumpy stage 4, which should've been a stage suited to the Austrian's strengths, and Van Winden dropped out of the top 50 in the end.
Notable results:
11th
Classic
Strada Appia Antica
PT
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
20th
Classic
Ronde van Vlaanderen
GTM
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
8th
GC
Ronde van Nederland
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
11th
GC
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
PT
Elia Viviani
25th
GC
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
PT
Matthias Brändle
5th
KoM
Ronde van Nederland
PT
Ronnilan Quita
6th
St. 3
Ronde van Nederland
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
7th
St. 1
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
PT
Elia Viviani
10th
St. 1
Ronde van Nederland
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
April: Successes and catastrophic failures
April started with the next monument, Paris - Roubaix. Here it was again on Kasperkiewicz to deliver results. In the end he improved his result at RVV, which should've suited him more, by 1 place and finished 19th - decent but nothing to cheer about. When the Giro, the first GT, came the team had nothing to cheer for for some time already. This would change when the newly acquired TTT squad delivered for the first time big and won the opening stage in San Remo. This season it seems like that at the end of every period with disappointing results, there'd come a great result lifting the mood again.
Hsu proudly wearing pink.
However that also means, that after every great result, there'd come a period of frustration in this emotional roller coaster. That would end up coming in the same Giro, when Rafael Reis ended up having one of the worst races of his life, when he was already in a great position for a top GC result with a rather weak startlist and having already gained time on his opponents after the TTT. In the end he only finished 24th, which meant that the Giro in overall was rather disappointing despite of the great start. During the Giro some of the best climbers in the world met in Liechtenstein for the ultimate climbing showdown. King Power wasn't represented with big names but did well by showing themselves in the break with Brändle and Azman, who finished 24th. Finally when the Ardennes classics started the roller coaster went up again.
Kazakh champion Lutsenko beating Skujins and Van Garderen to the line at the Cauberg
After only a 5th place at the GP Wallonie, Lutsenko had a great day at the Amstel Gold Race winning a thrilling sprint to the line and providing King Power with their greatest victory of their history.
Notable results:
1st
Classic
Amstel Gold Race
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
5th
Classic
GP Wallonie
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
19th
Classic
Paris - Roubaix
GTM
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
22nd
Classic
GP Wallonie
PTHC
Muhamad Z. Azman
24th
Classic
GP Liechtenstein
PT
Muhamad Z. Azman
28th
Classic
GP Wallonie
PTHC
Ronnilan Quita
24th
GC
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Rafael Reis
28th
GC
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Daniel Teklehaimanot
1st
St. 1
Giro d'Italia
GTM
King Power
2nd
St. 18
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Daniel Teklehaimanot
3rd
St. 21
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
4th
St. 4
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Ka Hoo Fung
5th
St. 2
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
5th
St. 4
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Yuttana Mano
5th
St. 10
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
5th
St. 14
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Elia Viviani
6th
St. 6
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
8th
St. 14
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Dennis Van Winden
Standings
In the latest rankings update we are just above the relegation line. It seems like this season will be a close one again and it could be thrilling right to the end. The following month of May might already be the most important one for King Power with two more Ardennes classics, the Vuelta where Reis maybe wants to wake up and two PTHC races (Scandinavia Open & Tour of Norway) where we have some hopes. After that in the final 5 months of racing, there won't be a month were we participate in more than 3 races.
Maybe a little late, but decided to make a short recap post for the second half of our most successful season so far to wrap up the 2020 HQ. The results mostly warrant it.
Races covered:
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
387
Fleche Wallone
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
188
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
GTM
Alexey Lutsenko
213
Rund um Koln
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
50
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Rafael Reis
693
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
321
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
207
--
Tour de Suisse
PT
Rafael Reis
184
Riga - Jurmala GP
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
54
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Matthias Brändle
110
--
Tour de France
GTM
Yevgeniy Gidich
580
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
340
Chrono des Herbiers
PT
Dennis Van Winden
39
--
GP Moscow
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
78
East Midlands Cicle Classic
PT
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
37
--
Tour of Northern Europe
PT
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
57
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
201
Tour of the Battenkill
PTHC
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
27
--
Japan Cup
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
180
Tour of Tasmania
PT
Matthias Brändle
193
Giro di Lombardia
GTM
Alexey Lutsenko
145
May: Rise to the top
After being close to the relegation zone after April, a busy May with many races and chances to shine, saw the team improve to a 4th place in the intermediate rankings. Our riders showed King Power colors and celebrated successes all over the place. The month started with a bang as Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz won the first stage of the PTHC Cheshire Cycling Tour from the break and went on to defend the leading position until the end against cobbles top star Danny Summerhill.
Kasperkiewicz crossing the line first at the first stage in Cheshire
Alexey Lutsenko meanwhile completed his successful ardennes campaign with a 4th place at the Flèche Wallonne and a third in Liège. The Vuelta a España seemed doomed again after Rafael Reis decided to drop early in mountain stages just like in the Giro. Luckily the race was saved by his teammates who started to join breakaways. This resulted in two stage wins by Dion Smith and Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn. Especially the latter was a special moment for our program as it was the first Thai stage win in a GT. In total the team achieved 7 stage podiums in Spain with also loaned in sprinter Fabio Jakobsen contributing. Dion Smith also went for the climbers' jersey but missed it closely by coming 3rd.
Boonratanathanakorn sprinting to victory and putting Thailand on the map
Finally we sent a team to two PTHC stage races in the north, that included hilly stages and time trials. At the Scandinavia Open it was Lutsenko's time to shine as he came 3rd in GC and won the second stage. At the Tour of Norway our hopes solely relied on Matthias Brändle who convinced as 5th in GC. Additionally Sarawut Sirironnachai won the polka jersey after being part of a successful break.
Notable results:
3rd
Classic
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
GTM
Alexey Lutsenko
4th
Classic
Fleche Wallone
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
23rd
Classic
Fleche Wallone
PT
Sarawut Sirironnachai
24th
Classic
Fleche Wallone
PT
Muhamad Z. Azman
28th
Classic
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
GTM
Muhamad Z. Azman
1st
GC
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Przem. Kasperkiewicz
3rd
GC
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
5th
GC
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
9th
GC
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
11th
GC
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Dion Smith
16th
GC
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
18th
GC
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Sarawut Sirironnachai
20th
GC
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Rafael Reis
26th
GC
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
1st
U25
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
1st
Team
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
King Power
1st
KoM
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Sarawut Sirironnachai
2nd
U25
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
2nd
Team
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
King Power
2nd
Team
Tour of Norway
PTHC
King Power
3rd
KoM
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Przem. Kasperkiewicz
3rd
KoM
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Dion Smith
4th
Team
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
King Power
4th
Points
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
1st
St. 1
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Przem. Kasperkiewicz
1st
St. 16
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Dion Smith
1st
St. 19
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Thurakit Boonratana.
1st
St. 2
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
2nd
St. 1
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
2nd
St. 7
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Ronnilan Quita
2nd
St. 18
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Dion Smith
3rd
St. 2
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
3rd
St. 15
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Dion Smith
3rd
St. 17
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Rafael Reis
3rd
St. 1
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
5th
St. 2
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
5th
St. 5
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
5th
St. 8
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Przem. Kasperkiewicz
5th
St. 11
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Rafael Reis
5th
St. 3
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
6th
St. 21
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
6th
St. 3
Scandinavia Open
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
6th
St. 5
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Sarawut Sirironnachai
7th
St. 1
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
8th
St. 1
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Michael Vanthourenhout
8th
St. 3
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
8th
St. 9
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Rafael Reis
8th
St. 3
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
9th
St. 4
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Rafael Reis
9th
St. 18
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Ronnilan Quita
10th
St. 4
Cheshire Cycling Tour
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
10th
St. 4
Tour of Norway
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
June: Back to reality
In June the King Power train seemed to run out of steam. Both of the races of the PT double header went rather disappointing. At the Tour de Suisse it was Rafael Reis again showing his weaknesses by loosing unnecessary time. Additionally our experiment of sending Lutsenko to the Criterium Dauphine for the two hilly stages was not crowned with success as he came 3rd and 6th (after the break) in the mentioned stages. A minor success was Hsu's 9th place at the Riga - Jurmala GP against strong competition.
Notable results:
9th
Classic
Riga - Jurmala GP
PTHC
Hsuan Ping Hsu
27th
Classic
Riga - Jurmala GP
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
28th
Classic
Riga - Jurmala GP
PTHC
Elia Viviani
10th
GC
Tour de Suisse
PT
Rafael Reis
21st
GC
Tour de Suisse
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
24th
GC
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Matthias Brändle
1st
U25
Tour de Suisse
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
5th
Team
Tour de Suisse
PT
King Power
3rd
St. 2
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
4th
St. 7
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Matthias Brändle
5th
St. 8
Tour de Suisse
PT
Rafael Reis
6th
St. 5
Tour de Suisse
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
6th
St. 4
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
6th
St. 6
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
7th
St. 2
Tour de Suisse
PT
King Power
7th
St. 1
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
July: Dion Smith!
July is always a special month for every cycling fan with the biggest race being on the schedule. This year King Power went to the start with minor ambitions. Yevgeniy Gidich lead a team of riders with abilities to chase success from the breakaway. He was accompanied by Azman, Teklehaimanot and Dion Smith. Latter, after missing out closely at the Vuelta, came here with one goal: the polka dot jersey. After three intense weeks of racing he accomplished his goal and delivered one of the most remarkable moments in the teams history when he was presented his jersey on the Champs-Elysees. On the way to this success, Dion Smith celebrated two stage wins.
Dion Smith celebrating his victory of the King of the Mountains competition on the Champs-Elysees
After the tour there was the Tour of Slovenie a race where we came to the start with big ambitions. We brought a strong TTT squad to support Brändle, Lutsenko and Gidich in their chase for a strong GC. In the end despite scoring well due to our depth, the race was not as successful as we anticipated. Brändle's 9th place as the best result in the GC was not as good as we could've hoped. Additionally Lutsenko gave away the green jersey on the last day. Due to most of our timetrialists being in Slovenia, Dennis Van Winden was our only hope of a good result at the Chrono des Herbiers. He did well with a 15th place.
Notable results:
15th
Classic
Chrono des Herbiers
PT
Dennis Van Winden
9th
GC
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
10th
GC
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
12th
GC
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
24th
GC
Tour de France
GTM
Dion Smith
25th
GC
Tour de France
GTM
Daniel Teklehaimanot
25th
GC
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Elia Viviani
1st
KoM
Tour de France
GTM
Dion Smith
1st
U25
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
1st
Team
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
King Power
3rd
Points
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
3rd
U25
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Yuttana Mano
1st
St. 11
Tour de France
GTM
Dion Smith
1st
St. 16
Tour de France
GTM
Dion Smith
2nd
St. 3
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
3rd
St. 1
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
King Power
4th
St. 4
Tour de France
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
4th
St. 2
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
4th
St. 5
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
5th
St. 11
Tour de France
GTM
Daniel Teklehaimanot
6th
St. 17
Tour de France
GTM
Daniel Teklehaimanot
7th
St. 4
Tour of Slovenie
PTHC
Elia Viviani
8th
St. 2
Tour de France
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
8th
St. 5
Tour de France
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
8th
St. 15
Tour de France
GTM
Michael Vanthourenhout
8th
St. 18
Tour de France
GTM
Dion Smith
8th
St. 21
Tour de France
GTM
Fabio Jakobsen
10th
St. 9
Tour de France
GTM
King Power
August: Quiet month
Only two one day races were scheduled for the month of August. Hsu sprinted to a 17th place in Moscow and Kasperkiewicz underwhelmingly came in 29th at the East Midlands Cicle Classic.
Notable results:
17th
Classic
GP Moscow
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
25th
Classic
GP Moscow
PT
Ronnilan Quita
28th
Classic
GP Moscow
PT
Elia Viviani
29th
Classic
East Midlands Cicle Classic
PT
Przem. Kasperkiewicz
September: Summer's over
In September as well not a lot is to be reported. Kasperkiewicz was extremely poor in both races he attended. At the Tour of the Battenkill he only was 24th and also at the Tour of Northern Europe a race that should suit his skillset perfectly there was not much to be seen of him. Finally Dennis Van Winden delivered with an 8th place at the Deutschland Tour.
Notable results:
18th
Classic
Tour of the Battenkill
PTHC
Varsham Darbinyan
24th
Classic
Tour of the Battenkill
PTHC
Przem. Kasperkiewicz
30th
Classic
Tour of the Battenkill
PTHC
Michael Vanthourenhout
8th
GC
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Dennis Van Winden
13th
GC
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Matthias Brändle
14th
GC
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Chun Wing Leung
29th
GC
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Elia Viviani
3rd
U25
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Yuttana Mano
3rd
Team
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
King Power
7th
St. 2
Tour of Northern Europe
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
7th
St. 8
Tour of Northern Europe
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
8th
St. 3
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Dennis Van Winden
9th
St. 6
Tour of Northern Europe
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
October: Decent Finish
For the last month of racing we had two one day races lead by Lutsenko and the also puncheur-friendly Tour of Tasmania scheduled. At the Japan Cup Lutsenko added another victory to his palmares, the second one day race of the season. At the Giro di Lombardia he unfortunately could not repeat his podium result of last year. However the Tour of Tasmania ended a lot better than in the prior season with both Brändle and Lutsenko netting strong results.
Alexey Lutsenko celebrating his farewell victory.
Notable results:
1st
Classic
Japan Cup
PTHC
Alexey Lutsenko
8th
Classic
Giro di Lombardia
GTM
Alexey Lutsenko
23rd
Classic
Giro di Lombardia
GTM
Yevgeniy Gidich
27th
Classic
Japan Cup
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
9th
GC
Tour of Tasmania
PT
Matthias Brändle
12th
GC
Tour of Tasmania
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
5th
St. 3
Tour of Tasmania
PT
Matthias Brändle
7th
St. 2
Tour of Tasmania
PT
Alexey Lutsenko
Rankings
In the end of the season we managed to fulfill our top 10 rankings goal with a strong 7th place only a little bit behind last year's PT winners Gazelle. In the beginning of the season it seemed like with a little bit of bad luck we could be caught in a relegation battle again, but after an extremely strong May that was not a realistic option anymore. Occasionally strong results meant that we could defend the top 10 position until the end.
Pos
Last
Team
Total
1
1
Isostar - Specialized
8192
2
2
Evonik - ELKO
7886
3
3
Team Puma - SAP
7428
4
5
Moser - Sygic
7231
5
4
Festina - OAKA
6950
6
6
Gazelle
6697
7
7
King Power
6654
8
8
Generali
6185
9
9
eBuddy
6055
10
11
EA Vesuvio
5953
...
In the individual rankings Alexey Lutsenko is standing out as the best puncheur of the season. Dion Smith also has to be mentioned as he scored 746 points, which before the season I wouldn't have thought to be possible. As seen below many riders contributed well to the team's strong overall result and riders like Reis or Azman not fulfilling their scoring potential could be mitigated in that way.
Think yo had a great season to finish 7th! Having riders for all terrains helped and Smith was a revelation! Lutsenko is amazing, but you already know that
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz, 26, 4.51 XP, Wage: € 660,000
Rafael Reis, 28, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 290,000
Elia Viviani, 31, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 82,000
Dion Smith, 27, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 135,000
Daniel Teklehaimanot, 32, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 120,000
Ronnilan Quita, 25, 3.50 XP, Wage: € 265,000
Michael Vanthourenhout, 27, 4.0 XP, Wage: € 50,000
Sakchai Phodingam, 22, 1.0 XP, Wage: € 50,000
