We won't be speaking about the February cobbled races anymore as the interview with Jerome Baugnies captures it perfectly. We will, however, discuss the other three February races and Geraardsbergen - Bosberg.

Hong Kong Disaster

Why change a good name? Fabianski, manager of Centovalli - Fiat, has already put it very well: Hong Kong (C1) was an absolute disaster. Los Pollos Hermanos never came close to scoring a single point and was the only team to go home without a single point. I guess you could call our presence there ... pointles (ba dum tss). The only time we managed to get some positive attention was when Marquez joined the breakaway in the final stage. Below there is a photo of him attacking with Centovalli's Manfredi.

Ras Tailteann

Together with reporter Marco we then took the plane to Ireland to compete in the C2 sprinting festival Ras Tailteann. We never had too high expectations and just hoped to not leave without any points again, and old dog Guillén surprised friend and enemy by finishing second in the second stage. This led to a ninth place in the final GC standings, so in the end he scored just less than twenty points, which is already exceeding season's expectations. Below is the photo of our favourite Costa Rican showing he still has some power in his antique legs.

Trofeo Laigeuglegia

"Italian is a beautiful language", yeah sure. Our only goal in the mandatory hilly C2HC race was to be in the break of the day, and that's exactly what youngster Ulloa did. In the end, it didn't lead to any points, but we still love him nonetheless. Below is a photo of José waving to his mom and dad on live tv.

Geraardsbergen - Woodmountains

Our first race in March was going to be one with tough competition, as Geraardsbergen - Bosberg was one of two HC races we entered this season. Baugnies and the team were hoping for a top-10, but the Belgian exceeded our expectations and even managed a cheeky top-5! The praise should not only go to him though, as Coronel fulfilled his domestique duties wonderfully and even managed to finish 27th as well, not bad for a free rider! Photo below was an important moment in the race, when a group of 12, including Coronel (in third position, white NC jersey) and Baugnies were on the right side of the split.

Two more races for Los Pollos Hermanos in the last ten days, let's have a look how they were for the team.

We were hoping for a nice result (top-10) from Baugnies. He wasn't feeling too good though, so we had to be happy with a 13th place by our expensive Belgian cobbler. We were happy to see our future cobble domestique Ulloa in the break though, as seen on the photo below.

Manager Nemolito was so smart to put a top-10 goal in this race just because it was a home race for the team. Guillén didn't even come close to a top-10 in a stage, with his best result being 17th. The race was still a small success for the team though, as Quicibal finished 14th in the GC after his breakaway in the first stage. Baugnies finished 16th in the GC and 5th in the KoM after doing the same in the second stage and Quispe had a similar adventure in the third stage, finishing 21st in the GC and 3rd in the final KoM-standings. Home rider Ulloa also attacked on the last stage, but didn't manage to score any points. Photos of our points scorers below!

Our goals were to get in the break and maybe get around top-15 or top-10 if Marquez had a good day. We didn't manage to get in the break, and Marquez finished 16th after not being able to follow the best when the race really started. Luckily he still continued to finish as high as possible instead of taking some vacation. Not amazing, not absolutely terrible. Photo below of our beloved Spaniard descending the Apex Mountain in the company of Cattaneo and Intxausti.

Another C1 cobbled classic for Baugnies and the gang. We weren't in the break and as quite a big group went to the finish line together it seemed to be a bad day for our leader. Nevertheless, with 200 metres to go he suddenly came to the front of the race and managed to get a hold of a very decent fifth place, exceeding our top-10 hopes! Picture of Baugnies sprinting to glory (more or less) below

The African six day C2HC stage race consisted out of three flat stages, two hilly stages and one mountain stage. That mountain stage was the only opportunity for leader Marquez to make a difference over the weaker climbers who were stronger on the short climbs, but he failed to do so. In that stage Petrovski attacked and was one of the four who survived the longest (photo below), but he wasn't able to collect many KoM-points or bring the attack to a good end. Our best stage result was fifth with Guillén, which is far from amazing. Marquez finished 11th in the GC and Petrovski 27th, scoring some minor points.

We knew one mountain stage could be too little for Marquez to deliver as well as knowing that Guillén is not and will never become a top sprinter anymore, but it's still disappointing to not finish inside the top-10. On to better results!

Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne

It was surprising to see our team rank fifth on the provisional CT ranking, but we'll take it. We hope to continue having a top-10 spot until the end of the season, but we know it won't be easy, seeing that most of our focus races are behind us already. It will be very hard for us to really score in April, but we will definitely try. let's take a look at the races on our programme.

Starting off the month in the Baltic Area, where there will be one cobbled time trial and four flat stages. We bring cobbler Baugnies for the time trial, but don't expect him to score, as he is probably too one-sided in his skill set. The Belgian has a free role in the other stages, and it would be nice to see him in the attack there. We bring another strong flat rider who scored some points in Juarez last month and can hopefully repeat that: Quicibal. The four flat stages should end in a sprint though, that's why we brought Manarelli. He should be one of the weaker sprinters on the startlist, so we don't expect too much from him or the team in general.

Betonexpressz GP (C2HC)

We remain in Europe the whole month, and after discovering the Baltic region we go to Hungary for the C2HC sprint classic. The sprinter representing our colours will be Guillén. Also don't expect him to do amazing stuff, but on a good day a top-10 and some points could definitely be doable. He will be accompanied by flat rider Quispe.

Lincoln GP

If we are to score big this month, it should be in this race. A C2HC cobbled classic, so you already know Baugnies is going to be there. Although I would love to see him win, I guess it is very realistic that he won't. The race is not very long and the cobbled sectors are not incredibly heavy, so a lot of riders should have a good shot at winning. Special mention for Coronel though, as he won the race last year from a breakaway. This year it will be domestique duties for him though, ensuring the break actually gets caught this time.

Lisbon Classic (C1)

One of our weakest startlist ever for this C1 sprint race, as sprinter Manarelli will have zero support here. Nevertheless, Petrovski will be there as well, as there is some elevation in the middle of the race and near the end, you never know what our favourite Macedonian can do. Expectation still is to score cero puntos though.

Betonexpressz GP (C2HC)

(A lot of text will be between parentheses) Don't buy Quispe they said (well nobody actually said that to me but whatevz), he has weak backups he said (many people did say this, no fake news this time), he won't score points they said (again, not sure if anyone really said this to me, but I'm sure many of you thought so, which is understandable, no hard feelings). But man, just when I thought the guys in Hungary where going to sprint for victory, our favourite Peruvian (together with Alexander Gonzales and my other Peruvian whose name I forgot at the moment, lo siento) attacked with 5 km to go! Exactly at the right time, as together with some others he managed to stay ahead of the peloton, and finished fourth after a race of more than 200 km! Our favourite sprinter Guillén (don't tell Manarelli), also known for his strong backups (this is a joke), couldn't finish inside the top-25 (A very strong 74th place was his part). Seboka dabbed on them haters by not finishing last (dabbing on them haters translated in Hungarian is Guave-nek van egy kicsi). Photo of Quispe attacking and finishing fourth below. (Or not?)

Our expectations for the C1 stage race were low. With Manarelli not even competing in the sprints it became clear his self confidence is still very low, even though we have people talking to him 24/7. Baugnies didn't manage to finish high enough in the GC during the cobbled prologue to score points, so he tried to get some stage success in the breakaway in three of the other four stages. He did his best, but couldn't compete against the sprinter teams. No KoM-points in the Baltic states, which is a pity, as Baugnies would have definitely scored a lot there. We didn't leave without any points, as loanee Hayter scored his first two points of the season! He was the fifth best U25 rider in the prologue and moved up to fourth in the final stage. Well done, Ethan! Photo below of Baugnies in the break of the day.