Even before the transfer season, Guinness Cycling p/b BlackBerry made it clear what their goal would be for their first season: become the distinctive team for Ireland and Canada within the professional peloton. And though it was an expensive endeavor, the management has gone pretty far to achieve that goal.
First, Guinness signed one of the greatest Irish cyclists ever, Daniel Martin, obtaining his transfer from Équipe Cycliste Peugeot. Though he had already announced that this would be his final season, and he definitely has an overpriced contract for his current ability, the team felt that having that kind of star power on their team was worth it for their national identity - not to mention that Martin will still be one of the CT's best puncheurs.
Next came a cobbles leader. The price was steep for Philip Lavery as Deutsche Bahn were understandably reluctant to let him go. For 300, he transfers back home, and will be their classics leader as well as a quality domestique and leadout man in his extra days. The influx of star cobblers into CT has made his competition harder than expected, but he will still look for big results.
The big star long term, however was still to come. Similarly to Lavery, Italo did not initially plan to sell young star sprinter Xavier Langlois, but 400 was an offer they couldn't refuse. The 27 year old has super high potential, and may still improve. Regardless, he is already a force to be reckoned with in terms of speed, and is a beast on the flats in general. He looks to be the key piece for Guinness for years to come.
After initially looking for a stage racer, Guinness eventually decided to full embrace their national identity and bought low on sprinter Sam Bennett. After a poor season last year in which he experienced some unexpected decline, Bennett was in the dog house at Equinor, and let go for just 50. Sporting the Irish NC jersey, he will hope to bounce back on his home team and prove his doubters wrong.
Additionally, the team made several free agent signings they are hopeful about. Young Anthony Desjardins is already a great time trialist and still has room to grow. Gregory Brenes is no top stage racer, but will hope to show himself occasionally. And Frederic Cossette looks to be a foundational piece for the classics squad for years to come. That's not to mention the plethora of talents the team has signed, both to the main squad and development team. None project to be world beaters, but hey, you never know!
Guinness Cycling p/b BlackBerry
First
Last
AVG
FL
MO
HL
TT
PR
CO
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
$
Age
PT
Daniel
Martin
77.5
68
75
78
61
64
56
64
76
64
72
75
71
71
850
34
6
Xavier
Langlois
77.0
77
66
73
68
70
72
78
77
77
74
76
73
74
450
27
7
Sam
Bennett
76.1
74
61
73
62
67
68
76
79
74
65
74
68
72
340
30
6
Philip
Lavery
76.1
76
63
73
67
70
76
74
76
73
71
76
70
72
340
30
5
Gregory
Brenes
75.4
69
75
74
73
72
57
63
75
70
67
72
71
76
280
32
5
Anthony
Desjardins
75.3
73
64
65
77
75
65
65
63
69
61
69
72
71
360
25
6
Hugo
Houle
73.8
67
74
72
71
71
63
67
74
70
71
70
69
73
180
30
5
Frederic
Cossette
73.6
74
66
70
67
66
74
70
71
70
72
74
69
70
170
26
5
Marcus
Christie
73.5
73
64
66
75
73
66
64
63
67
66
68
70
69
160
29
4
Paul
Voss
72.2
68
68
72
69
70
66
69
71
72
72
71
69
67
110
34
5
Nicolas
Roche
72.0
67
72
73
69
69
62
63
69
64
69
69
69
71
110
36
6
Thierry
Meunier
71.9
65
72
71
62
61
56
61
70
75
72
70
65
69
100
26
4
Dominique
Mayho
71.8
73
66
67
67
66
72
70
70
72
74
72
68
70
100
27
4
Robert
Ramirez
71.6
67
60
71
58
59
69
68
71
63
62
71
66
67
100
24
5
Sean
Downey
71.2
74
66
69
67
66
69
71
71
72
72
70
66
67
100
30
4
Jean-Pascal
Saby
70.7
71
55
66
60
64
71
64
67
66
79
69
71
70
100
23
6
Robert
Lumley
70.6
70
57
61
60
67
60
71
72
71
59
71
66
69
100
23
5
Raffaele
McKenzie
70.5
71
59
67
59
66
71
68
68
74
66
70
66
66
100
23
5
BlackBerry Limited U23
First
Last
AVG
FL
MO
HL
TT
PR
CO
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
$
Age
PT
Charles
Logan
69.3
71
56
63
61
63
61
68
67
67
73
68
69
68
100
22
5
Jules
Mathieu
67.9
66
65
63
68
66
57
59
60
81
76
65
70
65
100
21
6
Mike
Payne
67.8
61
69
66
56
58
57
61
63
61
67
65
64
67
100
22
4
Robbie
O'Mao
67.0
63
66
67
62
65
58
59
64
60
69
66
65
64
100
22
4
Elliott
Crowe
66.6
63
65
64
67
66
56
56
61
68
68
64
63
68
100
22
5
Riordan
Horlock
65.9
63
59
66
57
57
66
61
62
68
62
65
63
64
100
22
5
Danny
Page
65.3
65
54
61
64
65
67
64
62
74
58
60
64
59
100
22
5
Davy
Savage
65.1
64
65
63
64
64
60
57
60
58
65
65
62
64
100
21
4
The team is aware they will not be competing for promotion this year. but they hope they have built an identity and foundation to work from as they build their brand in the sport going forward. For this year, it's just about having fun and showing their colors.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Ah, you were fast enough to switch Carlsberg to Guinness before anyone (bar myself, probably) spots it
Really like your two-country focus, and especially Langlois should be great for years to come, as you say. Desjardins should be good as well, while it seems to be slightly harder to get good Irish prospects. Good luck for the season!
Dang, I wish I waited to post mine until the new page now
I originally was going to go for a couple more Canadian riders in my team, but I decided against fighting over them. Cossette and Langlois are two good riders, and obviously this team needed Dan Martin in it, so hopefully he can put in a good season for you.
Manager DaveTwoBob was looking to generate some development funds and therefore took a hard look at the squad and the points they earned. He decided anyone not contributing points or having low potential had to go.
During negotiations The Manx Missile turned down an offer of 1200 which meant we had to part company with the aging sprinter. This day had to come soon and it opened an opportunity to fill a long-standing team issue and recruit a decent cobbler.
To generate some more development funds, hill sprinter Rick Zabel was sold to Tierra del Fuego where we hope he can contribute to a promotion bid with his new team.
Departures
SENIOR SQUAD
Romain Bardet is now the highest average rider in ICL after his development into a world class Puncheur. We will be expecting to win some one-day classics as a result, however his reduction in race days is a concern.
Developed by the team, stage racer Clément Chevrier will be covering Grand Tours not attended by Bardet.
Romain and Clément will be supported by Manx rider Peter Kennaugh brought in from Free Agency to boost our Hill depth.
New recruit Juris Eisaks gives Suntory the prospect of scoring some decent points over the cobbles. He is only 26 years old so could be our cobbles leader for years, especially if we can negotiate his wage down next season. Juris will be supported by Jens Keukeleire, Edward Smith and Eliot Lietaer.
Sprinting duties now fall to Mads Pedersen and he will be a busy man as he also covers the Classics. Leadouts will be provided by future sprint star David Meyer.
TT leader Michael Hepburn worked hard on his Mountain Climbing in the off season and is now a very useful GT domestique. We released a couple of good TT riders and replaced them with bargain TTer Ilnur Zakarin. Our TTT squad is slightly weaker and a lot cheaper.
Suntory recruited 5 cheap domestiques to replace the higher cost riders who were released. These are Garikoitz Bravo (MO73, HIL73, Wage 130) Stephan Rabitsch (FLAT74, FIGHT75, Wage 120) Alexander Foliforov (MO73, FIGHT75, Wage 120) Sho Hatsuyama (MO73, Wage 110) Johan Le Bon (FLAT75, TT72, Wage 105)
The Suntory squad has been weakened by the loss of Cav and will be relying heavily on Bardet for points. The money saved on wages will be invested in rider development which we hope will have a better long-term benefit rather than recruiting a sub-top rider.
Senior Team Roster
New riders highlighted in green.
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Suntory Orangina are the defending champions and we have another strong squad for this season.
Salif Mane is a great sprinter but there was no place for Ricardo Padilla in the Dev Squad which means no leadout although there are some riders with decent Flat to chase a break.
Luis Crawford and Murjikneli Gochashvili have stage races well covered.
Future TT GOAT (according to Shonak) Jonathan Wright can already perform in the race of truth at the tender age of 20.
Cobbles are covered by Mark Safford who can perform on the pave but not much else.
Suntory Orangina have a squad that covers all the terrains and will mount a strong defence of the title. However, there is a bit of a gap with no riders aged 22, next year may be a different story.
Thank you, Suntory, for letting all these fine riders go. I'm very happy to have picked up Cav and well as young Cano, plus I also got Guerin. I also considered your other ex-riders, it shows how many good FAs there were this season that some of them won't be picked up.
Nemolito wrote:
Nice to see Mullen has finally overcome the legal struggle of becoming Iranian
He was hoping he would be allowed to hold two NCs. Fixed.
@bbl - Love the 2 country focus for Guinness, Combining two slightly weaker countries makes a lot of sense. I would have said Mullen was untouchable but would be tempted by your project in the future. Maybe he should stay Iranian so you won't be interested.
@DaveTwoBob - Bitter about Wright. He is a beast, if I had known I was getting promoted at that point I would have gone harder for him.
Nemolito wrote:
Nice to see Mullen has finally overcome the legal struggle of becoming Iranian
@bbl - Love the 2 country focus for Guinness, Combining two slightly weaker countries makes a lot of sense. I would have said Mullen was untouchable but would be tempted by your project in the future. Maybe he should stay Iranian so you won't be interested.
I figured from the beginning that Mullen's combination of age and talent wouldn't even make him an option for transfer. But I would never object to an opportunity to put him in a Guinness jersey in the future.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
A busy transfer window saw 12 riders leave to be replaced by 10 new riders, a promotion from the dev tream - and one late renewal. During renewals 10 riders weren't offered new contracts: Fuglsang, Duarte and Bibby had declined, Schorn and Dowsett were deemed to be too old, Hardy and Valgren as not being not good enough for the World Tour. The team also hoped to improve upon the lead-out riders Van der Sande and Bertilsson. The team also sold a rider for the first time, Monsalve, 17th in the 2019 Tour, joined CT newcomer Latvijas.
The biggest surprise was the departure of the two best Brits. Hart was too greedy while Thomas was sacrificed to make room for a new rider – Peter Sagan. That was the star rider among many excellent free agents the manager decided to focus on. He's a big upgrade to Thomas, Schorn and Hardy all roled into one.
After securing this first big target as well as adding some much needed youth to the team the chance became available to hire Tao Hart back while other teams focussed on the even more talented riders. Which left enough money to concentrate on the final goal, bringing Cavendish home.
Name
Nat
Role
AVG
Wage
Age
Pot
Nikias Arndt
Sprinter
76.1
340
29
6
Edward Birch
Domestique
71.6
100
26
5
Jorge Cano Gonzalez
Climber
74.6
245
24
6
Mark Cavendish
Captain Sprints
80.1
1125
35
6
Mark Christian
Domestique
72.9
140
30
5
Michael Cuming
Domestique
72.5
135
30
5
Jonathan Dibben
Cobbler
76.0
350
26
6
Florian Diederich
Talent
72.3
115
22
6
Rubén Fernández
Stage Racer
76.4
420
29
6
Gonzalo Garcia
Puncheur
73.3
150
24
5
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Stage Racer
76.7
505
25
6
Alexis Guerin
Climber
74.4
210
28
5
Lasse Norman Hansen
Domestique
72.6
130
28
5
Gao Lei
Talent
72.8
145
23
6
James Lowsley-Williams
Domestique
72.6
120
28
4
Rafal Majka
Captain Mountains
80.7
1240
31
7
Philip McCluskey
Domestique
72.5
120
25
5
Travis Meyer
Domestique
72.7
130
31
5
Lukas Pöstlberger
Allrounder
74.9
250
28
5
Peter Sagan
Captain Classics
80.0
1915
30
6
Jordi Simón
Climber
74.5
225
30
5
Ian Stannard
Cobbler
76.3
410
33
5
Dennis van Winden
Domestique
72.2
110
33
4
Stefan van Winden
Domestique
71.8
100
31
6
Martin Wagner
Sprinter
74.6
230
24
6
The manager is very pleased with the new squad, even though he had to see many transfer targets move elsewhere. But he got his dream candidate Sagan and even the best Brit and one of the fastest sprinters in the world, Cavendish. Together with Majka, this trio of captains has most terrains covered.
Apart from Sagan and Cavendish we also hired Arndt, Pöstlberger, Cano Gonzalez, Wagner, Guerin, Gao Lei, Lasse Norman and Diedrich. Arndt is an established sprinter in his prime, Pöstlberger an insanely good allrounder able to provide excellent support for any of the captains. Wagner and Cano Gonzalez are talented 24-year olds we expect to improve quickly. Guerin is a great domestique for stage races, equally good on the flat, up mountains and against the clock. Lei is just a step behind Cano, while Norman offers a lot at a very low wage. Diedrich is a long-term prospect, only 22 years old, we'll have to decide whether to focus on hills or turn him into an allrounder. Also, Garcia is the first rider to be promoted from our dev team, he'll be riding the classics alongside Sagan.
To afford the new leaders some depth had to be sacrificed, the climbing support is weaker than last season, though also younger. Tao Hart and Ruben Fernandez are still the main support for Majka, both will also get leadership opportunities.
We've improved our sprinting capabilities, not just with Cav at the top but also with Arndt and young Wagner as lead-out riders and secondary sprinters. On cobbles Sagan is an upgrade to Thomas, while Stannard and Dibben remain in supportive roles.
Sagan is an even bigger upgrade for hilly classics, for which we previously had Hardy and Valgren who only did well in CT outings. The lack of support is a slight worry, though, with none of the riders pencilled in to help Sagan having more than HIL 73.
Time trials were never the team's speciality, but it is the one area where we're now weaker. Gone are Thomas and the legendary Alex Dowsett. We should be just about ok in team time trials in stage races, but expect no points from the thankfully rare speciality races.
To sum up, we gutted the "middle class" - riders who got the team promoted but weren't well suited for the top level - to afford improvements at the top. Our budget only rose by 3.5% and the average AVG of all our riders from 74.44 to 74.60. In fact, it would have been higher had we simply held onto all 25 riders. So we expect less depth scoring this season.
Edited by Ripley on 29-01-2021 14:16
Patrick Olesen from Suntory would be a perfect fit for my team, just saying If I don't have any money next year I might be able to convince you to let him go for a stage win in the MG? Schädlich +5 daily form incoming
valverde321 wrote:
Nice team! Serry should be one of the better climbers in CT!
I really count on him and I really hope it will be a nice season
Ripley wrote:
Some fine squads and great presentation. Philippa York the perfect ds for the Trans Cycling Team, some very old but very good captains, I'll be following Thomas especially.
I mean for the name it should be all the sports directors, mechanics, and others from the team from this kind of background
Next to Sherry The Thomas as a home cyclist will e definitely of our main riders and I hope the lucky ones haha
The transfer season is over, but unlike other teams, the final days from the transfer window for the Polestar teams have been quiet, but the team made two moves.
The team decided to part ways with Alessandro De Marchi sending him to Baku Synergy Cycling in exchange for Tom-Jelte Slagter. Also with the remaining money the team decided to bet on TT rider in Rémi Pelletier-Roy
Polestar Pro Cycling p/b Telenor
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
€
Age
Pot.
Fredrik Ludvigsson
77,5
76
70
73
79
78
70
68
67
71
67
72
73
76
600
26
6
Jonas Ahlstrand
76,7
77
65
73
68
70
73
78
76
76
69
76
72
74
450
30
6
Wout Poels
76,4
68
76
76
70
70
61
62
76
69
77
74
71
75
370
33
6
Tom-Jelte Slagter
76,2
71
75
76
69
68
63
69
75
69
74
75
72
75
410
31
6
Dylan Groenewegen
76
76
67
73
67
69
72
76
76
76
68
76
69
73
330
27
6
Thomas Nybo Riis
75,9
70
77
74
68
66
60
66
72
70
74
72
69
73
320
28
5
Tanel Kangert
75,8
71
76
74
74
75
57
61
71
70
75
73
71
75
320
33
6
Fredrik Galta
75,5
70
76
74
67
66
60
65
73
71
75
72
68
73
300
28
4
Stelios Ilias
75,4
73
75
73
74
73
58
58
71
72
61
71
70
76
300
27
5
Marco Mathis
75
75
71
73
76
75
67
66
68
71
69
72
71
75
275
26
5
Ramunas Navardauskas
74,9
76
63
73
75
76
65
69
70
71
71
73
71
70
250
32
5
Fridtjof Røinås
74,7
74
68
72
69
69
70
75
75
76
72
75
71
73
230
26
5
Martin Laas
74,3
73
74
73
69
68
64
73
75
72
72
73
69
72
210
27
4
Rémi Pelletier-Roy
73,7
73
66
68
75
75
67
65
64
68
65
67
68
68
170
30
5
Kim Magnusson
73,1
70
73
72
65
64
59
67
72
70
74
72
69
72
140
28
4
Emils Liepins
73
72
64
71
64
67
69
74
73
73
68
73
68
70
140
28
5
Sven Erik Bystrøm
72,3
75
69
69
67
66
69
71
71
73
74
73
68
70
110
28
5
Peter Tarvis
71,7
66
73
70
64
64
58
60
67
70
69
69
66
73
100
27
2
Joonas Henttala
71,5
74
65
66
67
66
68
71
71
72
73
69
67
69
100
29
4
Telenor Youth Team p/b Polestar
Name
AVG
FL
MO
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
€
Age
Pot.
Kirill Makukhin
71,1
67
61
70
66
67
65
66
69
71
78
72
71
67
100
22
6
James Smith
71
64
72
70
65
66
57
59
67
68
68
69
68
72
150
22
6
Martijn Hiensch
69,9
67
63
70
64
62
62
60
69
67
60
68
66
65
100
22
5
Elias Leinonen
69,6
68
57
61
61
61
60
71
70
63
60
65
64
69
100
23
5
Jamie Hurst
69,1
61
70
68
61
59
54
61
65
65
67
65
65
68
100
21
4
Jonatan Gyllensjö
67,6
71
58
56
57
62
56
66
67
59
68
68
63
63
100
22
5
Jakub Kaminski
65,4
66
57
66
65
63
57
57
57
71
63
65
62
63
100
19
5
Raúl Jorrín
63,2
59
62
63
61
62
61
61
59
57
62
63
60
60
100
20
5
Number of riders by nationality (Both teams):
4 riders - Sweden, Netherlands
3 riders - Estonia, Norway
2 riders - Finland
1 rider - Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, United States, Venezuela
It is now time to present the team that will be riding in Deutsche Bahn colours in the 2020 season.
Climbers/Stage Racers
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Joseph Dombrowski
72
78
76
73
72
60
66
74
71
79
74
72
76
Lawson Craddock
75
75
75
78
76
67
67
69
71
67
73
72
76
Jan Hirt
72
76
74
72
71
60
67
74
72
76
73
70
74
Alexander Brus
73
75
73
74
73
60
62
70
69
69
72
69
76
Jeroen Meijers
70
76
73
69
68
60
66
71
69
71
72
69
74
Hans-Georg Nentwich
64
74
71
69
71
57
57
65
75
68
68
69
70
Dombrowski continues to lead our mountain squad. Craddock adds some much needed Stage Racing power. Hirt and Brus come in to shore up the train with Meijers continuing in the same role from last season. Nentwich makes the step up from the development team.
Punchers
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Simon Yates
78
74
79
70
71
72
75
78
76
75
78
71
74
Michael Matthews
75
62
75
69
70
61
77
79
76
68
76
71
76
Jan Ghyselinck
77
64
75
71
72
77
68
74
72
75
76
71
70
Gianluca Brambilla
68
75
76
68
67
58
65
73
67
77
74
69
75
Yates is the only out and out puncher in the squad. Matthews is a sprinters hybrid, Ghyselinck specializes in the cobbles while Brambilla is a good option on the mountains as well.
Sprinters
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
John Degenkolb
78
68
75
66
72
79
79
80
72
72
79
75
79
Michael Matthews
75
62
75
69
70
61
77
79
76
68
76
71
76
Raymond Kreder
74
63
69
65
66
68
78
76
71
64
71
69
69
Phil Bauhaus
75
65
70
68
71
68
76
77
76
72
75
71
73
Johannes Windischbauer
73
64
69
67
68
66
74
75
73
69
72
68
71
No changes in the sprint squad with Degenkolb, Matthews and Kreder in leading roles with Bauhaus and Windischbauer in supporting roles.
Northern Classics Specialists
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
John Degenkolb
78
68
75
66
72
79
79
80
72
72
79
75
79
Jan Ghyselinck
77
64
75
71
72
77
68
74
72
75
76
71
70
Nino Honigh
75
61
69
67
68
75
70
71
69
71
74
71
69
Degenkolb leads in the cobbles as well with Ghyselinck his premier lieutenant and Honigh continuing in the same role as last season.
Time Trial Specialists
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Lawson Craddock
75
75
75
78
76
67
67
69
71
67
73
72
76
Oskar Svendsen
75
72
71
75
74
67
66
69
71
71
71
70
74
David Andrich
68
59
64
70
70
62
58
59
68
67
65
65
69
Svendsen continuing to lead the pure TTs while Craddock is a strong addition for these races. Andrich moves up from the development team.
All-Rounders
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Luka Pibernik
74
67
74
66
69
72
75
76
75
72
75
70
72
Zico Waeytens
74
68
74
66
68
72
70
72
76
74
75
68
73
Mads Würtz
75
68
70
71
69
73
72
72
74
77
74
69
71
Matthias Krizek
72
72
73
72
72
58
66
67
70
70
73
69
72
Julien Vermote
73
67
72
74
72
68
70
73
73
71
72
69
73
Mario Vogt
74
65
70
69
69
68
72
72
72
75
74
70
73
Ronan Van Zandbeek
75
64
69
68
66
72
70
68
73
75
71
67
68
Casper Von Folsach
73
65
69
69
68
69
70
71
72
73
73
68
70
A big cast of all-rounders to help the leaders in all kinds of terrains. Pibernik, Wurtz and Krizek come in to join Waeytens, Vermote, Vogt, Van Zandbeek and Von Folsach who continue in the same role as last season.
Deutsche Bahn Development
Spoiler
The following riders will represent the development team:
All-Rounders
Name
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Pantheras Dimas
72
57
63
61
66
63
73
72
74
70
70
66
68
Jürgen Reuter
62
73
69
59
60
55
60
68
67
73
68
68
69
Carl Ilsanker
69
71
69
71
72
55
58
66
68
65
69
70
69
Tobias Krautberger
64
62
69
62
61
62
61
70
60
64
70
66
67
Lutz Berg
70
58
66
64
62
70
68
67
69
69
70
67
67
Joe Richter
62
70
68
65
65
56
56
60
61
73
65
65
69
Andreas Linz
59
63
69
63
61
63
59
59
65
58
64
62
66
Florian Lüttkenhaus
62
54
61
66
65
65
60
61
65
62
62
59
62
Dimas, Reuter and Ilsanker take over leadership of the development team. Krautberger, Berg and Richter continue from last season while Linz and Luttkenhaus are the neo-pros for the season.
The question on everyone's mind though, will Yates ride in a hideous all white rainbow jersey-short or go for the timeless beautiful white bib-black short combo?
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Shonak wrote:
The question on everyone's mind though, will Yates ride in a hideous all white rainbow jersey-short or go for the timeless beautiful white bib-black short combo?
The real question is whether he can avoid the rainbow curse, otherwise we'll be in trouble
CCC Sprandi Polkowice leaders "confirms" their calendar
With an upcoming season starting very shortly, our leaders have been working hard in the pre-season training camp. Few of the journalists got a chance to talk with our riders. Because of those meetings, it's been shared to the world on which races our leaders are going to focus on. Of course it's not 100% confirmed that they are going to ride in all those races. There are still chances that something bad can happen. These are their original plans.
Tejay Van Garderen
Trofeo Campania
04.21
Giro d'Italia
05.09 - 05.29
Tour de France
07.01 - 07.21
Virginia Chrono Tour
09.27 - 09.30
Caleb Ewan
Palm Classic
01.11
Milano - Sanremo
03.22
Ronde van Vlaanderen
04.04
Tour de France
07.01 - 07.21
Vuelta a España
09.01 - 09.21
Quebec Sprint Challenge
09.23
Paris - Tours
10.05
Patryk Komisarek
Palm Classic
01.11
Milano - Sanremo
03.22
Ronde van Vlaanderen
04.04
Ster ZLM Tour
04.06 - 04.10
University of Lincoln GP
05.05
Deutschland Tour
06.02 - 06.09
Tour of Northern Europe
08.05 - 08.12
Vattenfall Cyclassics
08.22
Eneco Tour
08.24 - 08.30
Course de la Paix
09.16 - 09.21
Quebec Sprint Challenge
09.23
Paris - Tours
10.05
Diego Ulissi
Tour of Toowoomba
01.23 - 01.27
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
02.22 - 02.27
Strade Bianche
03.05
Amstel Gold Race
04.23
La Flèche Wallonne
04.25
Liège - Bastogne - Liège
04.28
Deutschland Tour
06.02 - 06.09
Vuelta a España
09.01 - 09.21
Bucaramanga Classic
10.03
With our team ambition of performing well in possibly final WT season we are going to do "all hands on board" tactic and send our leaders to mostly (or only) WT races. Our probably impossible to reach goal is to score 4000 points in WT rankings with our main riders to hope and secure WT spot for next season. We will do our best to perform well in an upcoming season.
After tackling the huge loss of riders such as Quintana, van Avermaet and Jungels, the second part tackles the additions for the 2020 season. Can Grupo Argos compensate for the loss of point with their new signings?
That is very unlikely. There hasn't been signed a climber, cobbler or time triallist that have the qualites. Instead, the team focussed on either sharpening the supporting cast, getting in light-versions or hoping for the developed riders to step in the spotlight.
In terms of climbing, the team didn't bring in any scorers. However, in Adrian Chaix the team signed a CarbonSports alumni who will be a great rider going forward. The former rivals should take over the keys of Polanc and Kelderman once they decline in 4 years. The team also signed Robert Gesink and Daniele Dall'Oste in order to support the new captains Kelderman and Polanc. On top, Anton Vorobyev did a lot of training on the climbs to make sure he can compete in the lighter stage races.
For the cobbled classics you can't deny the loss of the team. Here we only brought in Kenneth Vanbilsen as a light-version replacement who doesn't need much help. An interesting rider for the small races is Swiss Army Knife Marc Geyer, who can basically do anything on a good level and is ought to collect loads of depth points.
Most interestingly is that the team changed its TTT-squad. Despite having lost Jungels and the still very spare opportunities for Time Triallists in the ICL, the team banks on dominating time trials. The team should have a slight advantage over rivals Alitalia. In order to ensure that, beneath Geyer the team also brought in Nate Brown, Anthony Roux and Robert Gesink, creating an impressive line-up for these types of races.
More additions came in the super talent Marc Herder, a young gun from the Netherlanfs that should be the next big sprinter alongside Buchko and home-coming Vaclavik. In Jordan Kerby the team signed a very versatile allround, even more impressive is the addition of allrounder Ben King, the perfect support guy for the squad.
In conclusion the team has become a lot worse, but also set itself up to be competitive for a podium spot again. More importantly, the team has created an environment to build some leader self-sustainability, targetting to only need to sign u25- and support-riders in the future.
After Tierra del Fuego had a very busy first days of the transfer period, it took quite a while until they finally were able to complete their team. But now, all the contracts are signed, and it's time to take a look at the 2020 roster of both the main and the development teams!
Climbers / Stage Racers
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Juan Chamorro
76.6
71
78
75
71
69
61
64
71
71
76
72
67
73
29
6
Javier Gomez
75.7
72
76
73
74
72
59
62
69
68
69
71
68
74
29
5
Yonder Godoy
75.6
72
76
74
70
70
60
65
73
72
75
73
70
74
27
5
Tácio Mendes
75.3
73
75
73
74
72
59
60
69
70
62
71
69
75
27
5
Daniel Díaz
74.5
70
75
73
66
68
60
65
71
72
77
73
70
73
31
5
Chamorro will be the team leader in all stage races including none or just few time trial kilometers. Godoy and Díaz will be his main domestiques. Gomez and Mendes will meanwhile be leading the team in more TT-heavy stage races.
None of them will be among the division's superstars; however, Chamorro is pretty high up in the pure climbers hierarchy. His main concern could be his rather low resistance - it remains to be seen if his great fighting spirit will be enough to make up for this weakness.
All in all, this department looks pretty solid, especially in terms of depth. Hence, it should have the highest scoring potential of all specialities.
Puncheurs
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Armando Huamán
75.7
70
68
75
61
64
68
66
73
72
70
76
69
71
24
6
Having a discipline with only one rider mentioned isn't a very good sign, agreed. However, Chamorro and Godoy could be listed here as well, and will certainly be doing hilly races as well. Just like sprinter Zabel, who handles the hills well, too. But Huamán is the team's sole pure hills specialist.
And he's actually the team's third strongest rider according to the AVG value - with only 24 years! Hence, we'll be hoping for some U25 points as well from hilly stage races - and we're looking forward to his further development!
Sprinters
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Rick Zabel
76.4
75
66
74
66
67
72
77
76
74
69
75
71
73
27
6
Eduardo Gonzalez
74.3
74
64
70
65
69
67
75
75
73
64
74
69
73
24
6
Sprint leader Zabel was already mentioned in the hilly department - and he really can do well in this terrain - just as he doesn't completely dislike some cobbles. The German is one of three Europeans on the team - and he was chosen due to a very good price along with his great versatility. And, of course, because no equally strong (and young) Latin sprinter was available. We hope he'll be able to learn some Spanish basics quickly, so he can integrate as fast as possible!
The main man to help him do so is his designated leadout, Gonzalez. Only 24 years young, he has all the basics to one day step into his leader's footsteps. He'll likely get some chances on his own, too - but the leadout work will still be his main job.
Time Trialists
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Eduardo Sepulveda
75
75
71
70
76
76
67
69
69
70
69
71
70
73
29
5
Fernando Gaviria
74.8
75
70
70
76
74
70
68
67
71
67
72
72
72
26
5
Pablo Gonçalves
73.3
71
71
70
74
73
66
66
66
70
64
71
71
72
24
5
While team manager Mr. Fabianski is known to neglect time trials in the other universe called MG, he chose a slightly different approach when building up the Tierra del Fuego roster. Sepulveda is actually the strongest Argentinean rider on the roster, and with his experience will be the team leader in team time trials and all time trial heavy races. Gaviria matches his speed on the long distances, but is slightly weaker in prologues. However, with his development potential, he'll likely be the discipline's team leader soon. He will furthermore be wearing the Colombian NC jersey in time trials. Gonçalves is his Brazilian counterpart, being the national ITT champion with just 24 years. As a consequence, U25 points should be a realistic target in fitting races for him.
All of these three furthermore aren't afraid of some bumps, making them a good fit for not completely flat stage races.
Furthermore, stage racers Gomez and Mendes could be counted in here as well, making for a really solid TTT line-up. Even for bumpy courses.
Cobblers
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Roberto Romero Martínez
75.7
75
65
73
68
69
76
67
71
74
71
76
70
71
26
6
This time, the list tells the bitter truth: Romero Martínez is the team's sole cobbles specialist. We had a decent domestique on board, but finally decided to swap him for climber Gomez, leaving our Spaniard all alone. Nonetheless, he'll get his chances for sure! Slightly hilly cobbled races are what we will target for him.
For the future, we will try to build up some Latin cobblers - but given the lack of talents in this domain, this might well take some years to happen. Until then, we will likely mainly rely upon European specialists.
Domestiques
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Frederik Vilhelmsen
73.9
70
73
72
73
71
56
56
68
70
59
70
69
75
25
5
Eloy Nogueira
71.3
63
72
71
66
67
55
59
66
75
72
69
64
68
23
5
Héctor Molina
71
67
71
69
69
68
55
55
64
65
57
67
66
71
24
5
Jonathan Saavedra
70.4
68
59
61
72
71
62
59
58
68
59
66
66
67
26
3
Agustín Benítez
69.6
64
69
68
69
67
55
56
63
65
56
64
65
69
23
5
Flavio Barba
69.2
71
59
65
66
66
69
66
68
76
73
69
67
69
24
4
The most surprising name on this list will likely be Vilhelmsen. The Dane was our final signing, and he was selected as there was no comparable Latin rider avaliable anymore. He will hopefully grow into a good stage racer - it remains to be seen how much of his development he'll make with us, though. But given that he's already taking Spanish classes, he does the best he can to integrate with the team! Nogueira is a pure climber, without a lot of interest in time trialing. He agreed with us on skipping his final U23 season, as he can learn (and benefit) more from riding with the "big guys". He'll surely be a valuable helper in uphill races! Molina and Saavedra are our sole Chileans on the main team's roster. We tried to find some more, but the available ones didn't really fit our target profiles. The former will likely grow into one of the strongest stage racers of the country - although he'll likely never reach top level. The latter is Chile's national ITT champion - but given that there are 6 stronger riders on the team in that discipline, we couldn't really list him among the specialists. His role will mainly be to mentor his younger countrymen, be it in the main or in the U23 team. Benítez and Barba make it at least four Argentineans on the main team. The former will likely specialize in stage racing as well, while the latter is the country's most promising cobbles talent.
No points are expected from any of these riders, maybe bar Vilhelmsen. But they'll hopefully be reliable helpers for their stronger teammates.
All in all, we are pretty happy with our transfer period. While we didn't dare playing with big numbers - and hence could not sign a potential big scorer, our focus will be to do well as a team, getting so-called depth results. Breakaways might be the way to go for most of our riders, except Chamorro probably. Stage races should be our main source of points - but all of the "department leaders" should be able to score in their specialities!
Los Gauchitos Team Presentation
Last but not least, let's talk about our junior department!
Rider
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
Age
Pot
Germán Ollero
70.6
67
70
68
71
71
55
59
64
67
59
70
66
68
20
6
Ernesto Urízar
70.1
61
71
69
56
60
54
59
68
73
63
66
62
65
21
5
Andrés Cruz
68.9
67
58
61
60
65
61
70
70
67
66
69
66
66
21
6
Miquel Espinosa
68.4
67
57
63
62
67
58
69
70
68
71
67
65
67
21
6
Rubén Gorriarán
68.2
69
64
63
59
60
69
65
65
73
68
66
68
65
22
5
Miguel Ojeda
66.9
65
68
66
66
64
58
58
58
71
60
64
61
61
22
4
Ismael Folgueira
60.9
61
57
60
58
56
58
58
57
60
58
62
62
57
20
3
Manolo Izurza
60.2
61
57
58
59
62
60
57
56
60
55
55
58
58
20
3
Ollero was probably the most sought-after Latin talent in this transfer period. We finally placed the highest bid on the potential star stage racer of the future, which we're of course very happy about! Together with Urízar, who is one year older, he'll try to score big in the U23 stage races - the latter only in those without any time trial, though. Cruz and Espinosa are our two sprinters, both having the same age, same potential, and almost the same capabilities. A strong duo for the future, hopefully! Gorriarán is one of those potential Latin cobblers - we'll see if he can make it! He does have some potential, but we'll have to wait and see how he develops before we decide if we try to push our plans further. Ojeda, Folgueira and Izurza were signed even before the official transfer period. The former will likely specialize in stage racing, the Chilean might become a puncheur and the latter a time trialist or cobbler - we'll see once we get their development numbers!
◀▶Millenium - LATAM Airlines◀●▶ An Overview of the Inaugural Squad
Having signed just a single rider in the pre-transfer window draft, the talented Ivan Canilhas, team manager liefwarrior had plenty of spots to fill if he was going to meet the minimum requirements for the ICL's 2020 Continental Tour. For that very purpose he had had scouts scouring the Lusophone world, and aside from two last-minute signings that is where the majority of his crew came from.
Escaladores Climbers
Name
Age
FL
MT
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Frederico Figueiredo
29
71
77
75
69
68
61
65
73
73
76
73
69
73
David Rodrigues
29
71
75
72
68
68
59
66
72
71
75
72
69
72
Eduardo Sales
31
67
74
72
66
65
58
62
68
68
73
68
66
70
João Pinto
27
68
73
71
67
64
58
63
68
68
67
69
66
71
Not exactly the most inspiring depth coming from the group of riders set to tackle the mountains this year, but with the best climber in Portugal on board we can't really be complaining. With the assistance of superdomestique David Rodrigues you can expect Frederico Figueiredo to be competing with the very best of the Continental Tour has to offer, and possibly even trying his hand at the polkadots or a stage win at the higher level. The glaring issue is the lack of TTing ability that exists across the board.
Contrarrelogista Timetriallists
Name
Age
FL
MT
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Nelson Oliveira
31
74
73
73
77
75
66
65
68
69
67
72
72
74
José Gonçalves
31
72
69
70
75
74
65
64
68
72
69
71
71
71
Ricardo Vilela
33
67
70
73
71
70
61
66
71
72
69
72
66
68
Alexandre Manarelli
31
73
64
68
73
73
65
66
66
68
68
70
71
70
Ruben Silva
26
68
70
69
70
69
58
61
66
65
67
68
65
72
Headlined by Portuguese legends Nelson Oliveira and José Gonçalves, there are a decent number of timetriallists who have signed on with us this year. Although they may not be the most inspiring group, hopefully they will be able to provide some solid GC support in TTTs and possibly a stage win or two in ITTs.
Velocistas Sprint Train
Name
Age
FL
MT
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Rafael de Mattos Andriato
33
74
66
70
59
60
61
75
75
74
71
72
68
68
António Carvalho
31
72
63
72
62
65
64
73
74
72
69
73
69
72
Romeo Heymans
26
74
60
66
64
68
67
73
73
72
62
72
68
71
Gideoni Monteiro
31
71
64
66
64
68
63
72
72
70
64
69
68
68
Headed by the aging Brazilian Rafael de Mattos Andriato, our sprint train isn't likely to be tearing apart the peleton this season. Featuring members from all three Lusophone cycling nations they'll instead be aiming for some of the less prestigious positions.
Clássicomano Flandriennes
Name
Age
FL
MT
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Dario Antonio
28
73
65
67
67
65
70
69
69
71
72
72
67
69
Something of an all-rounder, Dario Antonio was the best Angolan of 2019 both on the road and against the clock. He is the closest thing we have to a leader for cobbled classics, after inquiries into other possible riders fell short. We wish him luck, he'll need it.
Clássicas das Ardenas Puncheur
Name
Age
FL
MT
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Michael Boros
28
73
68
77
67
69
69
70
75
72
74
77
70
73
Petr Vakoc
28
73
69
76
68
69
66
71
77
72
74
76
71
74
Murilo Affonso
29
71
67
74
67
67
66
69
72
69
74
75
69
73
João Silva
25
66
73
65
64
67
68
72
70
71
73
66
69
It was in relation to the Ardennes classics that the surprise of the transfer window arrived. After early attempts for Rui Costa failed it seemed that this section of the team was doomed to mediocrity. Murilo Affonso is a very good rider, but he isn't exactly a world beater. In the dying moments of free agency, the management recieved a call asking if they had space for a pair of Czech cyclists. That this pair were still without a berth at that late a stage was a shock - and immediately the opportunity to the sign them was seized. Hopefully they will enjoy their stay in Portugal, and return our trust with results.
Jovens Talents
Name
Age
FL
MT
HL
TT
PL
CB
SP
AC
DH
FT
ST
RS
RC
Bruno Coelho
23
68
72
70
71
70
55
56
67
65
59
69
68
73
Reinaldo Machado
22
65
68
66
67
67
58
56
58
69
60
64
64
67
Ivan Canilhas
20
67
63
64
63
63
60
58
60
71
70
62
67
62
Not exactly the biggest pool of talent in the world, but hopefully we will be able to expand this with next years intake. Bruno Coelho has the potential to become a strong stage racer, while Reinaldo Machado could play a role has his future domestique. Ivan Canilhas is young enough that his developmental pathway is uncertain, although it appears to already be edging towards something to do with ascending.
Daniel Martin, obtaining his transfer from Équipe Cycliste Peugeot. Though he had already announced that this would be his final season, and he definitely has an overpriced contract for his current ability, the team felt that having that kind of star power on their team was worth it for their national identity - not to mention that Martin will still be one of the CT's best puncheurs.
Xavier Langlois, but 400 was an offer they couldn't refuse. The 27 year old has super high potential, and may still improve. Regardless, he is already a force to be reckoned with in terms of speed, and is a beast on the flats in general. He looks to be the key piece for Guinness for years to come.
Gregory Brenes is no top stage racer, but will hope to show himself occasionally. And 
Suntory 
Alessandro De Marchi sending him to 
Baku Synergy Cycling in exchange for 
Polestar Pro Cycling p/b Telenor 
Tanel Kangert
Stelios Ilias
Ramunas Navardauskas
Emils Liepins
Joonas Henttala
Kirill Makukhin
Jamie Hurst
Raúl Jorrín
Jan Hirt
Jan Ghyselinck
Luka Pibernik
Pantheras Dimas
Joe Richter
Tierra del Fuego 
