With the two big targets secured, Bralirwa - Stevens management turned their attention to aquiring more points scorers, as well as some pieces for roster depth, and came away with the next four signings, including the one that got away last year:

Bonaventure Uwizeyimana

4.100

28yo

Stage Racer

€115.000

Losing out on Bonaventure Uwizeyimana in free agency was our big regret of last year, and we just had to rectify that. We landed on a transfer fee of 450.000€ with his former employer Assa Abloy, no peanuts for the man who finished 129th in the PCT individual standings, but at 28 years, he'll form the backbone of our Rwandan squad alongside Valens Ndayisenga for years to come. Now, only Arreruya needs to join them ... eventually.

Jacob Fiedler

4.100

34yo

Time Trialist

€150.000

Next, we signed the elite time trialist we felt we really needed. Jacob Fiedler finished 12th in the individual PCT standings last year and while that was admittedly a younger version of him, he's hopefully still able to deliver us a good chunk of points. Like Uwizeyimana, we got him on a transfer fee of 450.000€ and on a moderate wage.

Joey Rosskopf

4.100

32yo

Punchy Time Trialist

€100.000

Another time trialist joined us via free agency. To complement Fiedler's skill set, Rosskopf will target the races that combine time trials with more demanding uphill routes. A very balanced rider, the American will never be the outright favorite, but hopefully score consistently.

Mektel Eyob

4.100

28yo

Climber/Puncheur

€55.000

The final rider of this batch is a man we targeted last year already, but were now able to secure at a much lower wage of just above the minimum: Mektel Eyob. The Eritrean, Top 50 in the CT ranks last year, will give us valuable depth in hills and mountains and hopefully score a handful of points through breakaways or even just good finishes.

With these signings, the squad is beginning to look a bit more like an actual PCT team. But there is still more work to be done, and a little more money left to spend.

knockout wrote:
Woah, i love every single of those four signings for you. Great job!

redordead wrote:
Great signings

I think you've secured your PCT status and can continue to only look up

Oliver Naesen was the first expensive free agency pick up in team history, delivered us our first win and finished as our best rider points-wise in our first season. So it is kind of fitting that he now becomes the first rider in team history that is sold. With Stallaert's arrival, he no longer has the leading role he desires, so he returns to CT to ride for newly formed Crabbe-CC Chevigny for 415.000€. We wish him all the best!

Using that money, we went ahead and got ourselves another leader: the elite sprinter we had first targeted - unsuccessfully - in free agency. Please welcome to the team:

Fabio Silvestre

4.100

31yo

Sprinter

€370.000

Fabio Silvestre joins us from Berg Cycles to become our undisputed top sprinter. He's easily our second highest wage cap hit, but the moderate 350.000€ fee we paid for him softens the financial blow. Combining this with the Naesen deal (including wages), we pay 135.000€ more for what we think is a significant upgrade, points-wise at least. He's not the youngest guy anymore (though neither was Naesen), but at 31 years old, he's also more than just a one year rental.

While Naesen would not have been a leader, he still held an important role in our cobbles squad. Luckily, we found a quick fix for that:

Yves Lampaert

4.100

30yo

Cobbles

€70.000

Yves Lampaert joins us from Huski Chocolate, formerly eBuddy, for a minimum fee of 70.000€. He's a classic work horse, strong on flat cobblestones with reasonable stamina and resistance. Alongside Bob Schoonbroodt and Tesfom Okbamariam, he'll be the core to support his compatriot Stallaert throughout the cobbles campaign, and he'll surely also find himself working at the front of the peloton for Silvestre every once in a while.

Our leadership and their immediate support systems are now fairly set in stone. A few deals to strengthen the roster are still in the works and the full roster will not be completed for a few days. But so far, we're pretty happy with what we've got!

cunego59 wrote:

From your lips to the MGUCI gods' ears I don't have quite that confidence yet, but I can at least see a way, which is nice.

the_hoyle wrote:
Amazing signings and some fine riders in the colours of Bralirwa next season!

redordead wrote:

Up to promotion contention now with the latest signings