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[PCT22] Cedevita | Development 3/3
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 06-09-2022 07:34
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Directeur Sportif
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A couple of useful Stagiare acquisitions, that too regional. They should even be in contention for a full contract next season.
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| redordead |
Posted on 07-09-2022 07:09
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This is the deal for our final incoming rider which came as a result of a series of convoluted deals. In the end we dealt  Jan Drago Petelin and a 245k fee to Isostar - Specialized in exchange for our final Balkan addition.
 Aleksandar Roman | Age: 26 | Lvl: 4.100 | Wage: 130k | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | 67 | 77 | 75 | 64 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 61 | 63 | 76 | 74 | 78 | 58 |
Roman: To be honest I wasn't expecting to leave Isostar, but I think I landed in a good place. I know I'll be doing some domestique work, but I'll also have my own chances for a result.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 07-09-2022 09:24
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Directeur Sportif
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Yes, best possible landing spot for Roman after having to leave our team. Hope he'll do awesome for you, he's got every tool to do so! Isostar legend!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 10:37
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 07-09-2022 11:17
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World Champion
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Sad to ever see Roman not in lime but can't put it better than Croatia that this is the spot for him otherwise. Hope he can go to work for you whether it's as a free role or as a perfect lieutenant for EAB 
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
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| redordead |
Posted on 08-09-2022 08:32
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Grand Tour Specialist
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
A couple of useful Stagiare acquisitions, that too regional. They should even be in contention for a full contract next season.
I'm a sucker for regional talents so the likelihood is that they will get contracts next season 
Croatia14 wrote:
Yes, best possible landing spot for Roman after having to leave our team. Hope he'll do awesome for you, he's got every tool to do so! Isostar legend!
He doesn't have 3 GTs with a PT startlist to have fun in breakaways!! 
Hopefully he can still find a way to contribute.
jandal7 wrote:
Sad to ever see Roman not in lime but can't put it better than Croatia that this is the spot for him otherwise. Hope he can go to work for you whether it's as a free role or as a perfect lieutenant for EAB
I hope so. On paper he is a much better rider than someone like Vysna or Blikra whom I had last year.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| redordead |
Posted on 09-09-2022 07:52
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Grand Tour Specialist
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It was a more eventful transfer period this year in terms of outgoings. In total there are 8 riders who were part of last year's squad. As always we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
 Lahcen Saber
Saber joined us two years ago from Philips for what is still the team record fee of 1m. In the end he never quite reached the levels he had before. Partly down to the team and partly down to him. We fondly remember his stage victory at the 2020 Tour de France as he departs for a fee of 400k to Colombini-Adler Aalterpaint.
 Jose Alarcon
Alarcon joined us only last year as a free agent signing. The veteran climber didn't score any wins for us, but was a consistent performer in what was our best season in PCT. Still at his age he was never part of the long term plan so the idea was always to cash in on what was left. With that he joined Caja Rural Cycling Team in the CT division for a fee of 350k.
 Havard Blikra
Blikra was part of a straight swap deal for  Marko Pavlic. He joined us last year as a free agent and was a very good domestique for us. He leaves to join the Norwegian outfit in CT, Tafjord Kraft.
Dusan Rajovic
Dusan signed with us as a neo pro in 2019 and was fully developed here. It's a bit bitter sweet to have let him go, but not every rider we develop will always spend his career riding for us. We are still proud that he will get a great chance at BNZ-Superhero Racing where he departs in exchange for  Patrick Bevin and a 50k fee.
 Matija Mestric
This is a similar story as Matija signed for us in 2018 at the ripe age of 21. He left as part of the deal for Milos Borisavljevic to Evonik - ELKO, but he was then eventually rerouted to Carlsberg - Danske Bank.
Matevz Govekar
Matevz was the centerpiece talent signing for this year and with more available transfer fees than salary cap space it was decided he'll spend his first season on loan. Caja Rural Cycling Team were willing to offer him a full season of racing in CT.
Kristjan Hocevar
Kristjan rode for us on a stagiare contract last year and will go on loan this time for a year to the CT division, joining BWT Hyundai N Cycling.
Veljko Stojnic
Same as Kristjan, Veljko was signed to a full time contract after his stint as a stagiare last year. He gets a tremendous opportunity to spend this season on loan at the newly promoted PT team Los Pollos Hermanos.
Goran Antonijevic
This is something we always want to avoid, but in the end the cap space crunch forced us to release Goran Antonijevic, who is another rider that completed his development with us. Luckily he was able to land on his feet in the PT with cycleYorkshire and we wish him all the best.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita |
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| knockout |
Posted on 10-09-2022 13:11
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Grand Tour Champion
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Roman and Borisavljevic are nice improvements for your mountain team. Really growing a strong local uphill train there for when Pogacar gets maxed
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| redordead |
Posted on 12-09-2022 08:12
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
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Press Conference: Team Presentation
Good day to Everyone!
It feels like I say this every year, but every transfer period throws up different challenges. Usually we started transfers with a decent chunk of cap space, but this year we needed to make some sales to facilitate other deals. With that uncertainty to begin with we didn't go for the big marquee signing, but rather many smaller signings to give us future flexibility.
We tried dipping our toes in the free agent pool first and we were able to come away with some good value riders as well as a bright Balkan talent. In fact in total 7 of our new additions come from the Balkan region which is a fantastic haul. We certainly lack a leader or two, but we have improved our depth and made our team younger to the tune of an average age of only 26 years.
With that said I would now like to formally introduce Cedevita's 2022 rider squad.
| FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | XP | Age | Wage |  Beltran | 69 | 79 | 81 | 66 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 59 | 66 | 76 | 78 | 74 | 66 | Max | 32 | 620k | | Pogacar | 69 | 78 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 51 | 63 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 73 | 4.40 | 24 | 210k |  Eriksson | 72 | 67 | 78 | 61 | 78 | 74 | 75 | 65 | 65 | 76 | 75 | 71 | 61 | Max | 26 | 200k |  Gaudu | 73 | 71 | 78 | 66 | 78 | 75 | 71 | 57 | 68 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 66 | Max | 26 | 120k | | Roman | 67 | 77 | 75 | 64 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 61 | 63 | 76 | 74 | 78 | 58 | Max | 26 | 130k | | Borisavljevic | 68 | 77 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 75 | 54 | 59 | 65 | 64 | 68 | 74 | Max | 28 | 100k | | Bouchard | 70 | 77 | 74 | 67 | 70 | 72 | 76 | 55 | 62 | 70 | 78 | 76 | 66 | Max | 30 | 100k |  Christodoulos | 72 | 68 | 68 | 78 | 75 | 69 | 70 | 53 | 53 | 64 | 73 | 65 | 79 | Max | 25 | 70k | | McCormick | 70 | 66 | 76 | 65 | 74 | 71 | 70 | 53 | 73 | 73 | 67 | 59 | 65 | Max | 28 | 70k | | Ardila | 65 | 76 | 75 | 67 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 62 | 62 | 71 | 71 | 65 | 67 | 3.42 | 23 | 195k | | Groselj | 78 | 58 | 66 | 77 | 74 | 78 | 71 | 67 | 73 | 72 | 69 | 70 | 79 | Max | 26 | 65k | | Pavlic | 69 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 63 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 74 | Max | 29 | 70k | | Penko | 71 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 58 | 65 | 70 | 62 | 71 | 76 | Max | 26 | 50k | | Katrasnik | 81 | 61 | 63 | 69 | 72 | 76 | 69 | 63 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 73 | 69 | Max | 27 | 50k | | Poljanec | 77 | 67 | 69 | 63 | 70 | 68 | 67 | 73 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 73 | 63 | Max | 27 | 50k |  Crncevic | 67 | 76 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 64 | 61 | 69 | 67 | 75 | 72 | Max | 27 | 100k | | Siric | 76 | 63 | 70 | 65 | 75 | 78 | 65 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 60 | 75 | 65 | 4.49 | 24 | 50k |  Zariff | 68 | 58 | 60 | 60 | 70 | 65 | 76 | 60 | 78 | 78 | 60 | 67 | 70 | 4.71 | 25 | 80k | | Buitrago | 66 | 73 | 71 | 65 | 68 | 72 | 72 | 60 | 65 | 76 | 71 | 66 | 65 | 3.22 | 23 | 50k | | Govekar * | 69 | 65 | 70 | 60 | 68 | 71 | 65 | 58 | 68 | 71 | 68 | 70 | 67 | 1.00 | 22 | 100k |  Wright | 68 | 67 | 68 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 67 | 66 | 69 | 69 | 72 | 65 | 67 | 1.54 | 23 | 50k | | Duyvesteyn | 67 | 65 | 70 | 64 | 65 | 68 | 65 | 60 | 63 | 70 | 69 | 66 | 64 | 2.70 | 24 | 50k | | Hocevar * | 66 | 68 | 68 | 61 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 54 | 66 | 70 | 66 | 69 | 62 | 1.57 | 23 | 50k | | Jarc ** | 69 | 63 | 66 | 63 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 68 | 63 | 1.00 | 23 | 10k | | Stojnic * | 69 | 65 | 65 | 68 | 69 | 71 | 68 | 56 | 67 | 69 | 71 | 65 | 70 | 1.57 | 23 | 50k |  Bechkov ** | 67 | 66 | 64 | 69 | 66 | 66 | 65 | 55 | 63 | 60 | 70 | 66 | 68 | 1.00 | 23 | 10k |
Now I will open the floor for your questions.
Q: The team clearly outperformed all expectations last year, finishing where they did. Still, no leading riders were added in transfers. How much of a risk you are taking here relying largely on Eddy Beltran again?
Mervar: I guess there is always a bit of risk in anything you do. Our depth is as good as it's ever been and we are developing and getting better. Tadej Pogacar we expect to take the next step, Ardila is better, Christodoulos and Groselj are now time-trialists that we think can compete. I think we have enough to stay clear of danger.
Q: Without Alarcon the climbing leadership goes to the young Tadej Pogacar. He's clearly very talented, but isn't that a bit too much to ask of him?
Mervar: Well it depends how you define leadership. He is probably a year away from what you are talking about, but we feel that he can do enough point scoring to where calling him a leader would not be out of place.
Q: From Ciolek, Boeckmans, Saber the team has always had a noteworthy sprinter which is missing this year also. Is this a long term strategy shift?
Mervar: It could be, but to be honest we don't know at this point. We opportunistically signed Nur Aiman Zariff as a free agent. He'll get chances to sprint in a few races. We also think he would be a competent rider to lead our sprinting department next season when he finishes his development.
Q: With the depth improving or at least remaining on the same level when it comes to hilly races, expectations for Eddy Beltran have to be pretty big following last year?
Mervar: Eddy is still our talisman, nothing has changed in that respect. Can we expect a similar points total to last year? No. A lot of things went right for us, but we also don't expect a down year like in 2020.
Q: With the signing of Govekar you were able to add the best local young talent available. You have to be happy with that?
Mervar: Of course. Govekar was our top target and we're delighted he is with us, but under the radar riders like Zariff and Fred Wright are also nice long term additions for us.
Q: Finally with the team going through some significant changes, what are the goals for this season?
Mervar: As always the first objective is to remain in the PCT division. We will have a chance to talk about goal races more later, but that's obviously a priority. Apart from that this is an important development year for Pogacar, Siric, Ardila and Buitrago.
That will be all for today's presentation. Thank you all for coming, I hope to see more of you during the year.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 12-09-2022 13:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
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I don't think relying predominantly on Beltran is much of a gamble at this point. He's shown that he's more than worth his wage, and I expect him to do the same this year. In fact, in the more puncheur oriented races he should have even less competition.
And who needs a sprinter when you have Katrasnik?
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 12-09-2022 14:03
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I'm seconding what bbl said about Eddy. He'll do fine, despite having a new nemesis in Areruya. He might not score as well as last year in those tailor-made hybrid races, but I think the overall puncheur field is slightly weaker, so he might make up for that in other hilly races.
Otherwise, having Gaudu and Eriksson as (young!) puncheur backups must feel pretty good; in general your depth for the hills is great.
For the mountains, you'll probably have to find the right niche races - or have some breakaway luck, as I don't see Pogacar contending for GC podiums yet. But again, your depth is fantastic, meaning chances are not too bad to get some stage wins, KoM jerseys and decent GC results. And white jerseys, obviously ^^
I don't know your calendar, so can't really imagine how much your lack of a PCT-ready leader on the other terrains will really hurt you. Christodoulos could obviously be the lucky guy every now and then in the ITT randomness, and Zariff should contend for some stages as well, but probably not be a contender for the all-flat classics/stage races. It will be interesting to see if your strong rouleurs can get some upsets in those races
Overall, hard to see you in danger as long as Eddy is competitive. With all your nice talents still developing, I guess you'll be ready for a promotion push in 1-2 years, but this season you'd probably happily take a safe midfield position
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| redordead |
Posted on 13-09-2022 08:37
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
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knockout wrote:
Roman and Borisavljevic are nice improvements for your mountain team. Really growing a strong local uphill train there for when Pogacar gets maxed
Two names that I for sure did not expect to add to the team and yes they could both be pretty nice helpers for Pogacar or Ardila in the future
baseballlover312 wrote:
I don't think relying predominantly on Beltran is much of a gamble at this point. He's shown that he's more than worth his wage, and I expect him to do the same this year. In fact, in the more puncheur oriented races he should have even less competition.
And who needs a sprinter when you have Katrasnik?
Yeah, I think he'll still be pretty good. Pretty much everything went well for him last year, I can't expect that again. Areruya is a better version of him for the harder races and the HC/C1 classics are perfect for Kinoshita. I wouldn't be surprised if he finished as 3rd best hill rider, but still scored us enough points for a good season.
You mean the same Katrasnik that scored 29 pts from numerous flat classics last year? 
Fabianski wrote:
I'm seconding what bbl said about Eddy. He'll do fine, despite having a new nemesis in Areruya. He might not score as well as last year in those tailor-made hybrid races, but I think the overall puncheur field is slightly weaker, so he might make up for that in other hilly races.
Otherwise, having Gaudu and Eriksson as (young!) puncheur backups must feel pretty good; in general your depth for the hills is great.
For classics I feel like Beltran did pretty much as well as he could last year. I don't see him improving a lot, but I do hope both Gaudu and Eriksson can add quality depth points in those races.
With hybrid races you never know which climbers and stage racers might be there to have a good day. Areruya will be favourite, but it should be a good battle between them
Fabianski wrote:
For the mountains, you'll probably have to find the right niche races - or have some breakaway luck, as I don't see Pogacar contending for GC podiums yet. But again, your depth is fantastic, meaning chances are not too bad to get some stage wins, KoM jerseys and decent GC results. And white jerseys, obviously ^^
The problem with my Pogacar planning is that I picked all my races with the assumption I won't be lucky enough to get a GT wildcard. So it was geared towards XP gains, not optimal point scoring
It would be nice to see if my climbers could compete for some stage wins or KOMs, but I've had very little success there in my entire MG lifespan so my expectations for that are pretty low. White jerseys in HC and C1 should be possible though
Fabianski wrote:
I don't know your calendar, so can't really imagine how much your lack of a PCT-ready leader on the other terrains will really hurt you. Christodoulos could obviously be the lucky guy every now and then in the ITT randomness, and Zariff should contend for some stages as well, but probably not be a contender for the all-flat classics/stage races. It will be interesting to see if your strong rouleurs can get some upsets in those races
I don't have much faith in my rouleurs after last year to be honest
The TT field doesn't look as deep as last year so maybe the likes of Christodoulos, Groselj and Penko can get lucky here or there. Zariff should get a few chances in some stage races.
Fabianski wrote:
Overall, hard to see you in danger as long as Eddy is competitive. With all your nice talents still developing, I guess you'll be ready for a promotion push in 1-2 years, but this season you'd probably happily take a safe midfield position
Midtable ranking position is a realistic target in my opinion. But yeah, at the end it's still largely dependant on Eddy. He hasn't let us down yet 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 14-09-2022 02:46
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Directeur Sportif
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I think you are safely mid-table as well. But what is really cool is how well you have set yourself up for 2023. Impressive age profile, and not just Tadej maxing out this year.
Then I think your challenge will be boredom next transfer season because the team will be largely built.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| redordead |
Posted on 14-09-2022 13:33
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
I think you are safely mid-table as well. But what is really cool is how well you have set yourself up for 2023. Impressive age profile, and not just Tadej maxing out this year.
Then I think your challenge will be boredom next transfer season because the team will be largely built.
Yeah, lowering the average age of the squad was something I wanted to do, but probably did it better or more than I anticipated
I don't think I'll be bored at all next transfer season. Sure the development of some riders is boxed off for now, but there is still much work to do in transitioning the team and keeping the status quo or taking the next step.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| redordead |
Posted on 15-09-2022 09:10
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
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The first of our national champions this season is a new rider in our ranks and it's great that we have a Balkan champion to add to our colorful setup. Milos Borisavljevic is the Serbian time-trial champion which is a jersey we haven't had yet. We thank ivaneurope for adhering to our wishes in designing a full kit jersey.
Milos Borisavljevic - Serbian TT Champion
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita
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| redordead |
Posted on 16-09-2022 11:01
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Third time's a charm? Well it's actually 3 in a row as Michael Christodoulos scores another national title in the time-trial, and he's probably far from done. We again thank ivaneurope for adhering to our wishes in designing a full kit jersey.
Michael Christodoulos - Cyprian TT Champion
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 16-09-2022 15:21
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Directeur Sportif
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A couple of great looking jerseys for sure. Like both of them really, but especially like the one of Christodoulos!
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| redordead |
Posted on 19-09-2022 10:18
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
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With the most important NC jersey we have in fact simply done a hand over of sorts. From Matic Groselj last year to Izidor Penko this year. We again thank ivaneurope for adhering to our wishes in designing a full kit jersey.
Izidor Penko - Slovenian TT Champion
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita
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| redordead |
Posted on 22-09-2022 10:55
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To end our NC jersey presentation we have two riders who will alternate their appearance in national colors. Ivan Siric continues his reign as road race champion. Now joining him is Aleksa Crncevic as the time-trial champion. We again thank ivaneurope for adhering to our wishes in designing a full kit jersey.
Ivan Siric - Bosnian RR Champion
Aleksa Crncevic - Bosnian TT Champion
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of Cedevita
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 22-09-2022 11:52
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Domestique
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Slovenia and Cyprus NC jerseys definitely looks the best
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| redordead |
Posted on 23-09-2022 06:51
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
A couple of great looking jerseys for sure. Like both of them really, but especially like the one of Christodoulos!
TinxiaS wrote:
Slovenia and Cyprus NC jerseys definitely looks the best
The Cyprus one is my favourite as well. It naturally blends with our basic orange scheme for Cedevita
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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