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[PCT '22] Philips - Force India
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| redordead |
Posted on 24-04-2023 08:52
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Solid July/August given the obligatory Benelux 'weirdness'.
Big month for Benoot and all hands on deck for Choi to win ToA 
"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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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 16:02
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Bot Agent
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Joined: 23.11.09
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 25-04-2023 05:53
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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@redordead: Agree with the assessment of July/August. Hope September can be just as good or even better 
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 18-05-2023 11:40
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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The last month of the season is already here and we are still battling on to stay in the PCT! With the Tour of America ongoing, our fate still hangs in the balance regarding which division we end up in. Despite that, October is an important month in terms of possibilities, as we hope to do well in all three races we are in. Should go a long way in making us safe anyway.
| Rider | Role | | Pierre Paolo Penasa | Leader | | Cristian Raileanu | Domestique | | Riccardo Minali | Sprinter | | Jan Xandri | Domestique | | Clement Champuossin | Domestique | | Joonas Henttala | Domestique | | Gijs Leemreize | Domestique |
Consistency is what we have been seeking from Penasa all season and he has mostly delivered. More of the same needed here and we hope he can end his season on a high. Minali is here to try his luck in the three sprint stages. A good result in even one of them will do nicely. Expectation: Top 15
Watch Out For: Riccardo Minali
| Rider | Role | | Tiesj Benoot | Leader | | Saya Kuroeda | Domestique | | Simone Velasco | Domestique | | Shiki Kuroeda | Domestique | | Tom Dumoulin | Domestique | | Yannick Stoltz | Domestique | | Oscar Samuel Galvan Ramirez | Domestique |
The first of two Benoot races to finish the season. Being PTHC, we must temper our expectations to a certain extent. However, Benoot has been competitive even there and we hope can be so again. The support staff is quite weak for this one barring Velasco, so he'll be almost on his own. Expectation: Top 15
Watch Out For: Tiesj Benoot
| Rider | Role | | Tiesj Benoot | Leader | | Cristian Raileanu | Domestique | | Simone Velasco | Domestique | | Shiki Kuroeda | Domestique | | Clement Champoussin | Domestique | | Joonas Henttala | Domestique | | Gijs Leemreize | Domestique | | Mick Van Dijke | Domestique |
A much stronger support staff, simply by Raileanu being here, accompanies Benoot to the season ending race in Italy. We do have higher expectations from this one and hope to end the season well. Hopefully by this time, we will not need the good result for our survival. Expectation: Top 5
Watch Out For: Cirstian Raileanu
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 22-05-2023 10:45
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Directeur Sportif
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We didn't do much the whole race and let others have all the fun. Minali started the sprint from way back but made a late charge to finish a decent 10th. Stoltz finished 31st to get some additional points.
Benoot was attentive throughout and even followed a couple of attacks. He didn't have much left at the finish and managed 9th. Shiki Kuroeda stayed out of the limelight but finished strongly to finish a creditable 8th. Not the greatest result for us but two in the Top 10 was good enough.
Dumoulin disappointed once again on Stage 1. Penasa lost 3 minutes.
McLay showed up for the sprint on Stage 2 to get 10th.
Leemreize joined the break and finished 5th on Stage 3. Penasa didn't have the legs to compete on the climb.
The Stage 4 ITT wasn't good for us either. Penasa did enough to just squeeze into the points scoring position in 27th. This was a bad choice of race and race leader for us.
Benoot wasn't on form unfortunately and could only manage a 40th place finish as our best result. Shiki Kuroeda was 42nd. A day to forget for us.
Benoot was in the lead group all the way through but missed the last set of attacks with 2 kilometers to go. He finished in 9th from the third group on the road. Raileanu was 15th.
We were ever-present in the races but were only better than average in three of them, with no outstanding result all month. This was quite disappointing as we had several good points-scoring potential races. Off course, the big update is yet to come as the Tour of America continues plugging along, and is currently just past the halfway stage. That update will come later. We haven't really made the strides up the table we had hoped for in September.
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 24-05-2023 13:11
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3367
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Not the month you hoped for. Benoot seemed to be very good in Kigali, but was a bit unlucky with the moment of attack/moves there, as he wasted his energy on the flat cobbles. Hoping October and ToA go better for you!
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 02-06-2023 06:09
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
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New Sponsors ride in at (former) Philips - Force India
Over the past three weeks, the team have been strutting their stuff in the Tour of America. It was still a successful race in terms of the points scored, even though we did miss our Win Goal for the race. It was also a fitting farewell (almost) to our long standing current title sponsors.
On the back of this positive result, we believe this is the best time to make this much awaited announcement. The team management are proud and elated to bring to you our new sponsors.
Founded in 1946, they come with a an impressive heritage and currently operate as a conglomerate featuring electronics, cameras, computer hardware, films, music, video games and many more. Their worldwide reputation is something that immediately attracted them to us and was our immediate first choice when our current sponsors announced their departure. Their popularity in the team owner's home country was also a big reason for this choice, with the hope that they can help promote the sport there along with the Force-India branding. The Experia concept bike, originally launched in 2014, will make a comeback and will operate as the official team bike for non-training and non-racing purposes.
With new sponsors, come new focus regions, and we will be shifting our focus to the Far East and Japan as our primary focus area. As before, our team management does not believe in limiting ourselves to our primary focus, and we will be open to developing Asian cycling in addition. The process of inculcating the new focus into our DNA was already started with the signings of the Kuroeda brothers and Ki Ho Choi, three of the finest riders in the peloton that Asian cycling has to offer. We are elated that our long term planning has come to fruition. Netherlands will stay on as our secondary focus, and with Michiel Mol (and his former association with Force-India) now expected to play a bigger role in the backroom operations, this part of our team identity is here to stay.
All that remains now is to announce the Team Name and provide a sneak peak into the jersey that we plan to use for the 2023 season.
A big thank you to Ezeefreak for this wonderful jersey .
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 02-06-2023 09:08
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Classics Specialist
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Joined: 20-04-2020
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 02-06-2023 09:29
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World Champion
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Love the Asian transition being completed for you guys and the jersey is a nice creation as usual from Ezeefreak. Of course will miss Philips who have been there from the start and I loved the blue presence on the jersey, but excited to see you develop this new era further in the off season
Spoiler Kuroedas untouchable now 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
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| redordead |
Posted on 02-06-2023 10:58
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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I think I'll be keeping my Philips TV for a bit longer 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 03-06-2023 00:44
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
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That jersey is wonderful, I really love the integration of the flag on the front. Also always great to have another team in Asia. Hopefully Valv is still around next year, 2 Japanese focused teams would be awesome
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| quadsas |
Posted on 03-06-2023 00:51
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
Joined: 18-01-2013
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One may try to get rid of Philips curse, but it dont worky like dat. Wish you all the best 
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 03-06-2023 02:31
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3264
Joined: 02-11-2010
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Congrats on the new sponsors and love the jersey, with the subtle orange and green accents.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 04-06-2023 10:00
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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@Nemolito: Hopefully the rising sun inspires a rising team!
@jandal: Hope the team is as hyper-active as that gif! I'll see what I can do for the next steps
@redordead: Have been using a Sony Bravia since 2016 and that's nice as well
@Eden: Ezee really did a great job on the jersey, I love it as well Yeah would be great to have Valv stick around.
@quadsas: Thanks! Looking at our latest relative rankings though, it feels like the curse is already starting to lift 
Ulrich: Thanks Look forward to racing in those colours with you in the same division next season.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 07-06-2023 08:55
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
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The rankings update prior to these races showed us in 19th, hanging on just above the relegation zone! That was not the kind of season we were expecting to have! We needed a good end of the season to save ourselves from relegating in our second PCT year once again.
Week 1
Van Asbroeck got us off to a good start, finishing an unexpected 3rd in the Stage 1 Prologue.
Van Asbroeck followed that up by winning Stage 2, and thereby taking the lead in the GC and the Points classification.
Stage 3 was calmer for us. Eenkhoorn took 6th. Van Asbroeck lost time and his GC lead.
Barta finished a creditable 2nd after an aggressive Stage 4. Eenkhoorn's consistency put him on top of the U25 standings.
Van Asbroeck was back to winning ways on a hilly Stage 6!
Van Asbroeck couldn't really find his sprinting legs on Stage 7 and finished 7th.
Week 2
Stage 8 was a no show for us, with Van Asbroeck losing his Green jersey in the process.
He recovered on Stage 9, finishing 2nd and regaining the Green jersey again.
Van Asbroeck sprinted to 6th on Stage 10.
Stage 11 didn't give us any returns.
Choi showed himself for the first time, finishing 5th on Stage 12.
Choi did even better on Stage 13, finishing 2nd and gaining time on all but one of his nearest rivals.
Stage 14 was another quiet stage for us, but Velasco and Barta did manage to get into the points by finishing 7th and 8th, respectively. Eenkhoorn lost time though and lost his White jersey in the process.
Week 3
Stage 15 did not yield any results for us.
Choi finished strongly on Stage 16, and clinched the win on the MTF in the final meters!
We thought Choi would do well in the Stage 17 MTT, but he struggled and lost time in the GC.
Van Asbroeck finished 7th in the sprint on Stage 18. He was now the tied leader of the Points Standings.
Stage 19 was not fruitful for us. Choi lost time and fell to 3rd in the GC.
Choi pulled up his socks in the ITT on Stage 20, finishing 2nd. He moved into 2nd in the GC, falling short of the lead by just 24 seconds.
The team could not support Van Asbroeck on Stage 21, and he failed to contest the sprint. He fell to tied 2nd in the Points standings, having led the classification for 18 stages!
Despite the last stage disappointment for our sprinter, we came away from this race with 2nd in the GC for Choi, 17th and 46th in the GC for Eenkhoorn and Barta respectively, 2nd in the Points for Van Asbroeck, 8th in the KOM for Choi, 3rd in the U25s for Eenkhoorn, five more stage podiums and 4th in Teams' classification. Despite missing the Win Goal that we set for this race, we did everything else we could've wanted.
Minali started the race in the best way possible, by winning Stage 1.
Penasa continued the good run, finishing 4th on Stage 2.
Minali sprinted to 5th on Stage 3, reclaiming the Green jersey.
Penasa rode a fantastic Stage 5, finishing 4th again and moving up to 2nd in the GC.
Stage 6 saw Minali failing to sprint and losing his Green jersey. He would end up in 4th in that classification, with Penasa in 7th. Penasa was 2nd in the GC with Xandri in 27th and Raileanu in 43rd. Champoussin was 6th in the U25s.
We rode mostly under the radar with Velasco doing a great job of protecting Benoot. Benoot finished 10th with Velasco rewarded with a good 13th place finish.
The last of the season and we controlled the pack excellently, with Raileanu and Velasco on top form. They delivered Benoot to the perfect position in the closing stages. Benoot repaid the good work by accelerating inside the final kilometer at the right moment and pulling away for the win.
Raileanu finished 14th, with Velasco in 16th.
Like always, we kept our best for the very end of the season. We propelled ourselves from 19th all the up to 8th in the final PCT rankings, which makes this our best ever season; the previous best being 18th in 2018. This is a big step up from near relegation last season! We are glad our decisions in the off season paid off so well, and we couldn't have asked for a better send off to our outgoing sponsor.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 07-06-2023 09:02
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 07-06-2023 09:05
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World Champion
Posts: 14563
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Nice season finish you had there!
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 07-06-2023 11:12
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9099
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What a season finale!
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 07-06-2023 11:40
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World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
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This is tortoise and the hare level stuff, except if the hare got up in time and overtook like 10 tortoises and 1 slightly slower hare.
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
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 08-06-2023 08:45
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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@Ollfardh and Croatia: Indeed. Was hoping ToA would be this good but definitely wasn't expecting to do so well in the other races!
@jandal: The hare is not supposed to win
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 08-06-2023 08:52
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World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
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The hare still came 8th and shouldn't get a big head calling that winning
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
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 08-06-2023 10:42
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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jandal7 wrote:
The hare still came 8th and shouldn't get a big head calling that winning
That's what I meant that we still came only 8th and have not won anything
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