@cunego - Definitely not been an easy time doing off-season planning this year. As said over in the Bralirwa HQ, I'm sure we'll have matters to discuss come the 11th

@TMM - For sure, like last year there's a reason that we are happy to wear the renewals fine for a bit Yep I wasn't too upset with the results given the situation - it looked really bad after R1 (sure Nemo can attest how "it's so over" my mood was) with every non-50k guy rejecting but luckily didn't have to stretch too much further than my R1 offer for any of them in the end. And now in my seventh renewals without insulting anyone!

@Croatia - Too rich for my blood - lucky I've been studying from the masters for seven years now

@Bikex - Yep not quite as high as last year but definitely a big chunk of change! Thanks for the faith.

@redordead - Well in the manner of Areruya's big wage rise and Stannard and Bennett breaking 400k sure, but looking at the actual stats I am not sure that's true - obviously we can't keep it all but a lot more depth now than before. And yeah, some quality guys will be going no matter who it ends up being.

@Ulrich Ulriksen - Pride myself on my taste, even if the OVL caught up to me and then overcompensated by quite a bit making these cool riders much less worth it I think Stannard will be just fine (even if I appreciate the fit isn't perfect right now with all the puncheurs and climbers and in-betweeners in the squad) - either going to way overperform his 79HI and make his wage look fine, or once he's training eligible he has the potential to be a top puncheur in the world with only a few bumps.

@Eden - Yeah Turgis is a rider that comes to mind as an overperforming 79-er, and Stannard really should be a level above him even with the MO difference. If Stannard is on the team this year then I have no doubt he'll find a full calendar of his own opportunities to show that off - great thing about the versatility of the leaders - I'd only really describe Bennett and Fouche as being in the same niche as each other. Stannard even has the CB to make him a great scorer in Viana or Benelux as well as focusing on the pure hills while Areruya takes the hybrids.

jandal7 wrote:
If Stannard is on the team this year...

baseballlover312 wrote:

			Age	Stats	OVL	Wage
	Areruya	Joseph	27	79MO, 81HI	80.01	€790,000
	Stannard	Robert	25	79HI, 78AC	78.42	€410,000	�����
	Pidcock	Thomas	24	70+ ALL	78.05	€330,000	��
	Bennett	George	32	81MO, 76HI	78.04	€410,000	���
	Fouche	James	25	78MO, 75HI	76.26	€140,000	���
	Habtemichael	Daniel	26	78MO, 74TT	75.92	€135,000	�����
	Houle	Hugo	33	78SP, 74HI	75.67	€170,000	����
	Nikiema	Bachirou	26	77HI, 76AC	75.52	€110,000	�����
	Kipkemboi	Salim	25	75MO, 77HI	75.35	€105,000	���
	Van Niekerk	Morne	28	78TT, 76FL	73.97	€50,000	�
	Tesfaye Heyi	Henok	30	75FL, 73HI	73.87	€50,000	�
	Novardianto	Jamalidin	29	76FL, 79AC	73.80	€50,000
	Van Zyl	Johann	32	74HI, 73TT	73.00	€50,000	���
	Vermeersch	Florian	24	74SP, 73CB	72.89	€95,000
	Hamza	Yacine	26	75SP, 75FL	72.82	€50,000	�����
	Strong	Corbin	23	71MO, 72HI	71.53	€50,000	��
	Van Wilder	Ilan	23	72MO, 71TT	70.63	€75,000	���
	Schomber	Nils	29	81PL, 74TT	70.49	€50,000	��

� strong intention to keep | ��� open for offers | ����� clear intention to sell

@SotD - I know, it hurts to put up so many quality guys for sale at the same time If any of those names pique your interest further I'm sure we'll talk. And plans are a lot more varied than last year where I knew almost exactly the squad I'd end up with (thought I'd get a subleader instead of Van Wilder but kept getting 46h outbid... what a difference that could have made!) and the amount I needed to raise to do training. Not sure I have the money or even motivation for world beater status - I'll have to settle for the OVL telling me he is already

@Abhishek - Yep that's how the cookie crumbles though of missing our schedule to be in PT. As you say, upside is that we can afford to do it

@knockout - Yep I definitely think he's one of the best value guys on the market especially long-term he could really be a top class guy, and already he's one of the best sub-80 guys around (which you'd hope when everyone around his OVL seems to be 80-83)

@cio93 - Schomber has never been 0 dots

@whitejersey - Yeah there's really something for all levels and all roles on the block, so I should be getting a lot of varied talks

@Fabianski - He was at three dots last year and cio chased FAs instead Welcome to try again though if the offer is right, as is anyone, but not the priority. As said above Schomber is not some invaluable rider - I defend him a lot because of his haters, not because he's a top tier guy.

Yeah Stannard vs Bennett vs something more outside the box was a hard decision to make after the R1 failure trying to fit both in and obviously is not one that's final as all three options are on the table, just trying to make the best team for the season. I don't like doing it at all, just like with Higuita last year it is gutting at best and a (self-inflicted) hit to my motivation at worst. And sounds interesting, let's talk in transfers

@SotD - I know, it hurts to put up so many quality guys for sale at the same time Sad If any of those names pique your interest further I'm sure we'll talk. And plans are a lot more varied than last year where I knew almost exactly the squad I'd end up with (thought I'd get a subleader instead of Van Wilder but kept getting 46h outbid... what a difference that could have made!) and the amount I needed to raise to do training. Not sure I have the money or even motivation for world beater status - I'll have to settle for the OVL telling me he is already Rolling Eyes

@SotD - Looking forward to talking as always

@Ollfardh - Don't bother checking my availability posts for the next 10 years either then...

@jph - Yeah that 2020 year was one of our most clashing years in transfers between Stannard, Meurisse, Champoussin and I'm sure more Worked out for both of us potentially having our best ever seasons that year.

Yeah I didn't plan on having all this money coming in at this point in the team's arc as it's too soon for Stannard, Fouche, Pidcock or Vermeersch training. Only two real leader training options this time out - better than only one last year

cio93 wrote:
All the people thinking the two dots rider in question is Schomber...

The young Basque puncheur Oier Lazkano joins us on loan from Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren and is our first rider from the region since Igor Antón back in 2017. A man who is comfortable on short climbs, he should gain a lot of experience riding at the PCT level with us and assist Joseph Areruya in hilly races.

A Colombian climber, Jhon Stiven Ramirez is the first of two riders joining us on loan from our friends at Spark-BNZ Racing, following in the footsteps of Luke Mudgway in 2021 and Regan Gough in 2022. He holds the honour of being undoubtedly the worst rider to ever join us.

Probably the pick of the loanees this year, the young Frenchman Alan Boileau joins us from Ekoi - Le Creuset for a year in the PCT. A talented rider who is equally at home on climbs short and long, we know Bennett, Areruya and Fouche are all looking forward to what he can bring to our climbing squads.

The final of our loanees, Otago lad Kees Duyvesteyn is our third successive Kiwi in the last few seasons coming in from Spark-BNZ, and also brings some promotion experience to our squad having been a part of the Cedevita team which went up last year. He's a handy puncheur with a decent kick.

Team Würth MODYF's loss is our gain, as after a solid neo-pro season Felix Engelhardt did not have his contract renewed with his home team. The German joins us as a stagiaire and will have a chance to prove himself worthy of joining us full-time in 2024. If not, we should still be able to keep his development journey moving so he can blossom into the very solid puncheur we know he will be.

Edgar Andres Pinzon is another young Colombian climber on the team's books this season, joining us a stagiaire after not being picked up for a neo-pro contract. He is tough as nails and we would love to see him maintain that as a strength while developing his punch to make him an awesome attacking climber and KoM hunter, whether with us or another team.