Miholjevic looked like he was going to be a pretty good prospect back in 2022, but since he moved to WT he hasn't really shown anything. As a result I don't really see him being anything more than a domestique in MG. He's fairly tall at 189 cm and most of his results are from time trials. I see him as a big diesel engine guy, but with lower main stats. It's rare to find a decent Croatian rider so I think he deserves a shot in MG.
Looking at his palmares they are indeed really bad post WT move, but I don't want this to be a default response. The world of racing has shifted for sure, but plenty of U23 riders that get moved up don't get free roles despite great youth level success and that will reflect on their pro results.
I wanna suggest some riders to add in the next season, but because lack of experience in adding stats to riders i am just going to post there PCS profile in here. i tried looking for some Kosovars rider most of them were to old or to young so i added 1 rider from the year of 2003 because there aren"t any Kosovars riders in the current season.
It would be really helpful of some of you guys would take a look at these riders.
Thanks in advance
Yes it's time to become more familiar with the Caribbean cycling scene! As usual my suggestions stray from reality, i have no choice. But i'm trying to keep things balanced interesting.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Van Vliet
Indy
68
68
68
69
66
66
63
52
65
66
65
65
67
ARU
NA
1
0
5
11
2002
4
69
75
73
76
71
71
70
52
65
67
66
65
73
Stg
4
100
4
Indy - basically to provide some contest to Croes. In the Caribbean reagion we do lack balanced Stage Racers, so my aim here is a solid mid-range rider that could be a longer term training focus to make a CT level leader.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Baker
Brandon
74
66
66
70
69
66
70
73
75
76
74
66
74
JAM
NA
4
0
16
11
2000
3
75
66
66
70
70
67
70
75
76
76
74
66
74
Cobbles
4
100
3
We really do lack a notable Jamaican influence in the DB given it's prominent position in the world (relatively speaking). Mixed threat very much modelled on the imminently declining Darren Matthews.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Narraway
Nicholas
68
61
68
68
66
65
61
71
60
68
74
66
69
BER
NA
1
0
28
6
2002
4
73
61
69
73
73
70
64
78
60
69
75
66
74
Fabian
4
100
4
Richardson has flown the flag for a while. Why not introduce an actually good Bermudan cobbler to the game? Suggest with Fabian here, but also Classics is obviously an option. Neither way is overly strong, just again trying to slowly amp up the talent levels.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Neely
Felix
67
60
65
57
67
71
67
65
69
70
62
65
64
BAH
NA
1
0
11
5
2003
5
74
60
66
57
74
74
74
70
78
78
62
66
64
Sprint
5
Right, a 2003 rider... Hear me out! Jay Major has done admirably but there needs to be more sprinting options in the region. Neely is younger than usual, but carry a year-1 dev restriction and he max's as Major fades out whilst only slightly kicking up the talent level.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Morris Berroa
James
67
68
68
67
63
67
68
52
68
66
65
64
67
ANG
NA
1
0
9
2
2002
5
70
77
73
73
70
72
75
52
68
67
66
65
74
Stg
4
100
Anguilla! (Not Angola!) More climbing options in the region. Keeping rider types varied. Can go Stage Racer as here, going Climber also an option but still won't really be a PCT leading type rider.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Magalhaes
Victor
73
63
68
75
76
76
63
76
66
71
74
64
71
CYM
NA
4
0
5
1
2000
3
74
63
68
76
77
77
63
78
66
71
74
64
72
Fabian
4
100
The Cayman Islands, because why not have yet more nationalities? This one is simple, i will need more actual PCT level riders. Magalhaes fills out that role in the vein i've already been progressing the region. Yes, you can see i'm trying to replace Matthews and upgrade from Richardson on the cobbles - i'm going to Altur all over the place again soon.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Testori
Michael
70
79
77
78
70
70
71
51
60
67
66
61
74
CYM
NA
4
100
24
6
1992
1
Speaking of PCT level leaders. Why not an one-year wonder? Michael has an actual palmares to speak of and has been a long time active cyclist. Made sense he could be added as a ready made PCT level leader. I may have over done him a touch but allow me a little excitment. But i compensated by tanking his backups, and again he'll be gone in a year.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Delgado Gonzalez
Ricardo
65
73
73
60
74
79
63
53
67
71
77
76
60
CUB
NA
3
0
31
8
2001
4
66
77
77
60
75
81
66
53
67
75
81
77
60
ClV1
4
100
More climbing. Starting high for an '01 rider yes. But you know, variety is the spice of life. Plus we all love a good training project/story. Fly weight climber for raiding on mountains. Not unheard of from Cuba.
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
Reyes Reyes
Pablo Alcides
77
73
75
70
76
73
74
75
75
74
80
74
72
DOM
NA
4
100
26
1
1994
2
Think Jesus Roniel Marte but like, turned up to 11. Just a powerful all-rounder with only a couple of years left in the legs. This is a fun RP suggestion of an old road captain that may steal a few last shots at glory. Plus he has a great name!
Surname
First Name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat
Cont
Xp Level
Xp Points
D
M
Y
Pot
De Comarmond
Aurelien
68
69
72
68
67
72
68
61
72
71
73
61
70
MRI
AF
2
0
3
10
2002
6
74
70
75
68
73
75
75
65
79
77
73
62
70
Sprint
Hmm, now i realise i may have overloaded on sprinters. Anyway, De Comamond, continues the tradition of fun punchy sprinty Mauritians. I went Sprint here in Dev, obviously Hills is a big option too. It's really damn hard to make two-discipline lvl1 riders that are realistic.
Anyway, a few ideas. Happy to talk to the DB makers about the region as i have looked through a ton of rider profiles again.
Just some riders from the region(s), I will only give ideas for max stats as these are just guys that would only be 'cool' to have in DB.
I suggest adjusting Musa Mikayilzade a little bit so that he gets signed as he is basically THE only Azeri rider in real life actively riding and he will not get signed otherwise.
Last name
First name
Fl
Mo
Hil
TT
Sta
Res
Re
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Do
Pro
Mikayilzade
Musa
65
65
68
67
66
67
67
64
64
62
64
65
67
1.00
Mikayilzade
Musa
68
74
74
65
73
72
74
64
64
71
72
73
65
4.00
Of course hard to evaluate, but Aliaksandr Sychuhou is the best out of 2002 Belarussian class. Fitting replacement for Bazhkou as he appears to be similar type of rider
Last name
First name
Fl
Mo
Hil
TT
Sta
Res
Re
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Do
Pro
Sychuhou
Aliaksandr
72
67
75
75
71
70
73
60
63
70
68
69
75
4.100
The only Qartveli from 2002, who is also one of the best in the country.
Last name
First name
Fl
Mo
Hil
TT
Sta
Res
Re
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Do
Pro
Sitchinava
Nika
70
76
71
72
73
72
70
60
66
72
73
74
70
4.100
Kazakh Dostiyev did very well in Rwanda, but was poor elsewhere, I guess a decent stage race dom is appropriate. His ITT results are somewhat puzzling to put into a stat form. He seems incredibly awful in flat TTs, but strong in hilly/mountainous ones. I think incredibly low flat stat could illustrate that, or maybe just normal flat and a lot lower TT.
Last name
First name
Fl
Mo
Hil
TT
Sta
Res
Re
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Do
Pro
Dostiyev
Ilkhan
55
75
73
74
74
73
75
55
62
66
70
72
74
4.100
One more Kazakh, I know there should will be two more with famous surname (and one being damn good) added so I won't even suggest them. He looks to be a nice sprinter with a tiny bit of punch.
Last name
First name
Fl
Mo
Hil
TT
Sta
Res
Re
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Do
Pro
Mulagaleyev
Vladimir
74
62
71
61
72
71
74
65
79
79
70
63
62
4.100
A guy from Kirgyzstan. Um thats about it, there's nothing.
1 request, should be obvious, give me Ponomar. Suggested stats would open a lot of options, but not create a superstar as he seems to be an early peaker (with low peak) irl... imo Fighter, Cobbles and Classics would be the most obvious picks, but Climberv1 would also give a very interesting result this way
Ponomar
Andrii
69
65
68
55
68
70
66
68
56
67
74
70
60
UKR
EU
1
0
5
9
2002
5
Fighter
77
68
71
59
73
75
71
71
59
74
82
74
64
Hills
72
68
76
56
76
74
70
68
59
74
79
71
61
Stage Race
72
74
73
62
75
75
73
68
56
68
75
71
67
Cobbles
76
65
69
55
75
75
69
76
63
68
75
71
60
Classics
76
65
73
55
73
74
69
75
56
68
82
71
60
Cv1
70
74
76
56
71
74
73
68
56
74
82
71
61
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game
1025 Sheehan Riley 74707774747469586578706873 USA NA 4 100 15 6 2000 1[/table](Stage Race and Hills to 4.100 respectively)
[/quote]
If you want to make a more faithful adaption of Riley Sheehan's skillset Tyler Stiteswould be a pretty solid candidate. He has some decent results on TTs, 2nd in USA NC and has decent GC placements in hilly stage races over the last 12 months.
I have opted for 3 relatively strong greek talents this time. Probably not ideal given that we have relegated, but nevertheless I do think it's about time atleast one greek talent will join that can actually get a top 10 somewhere without massive training. Especially with Vlatos now declining for the 2nd time, and Farantakis not being a viable option due to the sprinting mishaps.
Sorry for the format, I don't have access to a PC at the time, so it's difficult to make it work all that well.
Last Name
First Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DH
PRL
NAT
CON
Panigyrakis
Ioannis
71
68
68
70
67
68
65
59
64
72
64
68
68
GRE
EU
Drakos
Nikolas
70
70
70
67
68
73
67
61
67
70
68
70
72
GRE
EU
Varotsos
Ioannis
69
69
69
71
68
70
66
64
65
72
70
71
71
GRE
EU
Last Name
First Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DH
PRL
NAT
CON
Panigyrakis
Ioannis
77
69
71
77
71
74
71
59
64
72
68
69
75
GRE
EU
Drakos
Nikolas
73
74
79
68
76
77
71
61
70
78
75
73
73
GRE
EU
Varotsos
Ioannis
76
70
72
78
73
77
71
64
65
72
75
71
78
GRE
EU
Panigyrakis is born 18th february 1997 so a pretty old rider.
Drakos is born 18th july 2002 and is by far the best greek talent IRL.
Varotsos is born 9th october 2002 and opts for different solutions without ever being a top rider.
I think that Rakhimbaev, Eminov and Jovanoski could do with being held off for a year, but I have done some work regarding the rest.
I think that Nuha is the best of the three Kosovars that Mantez has suggested. He has won a handful of local amateur races and even managed a Top 10 on the final stage of the Tour of Albania '24 (2.2). He won the Kosovar RR national championship in 2023, having dominated the U23 competitions for a few years. I think giving him the matrix of a baroudeur provides him with opportunities to take the occasional victory.
Samir Hasani has provided the main competition for Nuha throughout their respective careers. He has often ended up playing second-fiddle but has managed a few victories of his own when it comes to the local scene. He has attended a handful of Continental races alongside Nuha, were he has generally performed worse. The most significant victory I looked at was in the Kosovar TT NC '23; because who doesn't love a solid TT option?
I also wouldn't mind if some changes were made to the duo of Ahmed Madan and Ahmed
Naser. Although they will never be world beaters, they are both still riding in Europe, so it would be nice if they were viable in the database. Ahmed Madan has been contracted to Bahrain Victorious since 2022. He won timetrials at the Islamic Solidarity Games '22 and Asian U23 Championships '22 but hasn't managed much of anything since then. If his performance in the timetrial at the senior Asian Championships '24 is anything to go by, he isn't actually a very good TTer. However, I think making him have the option of developing into a rouleur or leadout would be nice.
Evidently those at Bahrain - Victorious thought that Naser was the lesser of the pair, given he is stuck at the Continental level with CTF Victorious. That said, he actually has some results in .2 races which are not terrible, even if they good as such. Interestingly, he won both the RR and TT at this year's national championships. In the Tour of Salalah '23 (2.2) he won Stage 2 after a solo ride through the mountains. He has also done decently in TTs at the Tour of Sharjah '23 and '24 (2.2). A mountain domestique perhaps.
It is no small feat to win the road race at your senior national championships when you are still eligible for U23 races. No, Albania may not be the strongest cycling nation in the world, but given I don't anybody else has managed to find a ride for a Continental team (instead being at club level) I think Kloppenborg would be an excellent addition. As he is suggested here he could evolve into a flandrien with some potential or otherwise a rouleur à la Yzeiraj.
Marcelo Kola probably had the highlight of their career when they came 5th in the time trial at the Albanian national championships last year. Their time wasn't good.
There are already a number of quite talented riders from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the database, so I don't see any need to overly boost Marko Kondic's capabilities. He finished a distant 2nd in the RR NC this year but couldn't stick with the pace in the Balkan RR. He has struggled to hold on the to the peloton as soon as there are any bumps in the parcour at Belgrade Banjaluka (2.1); this has been less of an issue on the flat. His potential lies in providing a rouleur or a leadout rider.
Serban Luncan hasn't raced this year but Mattew-Denis Piciu has. They are slightly different profiles of rider, with perhaps Ioan Dobrin being more similar to Luncan, but Piciu is probably the most talented Romanian from 2002. He was 8th in the Tour de Serbie '22 (2.2) and has won a number of domestic club races. As far as I can tell he does best in the sprints, but isn't afraid of a couple bumps along the way.
I know that I have already made a recommendation for Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen, but that was before his rides at the Baby Giro and National Championships. I think it is relatively evident from his results that he doesn't really make sense as a puncheur-climber and is instead much more of a classics specialist. He wasn't overly impressive at the Baby Giro, failing to mount an effective challenge in the bunched sprints and losing lots of time on the harder parcours. He did alright in the prologue with 18th. These results suggest he shouldn't be introduced as a puncheur. Instead, his victory in the senior Danish NC RR and 4th in the ITT have led me to this revised suggestion. In the RR he was part of an attack that got away from the group with just over 10 kilometres remaining, before outsprinting Michael Valgren, Kasper Asgreen and Frederik Wandahl to take the win. I've included mappings for Potential 2 as it provides for the three options for development: track-sprinter, flandrien and hill-sprinter.
(Leveled up to 4.100 using Track-Sprinter, Sprinter + Cobbles, Sprinter + Hills, and ClimberV1)
Having spent his U23 years riding in Italian amateur races with Mastromarco Sensi Nibali, Filippo Magli has made a big impression since signing with Bardiani in 2023. He might never replicate Nibali's feats, but he certainly is no slouch. He took 6th at the Giro Reggio Calabria '23 (1.1) and 4th in the Italian RR (NC) before scoring a first UCI win at Muur Classic Geraardsbergen (1.2). He hasn't added any significant notches to his palmarès thus far this season, although he did well at the Brussels Classic (1.Pro), so perhaps he is being hampered by not being penciled in for the spring classics. He can be introduced to help fill holes in Italy's cobbled department.
Karel Vacek's U23 career was seriously hampered by the pandemic and his decision to ride the WorldTour with Qhubeka in the immediate aftermath. It was only in his fourth year that he got an opportunity to show some of the talent that had been evident in his junior career. A Top 10 in GC at the Course de la Paix '22 (2.NC), combined with 2nd and 4th on stages of Valle d'Aosta '22 (2.2U), weren't overly impressive, but they were something. Having returned to the professional peloton, he had a chance of glory in the Giro d'Italia '23 (2.UWT) but was beaten out by Davide Bais on Gran Sasso. He has also managed 3rd on that unfortunate stage of Itzulia Basque Country '24 (2.UWT), being outdone by Louis Meintjes this time. He could do with a slight upgrade to make him a viable domestique.
That way he can offer support to (what I assume is) his brother. Mathias Vacek had a very good junior career and, after a quiet year with Gazprom-RusVelo, came to notice when he won a stage of the UAE Tour '22 (2.UWT) from the break. Vacek has subsequently shown his colours as a very strong stage racer: 13th at the Deutschland Tour '23, 9th at the Tour of Belgium '23 (2.Pro), 8th at the Tour of Norway '23 (2.Pro), then 2nd and 4th in the '24 editions of the latter pair. Jan Hirt, Petr Vakoc and Daniel Vesely are all 30+; Vacek is the next big thing to emerge from Czechia, his mapping reflects that.
Although he hasn't had the most prestigious career, Marco Frigo was one of the more combative riders at Giro d'Italia '23 (2.UWT). He was 5th best from a relatively large breakaway on Stage 12, lost on in a sprint to Healy and McNulty on Stage 15, before being sixth-best on the climb to Val di Zoldo. He isn't a world beater, but equally is no slouch. A well-rounded domestique perhaps?
Having shown some potential at the U23 level with his victory at Trofeo PIVA '22 (1.2U), Martin Marcellusi has subsequently proved himself against the professional peloton. He was in the winning move at Eschborn-Frankfurt '23 (1.UWT), where he secured 10th, survived Slovenia '23 (2.Pro) to secure 13th, and capped it off with the KoM @ Tour du Limousin '23 (2.1). His solid form has continued with 8th @ Milano - Torino '24 (1.Pro) and 4th @ Paris - Camembert '24 (1.1) being the standouts. I think he has done more than enough to deserve at least a viable mapping, and his advanced age makes him perfect for the puncheur-sprinter hybrid.
Nice to see some people suggesting some interesting riders. Also fun to see some wildly crazy suggestions that will never become reality. Just going to say that the goal is to add +- 150 young riders. Around 50 less than last year and I assume most years, but there simply is no point in adding an infinite number of +- 70 rated main stat riders who will never get signed anyway. And this message isn't aimed at anyone particuar. Just two seasons ago I was asking for a 68 Bolivian and 71 main stat Uruguayan etc. to be added, without ever even contemplating signing them anyway.
So yeah, definitely not all riders here will be in the talent DB, and those that will be will, with a very high probability, not be with the same stats as suggested here. As said before Ezee and I are working on it and will make sure every primary sponsor nation of MG will get at least one 'signable' rider, trying our best to make everybody as happy as possible
This comment also serves as a little reminder to send in your suggestions quickly if you haven't yet. We're working on the talent DB and the closer we get to the finish, the less we'll come back here and keep looking if other names/options/nationalities have been dropped, to then keep changing our files and ideas. The thread has been up for almost two months already, so no real excuses there.
A couple more Indians (again ones with some level of achievements at the international level).
Yanglem Rojit Singh is a former Junior Track World Champion in the Team Sprint (2019). He is also the Bronze medal winner from the 2022 Asian Championships in the Team Sprint. He was a teammate of Alben in both events. He was part of the team for the Team Sprint event in the 2022 Commonwealth Games where they finished 6th. A year older than Alben, Rojit has played second fiddle to the former, and is now concentrating more on riding against the clock.
ID
Surname
First name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat.
Cont.
XP Level
XP Points
D
M
Year
Pot
Singh
Yanglem Rojit
67
62
64
71
68
69
64
66
70
73
61
60
70
IND
AS
2
0
28
6
2000
3
Time Trial
71
62
65
77
72
75
68
66
70
73
64
60
76
Sprinter
71
62
65
71
72
70
75
69
76
79
61
60
70
Fabian
71
62
65
75
72
73
65
72
70
73
61
60
74
Ronaldo Laitonjam Singh is named after the original Ronaldo, and is the next big(-ish) thing in Indian cycling. He became the first Indian to win a medal at the Asian Cycling Championships, where he won three medals (1 silver and 2 bronze). He finished second overall in the kilometer at the 2021 UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far and how Nemo posted we're working hard on it. But he also already mentioned that there will be a limited amount of new riders and that many wont probably be as you suggested them.
Also I made a little statistics of Team Nations (from the continuation thread till today) and also included the Real World cycling to give you a little indicator what you may can expect:
Nation
# of Teams
Primary
# of Pro's
Germany
5
4
275
Spain
3
3
921
USA
4
2
508
The Netherlands
3
2
491
Denmark
3
2
356
Colombia
3
2
246
Great Britain
3
2
410
San Marino
2
2
0
Norway
2
2
115
Switzerland
2
2
136
Slovenia
2
2
61
Japan
2
2
190
New Zealand
2
2
74
Belgium
2
2
995
Mexico
2
1
69
France
2
1
1644
Sweden
1
1
65
Latvia
1
1
16
Luxembourg
1
1
41
Costa Rica
1
1
49
Kenya
1
1
2
Austria
1
1
80
Barbados
1
1
0
Albania
1
1
5
Ireland
1
1
88
Lithuania
1
1
17
Hungary
1
1
58
Ecuador
1
1
43
Ukraine
1
1
36
Greece
1
1
25
Rwanda
1
1
13
Australia
1
1
174
Canada
1
1
92
Russia
1
1
41
Italy
2
937
Kazakhstan
1
36
Tanzania
1
0
Curacao
1
0
Mauritius
1
2
Kosovo
1
0
Croatia
1
10
Argentina
1
48
Yes, the MG isnt a perfect replication of RL cycling and shouldnt be. Also, Sure there will be a rider of every primary Nation at least. But dont expect for a nation that has basically no cyclists to get 23 trillion of riders here just because you picked it at your primary or secondary nation. Priotity will also be 2002 riders, so i dont think its necessary to post a new 25 year old french or italian (possible rewroks excluded)
Don't know any IRL riders from Tanzania, so I've gotten my inspiration from Futte from RTG (I was thinking of building a climber with a punch). Hoping to get a rider who can follow the team in PCT, if promotion happens one of the coming seasons.
Surname
First name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat.
Cont.
XP Level
XP Points
D
M
Year
Pot
Godspeed
Futte
69
70
68
54
69
70
64
50
67
71
64
59
58
TAN
AF
1
0
1
1
2002
5
Godspeed
Futte
70
79
76
55
72
74
71
50
67
78
72
60
59
TAN
AF
4
100
1
1
2002
5
Godspeed
Futte
70
79
71
54
77
77
68
50
67
75
69
67
58
TAN
AF
4
100
1
1
2002
5
(4.100 via the Climber v1 training & Climber v2 training)
Quite a simple suggestion here. As some of you may know my mom's dog passed away this year. And as the only suggestion I would suggest a tribute to him. A wild guess would be he had on average about 10 years to live if he would've died from old age which is the rough lifetime of your average domestique. Tbh I don't care what his stats, potential or whatever are. Just a way to keep him 'alive' for me. Vaticano since well, he's a saint now.
I just put some random fun stats I guess. But it's whatever Nemo and Ezee want. I don't care much aslong as he is atleast put in. Pretty please? Thanks
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022, Get to know ...
After a really strong U23 debut in 2021, Russian Viacheslav Ivanov made the move to Spain to join Team MPGroup and has already finished 5th in the tough Volta a Castello stage race, before a fractured heel curtailed his season.
Slava, as he likes to be known, regularly mixed it up with the best riders from Fundacion Contador, Caja Rural Amateur and Equipo Lizarte, and is in lien to be back in Spain in 2023, where he will be a marked man.
I interviewed the 20-year-old recently, to talk about his career so far, and his road to recovery. Read on to get to know Ivanov better.
“Overall, my season was going well. I had several wins and podiums. But in mid-July, I fell at one of the races and broke my heel bone, now I need to recover, my season is over, because the injury is very difficult. Now I will prepare for next year!”
When asked about his strengths and weaknesses, Ivanov points to the climbs, but highlighted that the elements not pointing in his favour is still an area he needs to work on
“Of course I think the mountains are my strong point. I like races with long climbs. And for my weaknesses, this is most likely the wind, although I think that it’s not only me who would say that!”
As a first year U23, he took a terrific 7th overall in the Giro del Friuli, based on his 7th on the pretty often used Giro climb to Piancavallo. He told me about the race briefly.
“Last year in Friuli there was a decisive stage with a finish of about a thirteen-kilometre mountain to Piancavallo. Then, I did my best to finish as close as possible and became 7th.”
Slava didn’t have the best prep for Volta a Castello, as he was doing a lot of track racing before that. All the same, he enjoyed the race and secured 5th on GC. It would serve him well, as he would go on to win a one-day race later in the year, as well as a stage of the Vuelta a Extremadura, both wins coming by narrowly holding off a charging reduced group.
“This year at Castello I was 5th. In general, I really liked this race. Every day I felt better. In general, before the start of the race, I had only a few training days on the road, because a month before that I was on the track and participated in the national championships. Speaking of that, it’s not so easy to get on the road after the track!”
Ivanov would love to go pro one day and do a Grand Tour and, as a climber, he harbours dreams of winning a queen stage.
“Of course my goal is to take part in the grand tours. I would really like to go to the Vuelta a Espana and try to win one of the queen stages, but how to get there is something else.”
Having followed Slava for a while now, I’m pretty sure this is a rider who deserves a spot on a Continental team for 2024, if he does indeed head back to Team MPGroup next season. Those who follow the Spanish scene regularly will know this guy is a great talent, but you have all been served notice that Slava Ivanov is going to win a lot in 2023.
There’s a lot of Indonesian talents coming through at the moment which is awesome, and actually makes it difficult to pick who to suggest. The two below I’ve gone with versatility and made it possible to develop them a bunch of different ways, to make them more interesting to other managers so there’s a chance they don’t just wind up with me.
Yoesandy Oetomo
A very versatile rider who does great in TT’s and packs a punch in a sprint finish. Is an 01 rider so stated him at level 2 with low potential to give him a few dev options.
First name
First name
Flat
Mountain
Hill
TT
Stamina
Resistance
Recovery
Cobbles
Sprint
Acceleration
Fighter
Downhill
Prologue
Pot
Lvl
DOB
Yoesandy
Oetomo
71
65
68
70
70
73
68
55
72
74
76
71
72
2
2
26/4/2001
TrackTT
75
65
68
76
73
76
75
55
75
75
76
64
78
Sprint
75
65
68
70
74
74
78
55
78
78
65
69
72
Ilham Dzikri Ramadhan
Another 01 rider, so went lvl 2 and low pot. Ramadhan is a really promising young climber racing well against more seasoned opposition. He’s also a fast finisher and has some results on flat stages too so made his statline have a few interesting options.
Unsurprisingly, I would like to introduce a stats option for the newly crowned German elite road race champion, Marco Brenner!
Famously, he's been among the first juniors post-Remco to move straight to WT at age 18, and thus is already in his 4th pro season now.
After a good first season, his first big results came in a hilly TT in Pologne finishing 5th just behind Cavagna, and a surprising 5th place in his first Vuelta from a mountain break in the week he turned 20, only half a minute behind Carapaz.
Health struggles saw him stagnate a bit following those results, but this year he has picked up form again and won his first race by getting a gap on the peloton in a technical descent in Coppi e Bartali and holding off the sprinters on the final flat kilometers, and now he gets to wear a NC jersey for the next year thanks to a great race where he went in an early break and dropped Florian Lipowitz of Romandie and Giro-fame decisively on the final hill to arrive solo.
Stat gains to 4.100 for Stage Race, Hills/Climber v1 mix, straight Climber v1, Time Trial
Riders added this year will ideally max out in the year 2027, which will be the first year of decline for Silvio Herklotz.
The only other German climbers in their prime exceeding 75 mountain by that point will be Zimmermann and Kämna at 77mo each, which is a worrying situation for the many teams with a German (sub-)focus.
Looking ahead, there are no new German GC talents on the horizon until at least 2007 where some experts predict Zeno Levi Winter will have decent talent, unless we see Emil Herzog step up his climbing and abandon his classics focus.
Therefore, I'd suggest making Marco Brenner rather well-rounded for a GC rider - which reflects his real-life performances - without unrealistically having him reach the heights of the generational talents Bernal/Pogi/McNulty.
His STA/RES/REC would ensure even the most dedicated training would keep him a step below those.
He can climb well, he has a decent punch, his TT (particularly on undulating terrain) has been his most consistent strong suit in his career so far, he likes going for Top 20s even in bunch sprints and can Top 10 reduced group sprints, and his Coppi e Bartali win shows he has retained good descending skills from his junior experiences in CX.
The only question mark is his recovery, which appears to see him struggle to repeat good uphill performances in the same race at times.
With my suggested stats, he becomes a decent target for some training to take him to tier 2 levels, or will just max out as a very reliable superdomestique.
He has some alternative potential as a puncheur without challenging Hirschi/Schmid/Valter, while his mediocre physical stats may prevent the Climber v1 route from being overly valuable.
And as a GC rider, it's obviously always important to keep the TT path from becoming OP particularly when employing pot5, which this spread would ensure.
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
Udo USHER
Yoesandy Oetomo 
