kandesbunzler26 wrote:

Congrats on your renewals, as you said you probably won't need big transfer activity to be competitive. But if you want to loan someone to a nice little fellow PCT team just let me know as there shouldn't be any language problems for your riders

jandal7 wrote:

Boring availability list

Always love reading the HQ, one of the very top ones around. Intrigued how these transfers play out - your amazing talent core keep getting stronger but declines and releases dampen the firepower at the top. Not as much cap space as you'd like I'm sure but plenty to work with - could be as quiet as you make out or a lot of reshuffling, and if so I'm sure I might have some proposals.

jandal7 wrote:

To be clear, proposals that might make you less Rwandan but definitely not more

redordead wrote:

I don't think we'll talk that much, maybe a loan could cure both our boredoms, but that's probably it.

Dippofix wrote:

Very interesting list of availability you have there... I get the sense we may end up talking about some Eritreans if you are in the mood to have a more active transfer season

It looks like a very nice squad already though, and you still have the cap space to fine tune it a bit, so I think you'll be in for a nice season ahead.

liefwarrior wrote:

Stallaert and Meintjes staying on represents some strong continuity from the season-that-could've-been. The future is also secure with Van Eetvelt coming through the ranks. Tesfatsion is a worthy successor in the hills, albeit of an entirely different mold to Izagirre. The only question mark remaining is the replacement of Silvestre, with Stallaert no longer an A-Tier sprinter either. I could honestly see Fabio returning again, he's just that good, but I'm sure we'll find out. This team is definitely one of the pre-transfers contenders though (and I'm not just saying that because of the aesthetic appeal of the HQ).

Eden95 wrote:

No such thing as a boring transfer season, the temptation is far too strong Although I would agree that it looks like you’re already ready to head into 2024, interested to see what you’ll do if you do decide to move on a couple of your riders and who’ll you’ll replace them with.

In 2022, we were ready to tank our team if it meant signing Biniam Girmay. In 2024, we're back at it again. But two things are different:

One, I believe we're much better equiped to work around the massive financial investment now than we would've been back then. And two, most importantly, where 880k wage was not enough to secure Bini's services then, 2.8M transfer fee (and three further riders) were finally enough now. An insane amount of money? Sure. Do we care? Not even a little bit.

So, what's there even to say? Bini is perfectly suited to take over from Stallaert and continue our tradition of cobblestone stars with a strong finish leading our team. He's not going to be as strong as Joeri right out of the gate, but we'll work hard to provide him with the best training facilities to continue to improve beyond next year.

More than anything, though, Bini is set to be the emotional heart of this team. We will enjoy building around him, rooting for him and celebrating his successes for years to come. That said, we will have to wait one more year to see him in our jersey. To free cap space and be able to field a competitive team, but more importantly to make 100% sure that he will actually reach his max level this season, he will join our friends at Assa Abloy and hone his skills in PT.

Like I said, not only a lot of money was necessary to make this happen, we also bid farewell to three riders who joined Newton Foundation in return. Carlos Verona did good things for us last year, Yacob Debesay and Welay Hagos Berhe were supposed to do good things for us in the future. The latter two especially hurt a little, but neither were integral pieces to our immediate or longterm plans. We thank them for their efforts and wish them all the best!

Jakstar22 wrote:

Great signing! Nemo broke the site though

Bikex wrote:

Congrats to the signing! Hope he will end up being worth what you paid for him.

jandal7 wrote:

You got your man, congratulations Hope Bini and Vermeersch can enjoy their rivalry and earn our teams some training money for the two years before De Lie arrives

Mresuperstar wrote:

Farewell Bini, it's a painful goodbye but at least he is going to the perfect team. It's right where he belongs. Just remember us when you're winning monuments and green jerseys. Maybe let us win a stage or two when you aren't feeling your best

When you spend your entire transfer budget on a single rider who won't even ride for you in the upcoming season, but for whom you still spend 200k of your salary cap, resources are somewhat limited.

Therefore, we were looking to free agency to find what we consider good value pickups. Ideally, we would also be able to strengthen our bond with the Belgian cycling community, perhaps even get a bit younger in the process. Luckily, we managed to sign three riders who fit the bill exactly.

Louis Blouwe

4.48

25 y/o

Puncheur

65.000€

At 25 years of age, Louis Blouwe can be an instant contributor, but his best is yet to come. With his stats, he's almost a one-to-one replacement for Yacob Debesay, giving us a strong long-term addition to our hills department. His decent quickness and fighting spirit indicate that we could regularly see him in breakaways, too.

Gerben Kuypers

3.72

24 y/o

Classics

50.000€

Like Louis, Gerben Kuypers has already taken his first steps in his develop. He also feels most at home on hilly terrain but deals very well with cobblestones, too, giving him many development opportunities. Depending on his focus, everything from 77/70 to 74/74 in hills and cobbles is possible.

Emiel Verstrynge

1.00

22 y/o

Classics

50.000€

Cyclocross talent Emiel Verstrynge signs his first professional contract with us. Given his background, it's no surprise that he feels at home on cobblestone roads, but he's also very much able to climb a steep hill or two, bringing an additional element of versatility to our classics squad.

With this trio, we bring in three riders that could be part of the backbone of our classics department, both hills and cobbles, for almost a decade to come. Especially considering their low wages upon signing, we're very happy with these new arrivals.