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[PT] Xero Racing '24 | The... Time Trialist?
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 29-08-2024 15:09
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World Champion
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@knockout - I've been a big fan of his work for a while and you're right that his star quality has come from his consistency - a super rare trait for a top sprinter, and we hope it's not going to run out just yet  Thanks!
@Nemolito - I definitely know that to be true of you, and so it doesn't mean nothing that you entrusted to us a rider like Matti who means so much to your team. We hope we can take good care of him, and as you say we are certainly gaining fans from two nations with this signing!
The team and I'm sure Areruya would welcome a friendly rivalry for lead scorer if Manninen can do it  Would hopefully be meaning he had an amazing season and way outscoring his wage which he loves to do. |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 29-08-2024 20:08
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Directeur Sportif
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I have already mentioned my admiration for Manninen in his previous team's HQ and can also echo the same here! Excellent pickup to start off transfers for you
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 30-08-2024 06:50
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
I have already mentioned my admiration for Manninen in his previous team's HQ and can also echo the same here! Excellent pickup to start off transfers for you
Thanks, was definitely one of the marquee type riders we wanted to secure early to bring in a boatload of points |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 30-08-2024 07:50
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Transfers Vol. 2: The Prodigal Son
After the signing of Manninen our transfers slowed down quite immediately, as the team entered into protracted negotiations for a second new leader, which came to an end last night. However, one rider that we did make it a mission to sign even while the situation was unclear was Yacine Hamza - who demanded a silly wage, walked out on us into free agency, and discovered the grass was not always greener. However prepare the fatted calf, because our boy has returned to us alive, well, and with a lower wage than he was asking for in renewals.
 Yacine Hamza
27 | Maxed | 75,000 | Xero since 2020| FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 77 | 60 | 67 | 60 | 73 | 72 | 78 | 63 | 77 | 77 | 65 | 65 | 63 |
Signed as a stagiaire in 2020, Hamza took a couple of extra years of development but finished development with the team last year, and now the team is very grateful to finally experience him at his peak. He is a tough sprinter who can survive hard riding flat races and winds, and he's a powerful leadout man for Matti Manninen - our first top sprinter, meet our first ever real leadout man. A match made in heaven and we can't wait to see Yacine and Matti get to work. |
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| ember |
Posted on 30-08-2024 08:33
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Team Leader
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Hamza really has all the tools to be the perfect leadout rider. Very excited to see him work in tandem with Matti! Think you’ve laid the foundations to maximize the points from Matti very well here, congratulations! |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 19-09-2024 17:09
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 30-08-2024 08:34
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After the signing of Manninen our transfers slowed down quite immediately.
Honestly, debatable 
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| knockout |
Posted on 30-08-2024 08:43
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Grand Tour Champion
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ember wrote:
Hamza really has all the tools to be the perfect leadout rider. Very excited to see him work in tandem with Matti! Think you’ve laid the foundations to maximize the points from Matti very well here, congratulations!
Agree. This is the kind of rider I'd always search for as a leadout. That its a returning rider on a good wage just makes this better
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 31-08-2024 10:04
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@ember/knockout - Definitely, it's what made us stick with him through his development, and once we got a top sprinter it made all the sense in the world to go and get him back from free agency
@Nemolito - Quite a few days without any signings, that was the quiet bit |
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 31-08-2024 10:31
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Manninen back in the PT is not what I wanted or needed but it's not surprising considering how strong he has been for so long. A great acquisition for you!
Always a big fan of a prodigal son story  Could be a silent assassin with the PT or GT sprints!
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 01-09-2024 12:18
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Luis Leon Sanchez wrote:
Manninen back in the PT is not what I wanted or needed but it's not surprising considering how strong he has been for so long. A great acquisition for you!
Always a big fan of a prodigal son story Could be a silent assassin with the PT or GT sprints!
Yep he’s been in the conversation for the best PCT rider of the years since he maxed, and in his one PT season he was brilliant, so hopefully he can make good on all of that and achieve again at the highest level. I too am a fan of the Hamza story, happy to welcome him back now |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 01-09-2024 12:18
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Transfers Vol. 3: The... Time Trialist?
After four long days of negotiations, the team have signed Filippo Ganna for Ilan Van Wilder and €2,220,000. Crazy what you have to pay for a Schomber replacement in this economy.
In his element - 2023 Paris-Nice
 Filippo Ganna
28 | Maxed | 450,000| FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 76 | 69 | 73 | 80 | 74 | 81 | 69 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 82 |
| - GC Tour de Slovenie (’21) | - 6th Chrono des Herbiers (’22) | | - Stage Praha-Karlovy Vary-Praha (’23) | - 6th GC Tour of North. Europe (’21) | | - Stage Tour de Slovenie (’22) | - 8th Chrono des Herbiers (’23) | | - 2nd GC Paris-Nice (’23) | - 9th Chrono d’Arenberg (’22) | | - 2nd Chrono d’Arenberg (’23) | - 9th GC Deutschland Tour (’23) | | - 3rd GC Tour de Slovenie (’22) | - 10th GC Tour of Qatar (’21) | | - 4th GC Tour de Slovenie (’23) | - Points Tour de Slovenie (’22) | | - 5th GC Praha-Karlovy Vary-Praha (’23) | - U25 Tour of Qatar (’21) | | - 5th Chrono d’Arenberg (’21) | - SAA Tour d’Afrique (’18) | | - 5th GC Tour of Ukraine (’23) | - U25 Tour de Slovenie (’21) |
| 2018 | PCT | 140th | Filippo Ganna |  | Euskaltel - Elior | 121 | | 2019 | PT | 183rd | Filippo Ganna |  | Team Puma - SAP | 175 | | 2020 | PT | 116th | Filippo Ganna | | Team Puma - SAP | 304 | | 2021 | PT | 48th | Filippo Ganna | | Team Puma - SAP | 718 | | 2022 | PT | 59th | Filippo Ganna | | Team Puma - SAP | 550 | | 2023 | PT | 26th | Filippo Ganna | | Team Puma - SAP | 1065 |
A sprinter and a time trial leader as our big off-season signings? This isn't the Xero Racing we are used to, but when a top quality sprinter like Manninen, and a young premium time triallst like Filippo Ganna come on the market, proven PT scorers as they are, you have to sign them.
Now, neither of them will have the best PTHC schedules this season, and that may be one of the big factors in our tale of survival or relegation. But both Manninen and Ganna broke 1000 points in their last PT season, and with Joseph Areruya a far superior rider to the Areruya that scored 985 points in 2021, it's a pretty solid top three - especially if Thomas Pidcock has anything to say about it being a top four.
His first career victory - 2021 Tour de Slovenie
Ganna is particularly good over short time trials, and unlike past Xero prologuiests he can actually survive the rest of the race, making him a solid option for the team to protect without losing half an hour. 2nd at Paris-Nice last year and consistently great at the Tour de Slovenie (one of the races he unfortunately won't be able to ride this season), including a win in 2021, he's a great rider for the TT stage races that are pitched somewhere between pure time trialists and actual stage racers.
Just 28 years old, he's on the same timeline as Joseph Areruya and hopefully this is a signing that will be great for us for the next five years - in fact with the PTHC bands this year he should only get better in 2025! For now, though, he'll get settled in, work on what schedule we can put together, and look to start paying off the Xero-record transfer fee we invested in him. |
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| SotD |
Posted on 01-09-2024 12:28
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Great to see him finally landing. Massive fee, but also a unique rider. Congrats
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| knockout |
Posted on 01-09-2024 12:35
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Grand Tour Champion
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Massive signing to you. This offseason feels like it sets the future for future pt podium seasons ... or more. Great one!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 01-09-2024 14:58
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I have to echo the others: Manninen and Ganna are just great signings. Add Areruya and Pidcock and it will be a fun season to watch as long as you're not a competing PT manager
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 01-09-2024 18:56
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Directeur Sportif
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Ganna is a fantastic signing to complement the already established leadership in the team. Should provide a massive upswing on the points for the coming season!
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 01-09-2024 20:43
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Definitely still sad to miss out on Ganna, he's obviously a huge signing for you. As you say, your 2024 schedule may not be the one to optimize his scoring, but he'll still be a huge factor.
As for Manninen, I still don't know why but he's just freakingly consistent in the randomness of sprints. Guess it's really worth the try, and if he gets another year like the ones before, you should easily be safe with your three (four?) leaders, and maybe even more than just that...
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 01-09-2024 21:37
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Massive signing. I think it's only fair to other managers that he is not in band 5 though. Got to leave some crumbs left for the other teams with time trialists!
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 03-09-2024 11:04
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@SotD - Yeah quite a huge fee, way over what we have ever done before by many times over, but hope his age and skillset is worth the investment. Thanks
@knockout - I'll happily just take it setting the present of immediate survival - but after that, why not aim high?
@kb26 - Thank you very much! Hopefully those guys can all provide some entertainment as well as results and people can enjoy watching us
@Abhishek3-0FC - Hope you're right! Yeah he fits the structure very well, even if we don't have the TTT depth to back him up in some races
@Fabianski - Had guessed you were among the bidding teams as Ganna sits next only to Küng as the most "Jura" rider in the DB We are definitely missing some races where he can be successful but have enjoyed crafting the schedule around that, can maybe take a few risks or unique plays that we won't ever do again when he's filled up with traditional races to lead in.
I too am not sure quite what Manninen has in his statline to be so consistent across PCM editions, I can only hope that nothing in our team or the PT startlists this year disrupt whatever equilibrium he's working on
Our leaders should all do well for us indeed, but just like in PCT the last couple of years it's what comes after that could trouble us. Hope you're right that the big guns can pull through for us.
@Nemolito - Yeah I'll give you guys all a year without him to have fun before I get the chance to plan a calendar around him |
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