Race	Cat	goal
USA Pro Cycling Challenge	C1	Top 5

After we were done with our goal races in April last season we go the direct opposite way this year and only start our goal season in April. The route changes in USA PCC make this race a perfect fit for our team, with APP our best bet to actually finish in the top 5 of the race given his constancy in this kind of stages and races last year. His support is also strong with Boileau, Le Gac, Paulus and Oliveira being there too, especially the latter could actually score some decent result himself.

Race	Cat	goal
GP Lugano	HC	Top 5

GP Lugano should a festival of the punchy sprinters, so we send Oliveira here as our captain with some of the usual support squad as well. Given the clash with Milano-Torino the top-puncheurs should be split up with most of them probably racing in Italy (including APP), so we think a top 5 result could actually be possible here.

Race	Cat	goal
Balkans International	PTHC	Top 5

APPs constantly good results in hilly stages and classics made it rather easy for us to choose the Balkans International as our PTHC goal race. A top 5 result is aimed at here too and could be in reach, but to be fair it’s far from guaranteed given the competition we expect to see here. We give APP all the support we have though, so we hope for the best.

Race	Cat	goal
Tour of Britain	C1	Win

Our win goal this season is the final hilly stage race of the year with Tour of Britain. Given the profile it’s no surprise we’re counting on APP again to get a good GC result although we don’t really expect him to take the GC win (or even be a major competitor for it). He gets all the support available in our hills department nonetheless.

Race	goal
Team Standings	Top 15

A Top 15 in the team standings isn’t a very impressive goal, but it could be just manageable even if avoiding relegation is the primary goal. But if we achieve that, a top 15 result isn’t that far off.

All in all our goals aren’t very ambitious, but it will be hard to achieve any of our goals nonetheless – at least harder than last season. We fully rely on APP being constantly in the leading groups of the hilly stage races we aim at to get some good GC results – and even then probably some luck to get into the top 5 with some bonus seconds or on countback. We wouldn’t be surprised to see us 0/5 after the season, but it could also be 4/5 with things going in our favour. At least we won’t have a long time to grieve anyway with three of our four goal races near the end of the season.

Start	End	Race	Category
13-Feb	20-Feb	Paris - Nice	PT

Our first PT appearance is in the second biggest French stage race for obvious reasons. Our roster consists mostly of talents who need the XP, but we hope for breakaway appearances especially from Delbove, Garibian, Lapeira, Louvel or Pithie. And we also send Ranaweera to compete for a good GC result.

Start	End	Race	Category
01-Mar	03-Mar	Ronde van Nederland	PT

Our next wildcard race is the Ronde van Nederland where we also send a bunch of talents, but also experienced riders like Hadi for the breaks and Oliveira and APP for the stages and GC.

Start	End	Race	Category
01-Jun	03-Jun	Scandinavia Open Road Race	PT

Our squad for the third wildcard race consists half of talents here for the XP and half of experienced domestiques for APP, who could be in for some stage results and a decent GC result in this hilly race.

Start	End	Race	Category
03-Jul	23-Jul	Tour de France	GT

Our last wildcard is for the biggest race of them all: the Tour de France. We’re the first French team on the startlist for some years and want to give the country and the MGUCI universe a first glance on our talents on the biggest stage possible as we send a squad consisting almost entirely of level 3 and 4 talents. But apart from the XP we also expect riders like Vauquelin, Louvel or Lapeira to show themselves in as many breaks as possible, so we (and our sponsors) can really enjoy following the race. The only experienced rider we send is veteran Thibault Pinot who we expect in the mountain breaks (and maybe KoM hunting) in what is probably his last GT appearance.

Start	End	Race	Cat
07-Jan		Down Under Classic	HC

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Kristians Belohvosciks	70	60	62	67	69	71	65	62	59	67	69	65	72
	Ewen Costiou	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
	Alvaro Hodeg	72	53	65	67	69	74	70	51	79	78	53	64	73
	Antti-Jussi Juntunen	68	63	72	61	67	70	65	61	68	71	68	61	60
	Paul Lapeira	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
	Matis Louvel	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
	Tobias Lund Andresen	66	56	60	60	68	68	62	60	71	73	57	63	59
	Laurence Pithie	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69

We start our season with our only second ever HC race (we didn’t race this category in the entire last season) and with the hopes of an appearance in the break as well as a decent result from Hodeg in the sprint we expect. But he’s our only rider over 25 here, so it really is mostly about hope as it’s pretty obvious we didn’t plan our season around this particular race anyway.

Start	End	Race	Cat
19-Jan		Badaling International	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Kristians Belohvosciks	70	60	62	67	69	71	65	62	59	67	69	65	72
	Welay Hagos Berhe	67	71	69	69	71	68	71	60	61	66	67	64	67
	Ewen Costiou	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
	Joris Delbove	65	74	72	58	67	72	74	62	60	69	71	72	58
	Paul Lapeira	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
	Tobias Lund Andresen	66	56	60	60	68	68	62	60	71	73	57	63	59
	Aurelien Paret-Peintre	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64

We head to our trip to China with some higher expectations as it’s the only hilly classic of the month and so APP will be our natural leader here. Paulus is his main domestique here with all other riders still developing. It will be a first test of how well APP will do in PCT as he was a fairly constantly well scorer in this kind of race last season. A top 10 would be fine, but we’re well aware it could end even better or far worse. We clearly hope for the former as it’s our best chance for reasonable points this month.

Start	End	Race	Cat
26-Jan	29-Jan	Tour of Guadeloupe	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Kristians Belohvosciks	70	60	62	67	69	71	65	62	59	67	69	65	72
	Ewen Costiou	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
	Alvaro Hodeg	72	53	65	67	69	74	70	51	79	78	53	64	73
	Antti-Jussi Juntunen	68	63	72	61	67	70	65	61	68	71	68	61	60
	Paul Lapeira	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
	Matis Louvel	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
	Tobias Lund Andresen	66	56	60	60	68	68	62	60	71	73	57	63	59
	Laurence Pithie	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69

We’re back in Guadeloupe for yet another year, but once again mostly out of a feeling of obligation. At least this year we have Hodeg here to maybe get some depth points out of the race. He’s accompanied by the same U25 riders as in DUC, so maybe even some U25 points via breakaways are possible.

Start	End	Race	Cat
31-Jan		Great Ocean Road Classic	PTHC

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Lewis Askey	67	63	70	58	69	65	69	72	66	73	60	67	67
	Maxime Daniel	72	55	68	55	75	75	72	79	75	71	68	73	63
	Joris Delbove	65	74	72	58	67	72	74	62	60	69	71	72	58
	Janvier Hadi	68	74	72	74	73	70	71	61	74	71	68	69	74
	Alvaro Hodeg	72	53	65	67	69	74	70	51	79	78	53	64	73
	Antti-Jussi Juntunen	68	63	72	61	67	70	65	61	68	71	68	61	60
	Paul Lapeira	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
	Matis Louvel	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71

We end our month with our first ever PTHC race, but with the same pan flat profile as most of the other races and an even stronger competition our hopes for a good result are low. At least there’s always the chance for some depth points from random top 50 finishers to add to the handful of points Hodeg should be able to get.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
07-Jan		Down Under Classic	-	-

Hodeg didn’t participate in the sprint, Lapeira missed a fluke points result by 3 places. At least Belohvosciks was in the break, which sadly didn’t give any points either.

points: 0

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
19-Jan		Badaling International	-	Top 10

APP did what he always does (and what we hoped for): he was always attentive and managed to stay with the front group to finish in the top 10 as 8th.

points: 24
Aurelien Paret-Peintre 24

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
26-Jan	29-Jan	Tour of Guadeloupe	-	GC Top 25; stage Top 10s

We came to Guadeloupe with low hopes, mostly on some U25 points from the breaks. Well, that didn’t work out as Lapeira only got 6th in the U25 classification on countback after none of our riders was in any break. At least Hodeg was consistent in the sprints with 8th, 10th, 11th and 8th. This resulted in a 17th place overall, which is quite okay regarding his place in the sprinter ranking of the race.

points: 11
Alvaro Hodeg 10
Paul Lapeira 1

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
31-Jan		Great Ocean Road Classic	-	Win; Top 10

We came here with the hope to snatch a couple of points – and we managed to snatch a couple of points. It’s a big couple, to be frank, but man did we snatch it. Askey initiated the break of the day and was joined by Louvel, which was already what we hoped for the day in addition to a minor sprint result from Hodeg. But once we saw this race situation there was some hope we could actually get something out of the race, especially as there were some rouleur on the favorites list. And our two youngsters delivered big time with Louvel working late to keep the chasing peloton away and Askey finishing it off to take our first classics win ever – not only in our first ever PTHC race but also in a flat classic, probably the race type we’re least prepared for. It’s just been a great day for the team!

points: 209
Lewis Askey 170
Matis Louvel 37
Alvaro Hodeg 2

Start	End	Race	Cat
01-Feb	08-Feb	Volta a Portugal	PTHC

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Berhe	Welay Hagos	67	71	69	69	71	68	71	60	61	66	67	64	67
Chevrier	Clement	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
Delbove	Joris	65	74	72	58	67	72	74	62	60	69	71	72	58
Garibian	Arman	69	74	70	71	72	73	76	55	60	70	66	70	71
Hadi	Janvier	68	74	72	74	73	70	71	61	74	71	68	69	74
Hodeg	Alvaro	72	53	65	67	69	74	70	51	79	78	53	64	73
Pinot	Thibaut	70	78	72	63	73	76	70	56	60	66	70	65	63
Vauquelin	Kevin	68	73	67	72	68	72	70	58	68	68	71	70	71

We enter our first ever PTHC stage race with a rather weak lineup as we didn’t see much use in spending 10 RDs of Ranaweera for a minor GC result against a PT / PCT leader lineup. So we have Hodeg here for the two flat stages, hoping for a rather weak sprinter field. We also bring some stage hunters in Chevrier, Hadi and Pinot as well as a bunch of U25 riders who need the XP and could do well in a break as well.

Start	End	Race	Cat
04-Feb		Omloop Het Nieuwsblad	HC

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Askey	Lewis	67	63	70	58	69	65	69	72	66	73	60	67	67
Costiou	Ewen	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
Daniel	Maxime	72	55	68	55	75	75	72	79	75	71	68	73	63
Dunne	Conor	66	74	74	69	71	72	73	70	62	69	74	69	69
Lapeira	Paul	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
Louvel	Matis	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
Mestric	Matija	73	63	70	63	69	70	68	76	55	65	71	75	67
Pithie	Laurence	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69

This is not only the classic opening of the cobbles season, it’s also the first race of Daniel (and a proper cobbles squad in general) for us. Given the rather weak PCT cobbles field this season he should be in contention for the top spots, but given his performances in the last season it could also end in a huge bust. At least he has his full supporting cast with him (+Costiou), so we should get a first idea of how well our cobbles squad can do this season in any case.

Start	End	Race	Cat
10-Feb		Le Samyn	HC

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Askey	Lewis	67	63	70	58	69	65	69	72	66	73	60	67	67
Costiou	Ewen	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
Daniel	Maxime	72	55	68	55	75	75	72	79	75	71	68	73	63
Juntunen	Antti-Jussi	68	63	72	61	67	70	65	61	68	71	68	61	60
Lapeira	Paul	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
Louvel	Matis	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
Mestric	Matija	73	63	70	63	69	70	68	76	55	65	71	75	67
Pithie	Laurence	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69

It’s nearly the same squad (just Juntunen instead of Dunne) as in Omloop, it’ll be against the same riders as there and it’s a similar profile. So it’s basically the same expectations we have.

Start	End	Race	Cat
13-Feb	20-Feb	Paris - Nice	PT

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Belohvosciks	Kristians	70	60	62	67	69	71	65	62	59	67	69	65	72
Delbove	Joris	65	74	72	58	67	72	74	62	60	69	71	72	58
Garibian	Arman	69	74	70	71	72	73	76	55	60	70	66	70	71
Lapeira	Paul	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
Louvel	Matis	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
Lund Andresen	Tobias	66	56	60	60	68	68	62	60	71	73	57	63	59
Pithie	Laurence	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69
Ranaweera	Suranga	67	80	73	76	75	75	74	52	58	65	57	69	73

The race to the sun is our first ever wildcard race and thus our first outing in a PT field. Nearly all our riders are here to gain some valuable XP, but the race also sees the debut of Ranaweera for our team. He won’t play a huge role in the GC as he’ll lose quite some time in the final TTT, but at least we’ll have someone to cheer at in the first seven stages – apart from the breakaway appearances which should be mandatory for a wildcard team. And we actually can’t wait to see riders like Lapeira, Louvel or Pithie in action, with an emphasis on action.

Start	End	Race	Cat
26-Feb		Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Askey	Lewis	67	63	70	58	69	65	69	72	66	73	60	67	67
Costiou	Ewen	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
Daniel	Maxime	72	55	68	55	75	75	72	79	75	71	68	73	63
Dunne	Conor	66	74	74	69	71	72	73	70	62	69	74	69	69
Lapeira	Paul	73	69	71	61	70	70	67	71	72	73	75	70	64
Louvel	Matis	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
Mestric	Matija	73	63	70	63	69	70	68	76	55	65	71	75	67
Pithie	Laurence	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69

The third cobbled classic of the month sees us entering the exact same squad as in Omloop. Not much to add to what we’ve said there already, really.

Start	End	Race	Cat
28-Feb		Coppa Placci	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Baudin	Alex	65	66	66	66	68	66	67	63	63	66	67	65	63
Belohvosciks	Kristians	70	60	62	67	69	71	65	62	59	67	69	65	72
Berhe	Welay Hagos	67	71	69	69	71	68	71	60	61	66	67	64	67
Costiou	Ewen	71	66	72	68	71	68	63	66	70	72	68	69	69
Le Gac	Olivier	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
Lund Andresen	Tobias	66	56	60	60	68	68	62	60	71	73	57	63	59
Paulus	Daniel	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
Pithie	Laurence	72	66	72	71	73	73	70	73	72	73	67	72	69

We come to San Marino for our first C2 race of the season and though we surely won’t have the top favourites here due to the PCT restrictions for C2 races we have two riders who could do well at the start with Le Gac and Paulus. Their support mostly consists of level 1 riders, but Costiou, Pithie or Berhe should still be decent domestiques.