We tried to ensure having a decent TTT set-up during the off-season, and it seems to have worked. The squad finished second in the infamous Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, only a handful of seconds after winner EA Vesuvio. Let's hope a (slightly) weaker version of this team can do similar stuff in Paris - Nice and the Giro later this year. The five riders that scored a nice 35 points per person were Vlatos, Erdenebat, Ocampo, Zmorka and Eaton.

First PTHC race of the year, first real stage racing test for Eastman. We also brought Costa Rican champion Marin for the sprints, but he was unable to get a top-10 result. Eastman on the other hand made sure to not get dropped on the flat and hilly stages, after which he raced to a strong fourth place in the longer time trial on the penultimate stage. The final stage, the only mountain stage, didn't go perfect. The team did well and set up Eastman for a good final climb, but the American didn't manage to do anything noteworthy.

Nevertheless, holding on with most of the other favourites was enough to finish 2nd in GC behind the fantastic Taylor Phinney. No stage results, but a good GC in the end. Lopez Nolasco in 41st and Osorio in 44th finished inside of the top-50. If we have to give this race a rating we'd say 6,5/10. Maybe we're being a bit harsh, but maybe it is what our riders need to perform (even) better next time!

We say this with the utmost respect for our six riders at the startline in Luxembourg, but out of the three races in the triple clash this was clearly our weakest line-up. We hoped for a breakaway appearance, but were unable to get it. Aular managed to pleasantly surprise us by rolling over the finish line in 18th and thus scoring some more points than we initally expected. Was a fun race to follow as a half outsider with some great reporting.

Fabianski wrote:
Agree that the mountain stage was a bit disappointing (finishing behind you-know-who )

Fabianski wrote:

I guess Eastman wasn't expected to get big stage results on the hills, not losing time must have been the tactics. Agree that the mountain stage was a bit disappointing (finishing behind you-know-who ), but I think he'll do better on long, steady, steep climbs than on this rather particular one. Marin definitely disappointing, hopefully he'll find his 2023 legs!

Aular in Grand-Duché is a surprisingly good result, as you mentioned; the amount of climbing involved seemed to play in his favour.

Great start this time, no way you'll relegate

redordead wrote:

The points keep rolling in

We went to Italy in the hopes of getting some stage results and a decent final GC with Higuita, but couldn't get it. Stage-wise we can't complain too much with three top-5s (including a podium) in three hilly stages, but with no or few gaps awarded/won, the Colombian went from a fifth place in the GC to a fourteenth during the final time trial. With no time trialists or stronger stage racers there we also didn't have any other GC cards to play. Marin had three sprint opportunities, but never did better than a seventh place. Still props to Osorio and Ruiz for some nice domestique work for our leader.

France was all about Giro preparation and a good GC for Eastman. The competition was hard, and the first mountain stage went far from ideal. The second mountain stage was also going in the wrong way, but then Lopez Nolasco stood up and helped Eastman resurface and even finish second behind an unstoppable Pogacar. The final stage was a team time trial and catapulted Eastman into the number two in GC, after Ocampo lead the rest of the team over the finish line as best team of the day. Our first ever TTT win and a great final GC result making one out of three races of the triple header into a success!

First monument of the year and it was Thomas Pidcock with a great ride for Xero Racing, together with Skujins and Vansevenant on the podium showing that puncheurs are still alive in San Remo as well. Our puncheur was Higuita, but a badly timed puncture didn't particularly help him when it came to positioning, finishing 26th. The whole team helped him get back, so we're left to wonder if other top-50 finishers Ruiz (15th) and Halvorsen (35th) would have done better if that puncture didn't happen. Hopefully we can try again next year!