I agree with Jandal, 5/5 on goals is definitely possible. Usually the win goal is the hard one, but Benoot is the favourite for Viana, so very realistic.
I'm not looking forward to you kicking my butt in the Giro and in some of the PTHC races
We were virtually non-existent in this race, with no effort at the front and no involvement in the sprint. Kulikovskiy and Kooistra finished 29th and 30th, to pick up some points.
Badaling International
Hayter joined the break. They were caught with under 40 km to go. We came here with Leemreize as the intended leader but it was M. Van Dijke who stayed with the group of favourites after the decisive attack. He finished 9th out of the reduced bunch sprint, a very good result for him and the hoped for Top 10 for us.
Tour de Guadeloupe
Yechezkel joined the break on Stage1, getting a first and a second in the two KOMs, and jointly leading that classification at the end of the day. Kulikovskiy could only manage 14th in the sprint.
Yechezkel was at it again on Stage2, winning the first KOM and finishig second in the other to now be the sole leader of that classification.
Kulikovskiy was better positioned for the sprint this time and finished 8th.
Yechezkel further enxteded his lead in the KOM standings on Stage3, effectively tying up the classification win in the process. The uphill finish suited Kulikovskiy, who got his best result of 3rd so far in this race.
Yechezkel got even more points on the final stage, despite not needing to. Kulikovskiy wasn't on his best day but still managed 10thoStage4.
Kulikovskiy finished 10th in the GC,with Yecezkel in 14th and Saya in 20th. Yechezkel won the KOM. Kulikovskiy finished 8th in the Points.
We didn't have very high hopes from Jauary, as none of our top leaders were racing. Have to say we got what we were looking for from the month, despite DUC being a washout.
We are here because we have to. Any points are a bonus. Hoping that Leemreize can do better than in Badaling and for some breakaway appearances.
Expectation: Top 20 Watch Out For: Jonel Carcueva
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Startlist
Rider
Role
Saya Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Damien Howson
Domestique
Alexadr Kulikovskiy
Sprinter
Shiki Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Aviv Yechezkel
Co-Leader
Declan Trezise
Domestique
Tactics
Our expectations are lesser than last season on the cobbles having lost a leader in this terrain. Hoping for some depth points.
Expectation: Top15 Watch Out For: Aviv Yechezkel
Viana do Castelo
Startlist
Rider
Role
Tiesj Benoot
Leader
Alexandor Cataford
Domestique
Mick Van Dijke
Domestique
Marten Kooistra
Domestique
Leo Hayter
Domestique
Tim Van Dijke
Domestique
Tactics
Benoot is back to try and win this race again. Anything less than a podium would be disappointing.
Expectation: Top 3 (Win Goal) Watch Out For: Tiesj Benoot
Isle of Man TTT
Startlist
Rider
Role
Alexandor Cataford
Leader
Saya Kuroeda
Teammate
Damien Howson
Leader
Mick Van Dijke
Teammate
Aviv Yechezkel
Teammate
Leo Hayter
Teammate
Tim Van Dijke
Teammate
Declan Trezise
Teammate
Tactics
Our first ever TT event since 2017! Expectations are low again, but we are excited to see if our leader duo can punch above their weight with a very weak support team in tow.
Expectation: Top 15 Watch Out For: Alexandor Cataford
Le Samyn
Startlist
Rider
Role
Saya Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Alexadr Kulikovskiy
Sprinter
Shiki Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Marten Kooistra
Domestique
Aviv Yechezkel
Co-Leader
Tim Van Dijke
Domestique
Esow Alben
Domestique
Ronaldo Singh
Domestique
Tactics
Same expectations as Omloop, although we do have a stronger support squad here.
Expectation: Top 15 Watch Out For: Shiki Kuroeda
Circulo de Juarez
Startlist
Rider
Role
Saya Kuroeda
Leadout
Alexadr Kulikovskiy
Leader
Shiki Kuroeda
Leadout
Marten Kooistra
Leadout
Aviv Yechezkel
Free Role
Tim Van Dijke
Domestique
Esow Alben
Domestique
Ronaldo Singh
Domestique
Tactics
Kulikovskiy comes back to lead us in a sprit stage race. If we get a return similar to Guadeloupe we'll be happy.
Expectation: Top 15 Watch Out For: Alexadr Kulikovskiy
We don't expect a lot from this month either - Benoot does start his season in Viana, which is a Win Goal for us and the TT leader duo also get to show their thing in the TTT, but still the month is not likely to translate to a lot of points overall.
Stage 1 was a Prologue where we didn't have any contenders.
Ronaldo joined the break on Stage 2. He would end up third in the KOM at the end of the stage. We didn't have a sprinter to compete at the end.
Stage 3 was a bad one for us as Leemreize inexplicably dropped from the pack and lost all chance of a decent GC result.
More nothingness followed on Stage 4.
Hocevar joined the break on Stage 5. He won one of the KOMs and finished second in another.
Shirota and Ronaldo both joined the break on Stage 6. Singh did a lot of work at the front and set up Shirota well for the finish. The Japanese rider took full advantage as he timed his final acceleration to perfection and won the stage!
We had no contenders for the ITT on Stage 7.
Leemreize and Shirota joined the break on Stage 8. The breakaway did not survive but Shirota did pick up a KOM win on the day.
Carcueva finished 38th, Leemreize 65th and Shirota 68th in the GC.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
We didn't put a rider in the break put managed to stay in the front group for three quarters of the race. Saya spent most the race after that in the second group non the road, eventually finishing 13th, with Shiki a little further back in 23rd.
Viana do Castelo
The team took over at the front with around 75 km to go and didn't look back. They set a fast pace at the front, rotating the riders well. The catch of the break barring one rider was made with 27 km to go. Benoot went off on a long range attack immediately. He easily caught and passed the final breakaway rider and rode away from the rest of the pack. Catford and Mick VD were in the front group behind our leader. Benoot comfortably held on for the win to go back-to-back in this race, and securing our Win Goal of the season!
Cataford finished 6th, with Mick in 8th to wrap up an excellent race for us.
Isle of Man TTT
Our first time in any TTT event didn't turn out too bad! Howson and Cataford led the team to an 8th place finish, which was quite a bit higher than our expectations!
Le Samyn
The second flat cobbles race of the month saw Tim Van Dijke join the break. Saya Kuroeda was dropped a long way from the finish but he battled his way back. He turned his luck around massively and managed to follow the decisive attack of six riders. He finished 3rd in the sprint finish, which is an excellent result for us, and much better than we were expecting! Shiki finished 22nd again, with Yechezkel in 27th this time.
Circulo de Juarez
Yechezkel joined the break on Stage 1. He won a KOM and finished second in the other to be tied for first after the stage. Kulikovskiy made pu a lot of ground in the sprint to finish 5th.
Yechezkel joined the break again on Stage 2, but this time he was second on both the KOMs and was 2nd in the standings after the stage. Kulikovskiy didn't have
a good sprint this time.
Yechezkel tried but couldn't join the break on Stage 3. Instead it was Saya Kuroeda who did. He won both the KOMs and the Internediate sprints. Kulikovskiy did a little better to finish 9th on the stage.
Saya Kuroeda joined the break again on Stage 4. He won both KOMs and Intermediate sprints one more time to move up to 2nd in the KOM. Kulikovskiy found his legs one more time to finish 5th again on this stage.
Trezise joined the break on Stage 5. He finished second on the first KOM and won the second one to end up tied 4th in that classification. He also finished 2nd in both Intermediate sprints. Kulikovskiy couldn't compete strongly in the sprint on this stage.
Kulikovskiy finished 10th in the GC, with Saya in 16th, Yechezkel in 17th and Trezise in an excellent 21st. Kuroeda, Yechezkel and Trezise were 2nd, 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the KOM. Trezise was 2nd in the U25s.
We were not expecting February to be a good month overall, but we ended up doing a lot better than expected. Benoot lived up to his top favourite tag, but the whole team chipped in with great performances, with a special mention to Saya Kuroeda for doing it on multiple terrains, and for Shirota to get our first stage win of the season!
It had to have been a pretty decent month when the worst result is a stage win in PTHC. The results on the cobbles should be valuable at the end of the season
Olivier starts his season in this race and it's a first chance for us to see him lead the line for us in the mountains. He has a strong support team in tow, despite it not being a full 8 rider contingent.
Expectation: Top 10 (Top 10 Goal) Watch Out For: Daan Olivier
Tour of the Middle East
Startlist
Rider
Role
Yamato Shirota
Co-Leader
Marten Kooistra
Sprinter
Aviv Yechezkel
Free Role
Leo Hayter
Co-Leader
Ronaldo Laitonjam Singh
Domestique
Declan Trezise
Domestique
Fran Miholjevic
Domestique
Alejandro Franco
Domestique
Tactics
The first of two C2 outings for us. Shirota gets a chance to lead the team together with Hayter. For the former, it's a return to racing after the stage win in Portugal, while the latter gets his first chance to show what the future could bring. It is also the first outing for our Stagiares this season.
Expectation: Top 15 Watch Out For: Leo Hayter
Tour of Norway
Startlist
Rider
Role
Alexandor Cataford
Co-Leader
Damien Howson
Co-Leader
Alexandr Kulikovskiy
Sprinter
Mick Van Dijke
Free Role
Yamato Shirota
Domestique
Leo Hayter
Domestique
Tim Van Dijke
Domestique
Declan Trezise
Domestique
Tactics
Both our TT leaders will be in Norway but it is a hard race for us to judge given the unpredictability of the hill stages. We do expect Cataford to be able to hang tough at the front while it might be harder for Howson to do so. Either way, we're hoping for a top result in the ITT and a decent placing in the GC from this race.
Expectation: Top 15 Watch Out For: Alexandor Cataford
Franceville Classique
Startlist
Rider
Role
Saya Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Shiki Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Mick Van Dijke
Free Role
Marten Kooistra
Domestique
Aviv Yechezkel
Co-Leader
Leo Hayter
Domestique
Tim Van Dijke
Domestique
Esow Alben
Domestique
Tactics
A real wildcard race for us, without a lot of expetations, and just hoping our decent start on the cobbles can continue. Realistically, it's all about depth scoring possibilities for us here with the Kuroeda brothers and Yechezkel leading the line but definitely not the favourites' list.
Expectation: Top 20 Watch Out For: Shiki Kuroeda
Strade Bianche
Startlist
Rider
Role
Tiesj Benoot
Leader
Mick Van Dijke
Domestique
Yamato Shirota
Domestique
Kristjan Hocevar
Domestique
Leo Hayter
Domestique
Tim Van Dijke
Domestique
Ronaldo Laitonjam Singh
Domestique
Declan Trezise
Domestique
Tactics
Benoot returns after a month a half to take on the dusty hills of Strade Bianche. We do expect a decent showing from him in this race even though past showings have been iffy at best.
Expectation: Top 5 Watch Out For: Tiesj Benoot
1 Jour de Dunkerque
Startlist
Rider
Role
Tiesj Benoot
Leader
Saya Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Shiki Kuroeda
Co-Leader
Marten Kooistra
Domestique
Aviv Yechezkel
Free Role
Esow Alben
Domestique
Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam
Domestique
Declan Trezise
Domestique
Tactics
Back-to-back Benoot races are a rarity but we have it here! He has previous history of winning this race in 2022 and we'd hope he can get close to a similar result again. We do have our full cobbles team in support, which could either help him greatly or get in the way?!!
Expectation: Top 10 Watch Out For: Tiesj Benoot
Six races for us in March, the most of any month so far, and with Olivier and Benoot leading three of those, we hope to be able to continue our good start to the season.
@redordead: Technically, Omloop was the worst race of the month But it was a decent month for us, all things considered!
Stage 1 was flat and we were not able to get Kooistar involved in the sprint.
Kooistra did get a Top 10 on Stage 2, after another quiet stage for us.
Ronaldo joined the break on Stage 3. He picked up a point in the intermediate sprint. Hayter didn't have a good day and was dropped with 10 km to go. Shirota was dropped as well with just over a kilometer to go.
We were not able to put a rider into the break on Stage 4, which was disappointing given how the race was going. Shirota and Hayter were dropped again, but Shirota did move up the GC to finish 13th in the race. Hayter finished 2nd in the U25s, with Franco in 6th.
Tour of Norway
No breakaway action on Stage 1. Kulikovskiy finished 8th in the sprint.
More of the same on Stage 2. Kulikovskiy was able to improve to 5th in the sprint.
Both Howson and Cataford had a poor TT in Stage 3, finishing 12th and 10th, respectively, when we were hoping for Top 5s from both.
Howson keep up on the hills of Stage 4. Cataford survived, moving up in the GC.
The break survived on Stage 5, and while Cataford was again able to stay with the pack, he lost two GC positions to riders from the break.
Cataford finished 7th in the GC, which was a decent result in the end. Hayter finished 38th, Mick VD 41st and Kulikovskiy 49th. Hayter was 5th in the U25s. Mick was 7th. We finished 7th in the Teams standings.
Franceville Classique
No riders joined the break on Stage 1. Shiki and Kooistra were able to get involved in the reduced bunch sprint, with the former finishing 10th. Saya also finished in the lead group.
Stage 2 was harder and went even worse for us. Saya was weak once again as Shiki finished in the 20s.
In the GC, Shiki was 22nd, Saya 39th, Yechezkel 63rd and Kooistra 78th.
Strade Bianche
We were anonymous throughout the race. Benoot missed the winning move but timed his acceleration to perfection from the pack to take 2nd.
1 Jour de Dunkerque
We messed up our strategy, sending Benoot into a long range attack, which did not survive. He managed to stay with the front group for a long time, but eventually was dropped and could manage only 13th, in a race where he has won previously, by staying with the pack till the perfect moment of attack. Shiki added some more points in 15th.
We didn't have the best month, with just Strade Bianche living up to expectations. With the added postponement of Colombia, we kind of middled our way to keep some of the momentum going, but not all of it from the previous month. We need to improve a bit in the next couple of months.