Obviously, our sponsors always closely follow our home race. After the bad performances in the last couple of weeks, they were following even more closely this time - and whereas they knew they couldn't expect miracles from the team, they expected every single rider to give 100% for the team.
But the prologue already ended in a first disappointment. There were three clear-cut favourites for the stage podium - and of these, Gabriel Chavanne only ended up 3rd. Gone was the dream of winning at home and wearing the jersey, gone were lots of points as well. He did try, of course, but as most often this year, he failed to beat similar level riders.
Gabriel Chavanne on his way to 3rd in the prologue.
Sadly, it was his final chance to shine at home at his maximum power - and he might have some SKA-nightmares for the rest of his life.
However, the ultimate nightmare for the team - and especially the sponsors - happened on day 2. All important sponsor representatives - the CEOs of Jura, GIANTS and the secondary sponsors - were invited by Stadler Rail CEO Peter Spuhler to Stadler's HQ in Bussnang - 15km away from the finish line in Frauenfeld. A tour of the factory was obviously on the menu - which was particularly interesting for Ticino Turismo, with the new Centovallina trains being assembled there.
In the afternoon, they headed over to Frauenfeld, to follow the finale of the race. And what they saw there left them not amused at all.
We knew we had the best sprinter in the race, and so we fully committed on chasing down the breakaway, then preparing the sprint for Cees Bol. Everything looked set up perfectly - until the sprint train suddenly decided to stop and to break up. All we got from this stage was a 10th place. After which the CEOs of Jura and GIANTS made their appearance in the team bus, as mentioned in a previous update. They clearly stated that if something like this should reproduce, the team wouldn't have a future with its current sponsors.
Team manager Mr. Fabianski wasn't in the bus at that time. He was with the Stadler CEO. Why? Because the latter was the most angry of all. Instead of getting a demonstration of Swiss quality, all we got was a disaster. And Stadler's rivals instantly jumped on the fact that our sprint train shut down - posting memes like this:
Swiss Quality Trains - They look nice, but they shut down whenever you need them most!
In short, the atmosphere that evening was below zero. The sponsors and the team management were more than disappointed, and so were those riders on the team who actually wanted to achieve something nice. The riders who - once again - sabotaged the team had some difficulties to explain what they did and why - they simply didn't have any arguments. The great divide between some riders and the team management was more obvious than ever. Could this team have any future?
Well, the "show" had to go on, and at least we can't blame Cees Bol for not trying on day 3. He even tried really hard, surviving all the hills and getting to the finish line with just 3 other riders he'd usually easily outsprint. But well, he just didn't have enough left, taking 4th place - his 3rd 4th place this year, he never managed to finish higher up. So at least some kind of redemption, even though hopes were far bigger when he mad that decisive split. He tried, and that's a huge improvement over most of his other races this year.
Cees Bol getting some kind of redemption by finishing 4th on stage 3.
Onto the four GC-defining stages then. Stage 4 was a memorable one, with Polar launching a team attack - that ultimately saw Bernal gaining more than 3 minutes on everyone else. Despite that time loss, Colin Stüssi actually did a great job, finishing 7th among the GC contenders. He still was just 17th in GC because of his bad prologue, but there were 3 more stages to go.
Stage 5 was a hilly one that didn't yield many gaps. Colin lost a couple of seconds to the punchiest riders, nothing unexpected. But then, he pulled off his masterpiece on stage 6, the hardest mountain stage of the race, ending in snowy Saas Fee.
He didn't just keep up with similarly skilled climbers, no he beat most of them! Thanks to Valentin Darbellay's brilliant support, Colin had a lot of power left on the final sections of the stage - and Colin Stüssi finished 9th on stage 6! Which might not sound that spectacular - but considering that there were 3 breakaway riders up front, this was 6th place among the main GC contenders!
Colin Stüssi squeezing out every bit of energy to finish 9th on stage 6.
After this great effort, Colin was 8th in GC - behind two breakaway riders he knew he'd normally overtake in the closing ITT. Which was a special one, starting with a downhill and ending in a climb.
Well, Colin Stüssi did exactly what was needed on day 7 to fend off any charges from behind, while overtaking two more riders in GC - meaning that our team captain finished 6th in the final GC!
Colin Stüssi conquering the climb to Brigels to claim 6th in the final GC!
This 6th place actually is our best GC result in a PTHC race this year (and this will likely not change anymore). It's tied for our best Tour de Suisse result, with Masnada's 6th place in 2021 being a tad more valuable still given that it was a 9-day PT race back then. It's also Colin's 5th Top 10 in as many races this year - 7th in Copenhagen - Malmö, 10th in Paris-Nice, 7th in the Giro, 10th in the Vuelta - and now 6th in the Tour de Suisse! What an amazing season by the currently best Swiss stage racer!
Let's also mention our consistency in terms of stage results. Yes, the top-notch result was missing. We failed at winning the prologue or the sprint stage. But except for stage 5, where Colin ended up 11th, we got a Top 10 every single day (although 4 of them in 9th or 10th, not yielding any points). So we definitely were present. But would it be enough to still somehow satisfy the sponsors after day 2?
Nope. The team did reach all targets. But it left a very bad impression on one day. And making up for one really, really bad impression takes time, a lot of time. Will we get it? Can the sponsors still be convinced to continue? Can Mr. Fabianski find a way of cooperating with some riders who obviously would want to get rid of him? We'll find out - at least an immediate full-stop seems to be off the table for now.
Thanks to Colin Stüssi mostly. An incredibly reliable and consistent rider, always loyal to his team. Colin scored 98 points in this race - with 120 being the team's goal. The target was reached, as mentioned before, with Gabriel Chavanne contributing some important points despite the disappointing prologue outcome, and also thanks to Valentin Darbellay finishing 25th in GC. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
There's one type of race where we've really had zero success so far this year. Sprinter classics.
Which is surprising, given that Kaden Groves is a pretty fast sprinter, and one of the more well-rounded ones. At least in our understanding. But it seems like he has still a lot of work to do in terms of race strategy. In some rare cases, he launched too early. But in the vast majority of his races, he simply didn't use his good skills on the flat well enough to get himself into a decent position.
Sadly, the GP Moscow was no different - this picture fully explains Groves' main issue:
Kaden Groves at the very end of the sprinter group.
In recent seasons, a position around 10th to 15th was good enough to succeed in the end. However, this year organizers decided they no longer wanted bunch sprints on wide roads - and so, once you're caught in the last row, there's absolutely no possibility to move up. Kaden often isn't even able to reach his top speed, because he just gets stuck behind other sprinters, which is what happened here once again.
Believe it or not, but this 15th place actually is our best result out of 4 sprinter classics. Which is a huge disappointment given all the money we're spending on Kaden. Whether it's pan-flat races or more undulating ones, he just can't find any path to success, which really sucks.
At least Gergely Szarka ended up inside the Top 50 as well, but that was still not enough to save the race for us. 4 sprinter classics, 4 races below scoring expectations. Clearly not what we were hoping for when signing Kaden. The sponsors continue being unhappy, and we can understand them...
Outcome
Expectation
Outcome
Result
Top 15
15th
Points
80
69
Race Review | Chrono des Herbiers | PT
Pre-transfers, this was one of our main target races - when we still had hopes of signing (and maybe training) Filippo Ganna. Sadly, it wasn't to be, and so we had to adjust our expectations.
Let's say they were partly met. 2/3 of our team in France disappointed once more, with both Stefan Bissegger and Alexys Brunel ending up behind pretty much every single rider with comparable skills against the clock - whereas we expected a Top 30 for both of them, none of them got it. We thought they should have an advantage in longer TTs given their decent physical skills, but it looks like they matter absolutely not at all. At least not this year.
But at least 1/3 of the team which is one rider - did a really good job. And this rider was our best TTer, Szymon Rekita! Being only one skill point stronger than his teammates on paper (but far weaker in terms of physical condition), he ended up far higher in the rankings, taking a strong 14th place! Only one rider with similar skills was faster, with all others ending up behind him. A strong performance, and exactly what we needed to achieve the scoring goal in this race!
Whereas it's not a shiny result by any means - for that we'd have needed more transfer success - it's a solid one. Not one that will improve our sponsors' mood, but one that's good for the confidence. And for the rankings, of course.
Another race in the hills - and the directives are clear: finally getting a satisfying result again! The last of these was in Amstel Gold Race, where Mauro Schmid took 6th place. Then 12th in Flèche Wallonne, an awful 22nd place in LBL, 17th in Scandinavia - clearly his form hasn't been good lately.
Fortunately, we knew that the course suits him really well - given that this was his "breakthrough race" last year, where he got a great 2nd place as a still developing rider. And now, at his full power?
The race wasn't too exciting for our riders for its major part; with Mauro figuring in the extended favourites list, we decided to not send anyone in the breakaway, so everyone's only task was protecting Mauro - and then getting the best possible individual result once they were done helping him.
Which worked pretty well - looking at this picture with 20km to go:
Mauro Schmid, Xuban Errazkin and Lorenzo Delco well positioned in the group.
We had three riders close to the front, not in the wind, but not too far back, either. Just where they had to be at this time - and given that Mauro wasn't a top favourite, the other teams didn't ask us to help with the chase, either. Perfect situation for us.
However, when the riders tackled the final climb, the situation changed:
Mauro Schmid being very attentive, close to the front.
It was this hill where the race was decided last year, with Arndt riding away from the pack. And guess what? As soon as Higuita looked spent, Mauro tried to do the same, attacking the group on the last hill!
However, the huge difference was the quality of the startlist - which last year wasn't awesome, but this year featured many of the very best puncheurs! So, what could Mauro do? Would the others even take his attack seriously? Not the big guns, as can be seen here:
Mauro Schmid tackling the descent in first position, being chased by Amezawa and Hirschi!
With Hirschi being an excellent downhill rider, it was obvious that the gap would get smaller - but it didn't fully vanish, even when the riders reached the red kite!
Mauro Schmid still leading the race with 1km to go!
Thanks to his better acceleration, Mauro instantly got a gap again - but sprinting from the front, having been in the wind for 5km already - could this end well?
Mauro Schmid wins the 2024 Clasica San Sebastian!
YES! It did end in the best possible way, with Mauro keeping the lead until the end - even though Areruya got really close. Luckily for us, the Rwandan started his sprint way back, and so we could celebrate our first ever PTHC classic win!
And despite various pretty weak races, Mauro proved us once again that he is a great young talent, and that he can beat even Areruya, MAL, Valter, Vansevenant, Lutsenko, Formolo and many others on a great day! Congratulations to Mauro Schmid on the greatest win so far of his still young career!
And this wasn't all - you might remember that we still had 3 riders up front with 20km to go. Well, Xuban Errazkin actually did a tremendous job, staying with Mauro until the final hill - and then taking a great 14th place! Just to say - that's better than Kaden Groves in any of our sprinter classics! Great job, Xuban, you definitely enjoyed your home race - and his help for Mauro late in the race may have been exactly what made the difference between winning and losing in the end!
Lorenzo Delco didn't manage to keep up, and even dropped back quite a bit in the end - but still got a Top 50 by finishing 42nd. Well done, Lorenzo!
That's it from San Sebastian - definitely a major success for us once again! We hope it'll be enough to convince our sponsors to renew their engagement - we'll find out soon... We can't do much more than winning a race - maybe we should win some Tour de France stages now?
Congrats on San Sebastian a ride that really used his strength.
But never good to generate embarrassing memes for your sponsors.
Thanks. Yeah, he really seems to love this race.
Disgruntling sponsors isn't a good idea, though. It's them who pay the money. Or not.
Le Tour de France | Pre-race briefing
After Mauro Schmid's great win in San Sebastian, our sponsors seemed to be a little less disgruntled than after that one Tour de Suisse stage you all know about... However, with the race being only a PTHC-level one, and pretty far away from home, it didn't have a major impact on their mood.
Instead, they let us know that they expect us to do some really nice things at the biggest stage of all - the Tour de France. Let's listen to what Mr. Fabianski told the riders on the eve of the Grand Départ:
OK, Gentlemen. You know we're still in a decent position ranking-wise. But you also know we're in an awful position with respect to our sponsors after certain things happened in the last couple of weeks. And I'll just let you know that all of this - the obvious tensions inside the team, and the angry sponsors - leave me pretty dissatisfied and exhausted.
I know it's quite some pressure on your shoulders now, and some of you can't even be faulted at all for what happened recently. But you still need to know that the team's future - in terms of sponsor, and also team management, heavily depends on this race. The sponsors aren't asking for anything impossible - except for the unrealistic win goal, which they know we won't achieve anyway - but just for some consistent performances throughout the race. Here's what they want:
- A podium in the prologue. Gabby, that one's for you. It's a stage on the longer side, but you've shown time and time again that you can easily handle those. Top 5 will be the bare minimum, everything else isn't acceptable. We should really get that podium for a great start in the race - and obviously the win would be fantastic, and would pretty much save our race already. Ethan, we'd love to see you claim white in the prologue, and to keep it for some days. If you don't get it - Matsuda might be a tad too strong - get some bonus seconds on day 2 and get that jersey - jerseys are the best publicity we can get, and we need it!
- At least 3 stage podiums, therof a win, from bunch sprints. Kaden, that's your job. The sprinter field isn't amazing, no comparison to the Vuelta. You're among the most complete sprinters, after Grosu. In particular the hillier stages are perfect for you, and you should just win one. Three podiums in total is perfectly feasible, less would be a fail. That may sound harsh, but it's your job, and that's what we got you for. Gabby and Ethan can lead you out, no excuses for bad positioning here!
- Some more stage Top 5s. Stefan, you're among the best TTers here. A Top 5 in the long ITT must be the goal, you could even get a stage podium there. Outside the Top 10 would be unacceptable, but that won't happen, right? Teten, Clément, Lorenzo, your job is breakaways, breakaways, breakaways. There are quite some perfectly suited stages for that, so take your chances and get us some great results. An early KoM challenge would be big, but if the other sprinter teams ask us to help with the chase, it might not be possible. Just try - if you fail, OK. If you don't try, not OK.
- Top 20 GC at minimum. Val, this should be an easy job for you. You're easily among the best 20 stage racers here, and if you've got some decent legs in the mountains, even Top 15 is doable with your good TTing. Landing outside the Top 20 must not happen, and it won't happen if you simply do your job.
So, there's something in there for everyone. We'll need every single one of you to do their jobs, and to fill their roles well. Helping each other is a must, obviously. Gabby or Kaden alone can make this race a big success for you; if both fail, we'll likely fail as a team, too. So please, support Kaden in particular, and let's hope Gabby has his best legs tomorrow.
We don't need to achieve all of this, but let's get as close as we possibly can! Failing everything will pretty certainly be the end of this team, at least in its current form, and I'm sure that's not what all of you want. Some of your teammates, have delivered, some have failed miserably - up to you to be among those who do their job well!
Thanks and good night everyone.
We wouldn't have imagined pre-season that our existence beyond 2024 would ever be questioned - so let's hope everyone is aware of the situation and does the best possible job at Le Tour!
14 stages, or 2/3 of the race are done. We're playing with open cards with regard to our riders, so we may as well publicly communicate how things are going. Sadly, they're not going well:
- Gabriel Chavanne miserably failed the prologue goal of getting a podium. Not even finishing Top 5 is unacceptable and the worst possible start to the race.
- Ethan Vernon was 2nd in U25 after the prologue, but didn't try to improve his position by getting some bonus seconds. So no white jersey for a day.
- Kaden Groves has been trying, but with the results 7 - 7 - 4 - 5 - 10 - 11 - 5 in 7 attempts, he came short of getting even a single stage podium so far. He got too often beaten by similar or weaker sprinters; at least, he's still close to the Top 5 in the green jersey standings, thanks to competing on some hillier stages.
- Stefan Bissegger miserably failed the ITT. Even a podium would have been on the table looking at the result, but he didn't just miss out on the expected Top 5 - he even failed to get a Top 10.
- Valentin Darbellay isn't taking his role as a GC rider serious by any means. He's not even trying to keep up in the mountains, and his current 29th place is unacceptable. If he did at least try to get into some breakaways and then lose time after getting caught, that would be acceptable. Simply not caring and always getting dropped early isn't.
- Val actually isn't even our highest ranked rider in the GC. Because - and that's at least some good news - Teten Rohendi has repeatedly joined the breakaway, picked up some mountain points (currently 6th in the standings), and is 26th in GC. Sadly, he often is late and has to spend a lot of energy on closing gaps, but he has already achieved a stage Top 5 and we're hoping for more. Lorenzo Delco also has a breakaway appearance, and he might get some more.
- On the other hand, Clément Berthet has been completely anonymous, which is weird given that his home GT should actually be a motivation for him. As it stands now, he might not even make the Top 100, which definitely isn't what we expected from him.
So, lots of clear misses so far. Groves at least came close, so there's hope he'll get at least one podium. The only rider fully doing his job so far is Rohendi - but this won't be enough to satisfy our sponsors. It's not looking good for the team's future, let's be honest.
One week to go, 7 stages for the riders to turn things around. Let's hope they'll do it...
Tour de Suisse | 
Cees Bol. Everything looked set up perfectly - until the sprint train suddenly decided to stop and to break up. All we got from this stage was a 10th place. After which the CEOs of Jura and GIANTS made their appearance in the team bus, as mentioned in a previous update. They clearly stated that if something like this should reproduce, the team wouldn't have a future with its current sponsors.
GP Moscow | 
Kaden Groves is a pretty fast sprinter, and one of the more well-rounded ones. At least in our understanding. But it seems like he has still a lot of work to do in terms of race strategy. In some rare cases, he launched too early. But in the vast majority of his races, he simply didn't use his good skills on the flat well enough to get himself into a decent position.
Gergely Szarka ended up inside the Top 50 as well, but that was still not enough to save the race for us. 4 sprinter classics, 4 races below scoring expectations. Clearly not what we were hoping for when signing Kaden. The sponsors continue being unhappy, and we can understand them...
Chrono des Herbiers | 
Szymon Rekita! Being only one skill point stronger than his teammates on paper (but far weaker in terms of physical condition), he ended up far higher in the rankings, taking a strong 14th place! Only one rider with similar skills was faster, with all others ending up behind him. A strong performance, and exactly what we needed to achieve the scoring goal in this race!
Clasica San Sebastian | 
Ethan, we'd love to see you claim white in the prologue, and to keep it for some days. If you don't get it - Matsuda might be a tad too strong - get some bonus seconds on day 2 and get that jersey - jerseys are the best publicity we can get, and we need it!
Teten, 
