@Laurens
I'm actually surprised we're this far away from any relegation danger, but will happily take it. With our age structure the only really thing we have to worry about is finding a new cobbles leader in the off-season.
@Abhi
Ranaweera had a good last month and despite the occasional weaker race is doing pretty much what we expected him to. His fare was rather high, but he's on a rather low wage and still has some years in him, so the fare was always a multi-season investment.
There are actually some riders scoring nice in addition to our leaders now. Hodeg is doing really well lately and our youngsters are contributing their share as well. But you're right, some actual depth scorers would be nice. Hopefully our (nearly) maxed youngsters will take some of this work next season too.
June was a really good month in the end as we got some podium results and about 300 points out of it. Let’s hope we can keep on cruising through the season like this.
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
01-Jun
03-Jun
Scandinavia Open Road Race
-
GC Top 25; 2nd KoM
We weren’t mentioned or seen in the first two stages which isn’t great in a WC race. But APP stayed long enough with the favourites to finish the race in 23rd place. But the revelation of the race was Juntunen who made it to the break in the final stage twice and was active enough in the KoM sprints to jump to 2nd in this classification – surely something we didn’t expect from him in any race, let alone on PT level.
points:
n/a
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
05-Jun
08-Jun
Tour of East Java
-
GC Top 25; Stage Podium
Stage 1 nearly caught us on the wrong foot, but after Ranaweera was on the wrong side of a split for quite some time everyone was in s.t. in the end. Hodeg managed a 12th place in this stage, too. Stage 2 saw Juntunen in the break, snatching some (in the end meaningless) KoM points and Hodeg finishing 16th. Stage 3 was the decisive one for the GC. We weren’t mentioned anywhere, but with Ranaweera and Pinot in 13th and 28th in GC afterwards it was pretty much what we could reasonably hope for. The former lost a position in the final stage on countback while the later gained one, but it was really more about the stage itself. We got Mestric in the break to cover any shenanigans, but in the end it was once again Hodeg who got the result, finishing in 2nd after squeezing himself into position with a daredevil move.
points:
73
Suranga Ranaweera
39
Alvaro Hodeg
20
Thibault Pinot
14
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
20-Jun
26-Jun
Tour of California
-
GC Podium; GC Top 25; Stage Podium; Stage Top 10
After seeing the startlist we had high hopes for Ranaweera in this race. The initial prologue was as unspectacular for us as the next pan flat stage. Stage 3 saw a first smaller GC fight on an uphill finish and Ranaweera came in 13th with the first big group there. He did the same with a 9th place in the next stage, climbing to 5th in the GC. The fifth stage was one for the sprinters, but then the GC fight really began. Ranaweera was active and strong in the only mountain stage, finishing 3rd right with the favourites, thus getting his first podium for the team and climbing to 4th in the GC before the final ITT, keeping his chances for a GC podium up. And he gained one position in the final stage, getting our first GC podium of the season in the end. Hadi, Pinot, Garibian and Vauquelin added some nice depth scoring, making this race the success we hoped for.
points:
180
Suranga Ranaweera
136
Janvier Hadi
23
Thibault Pinot
11
Arman Garibian
8
Kevin Vauquelin
2
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
21-Jun
24-Jun
Tour of Luxembourg
-
2nd KoM; Stage Top 10
We hoped for a good GC result from Paulus here, but he (and the rest of the team too) lost lots of time in the first stage, so the tactics for the race had to change to breakaway action. Stage 2 saw Belohvosciks in the break once again and Pithie snatching a 10th place in the sprint. Our rider for the next stage was Baudin who took advantage of the C2 rule for stagiaires and showed our colours in the break while climbing to 4th in the KoM competition. And he did even climb to 2nd in this classification after another breakaway appearance in the final stage, ending as our only points scorer in the race.
points:
9
Alex Baudin
9
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
28-Jun
Clasica San Sebastian
-
Top 10
Louvel was in the break of the day, so we didn’t have to work in the peloton. We wouldn’t have to anyway, but it’s nice to have a better reason than having no contender. Which obviously wasn’t true too as APP did what we hoped for (but didn’t really expect) as he was with the favourites nearly till the end and won the sprint of the second group, resulting in a surprising 10th place.
July is nearly over, so time to have a look at our August schedule.
Start
End
Race
Cat
01-Aug
05-Aug
Tour de Vineyards
C1
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Age
Kristians Belohvosciks
70
60
62
67
69
71
65
62
59
67
69
65
72
22
Ewen Costiou
71
66
72
68
71
68
63
66
70
72
68
69
69
22
Alvaro Hodeg
72
53
65
67
69
74
70
51
79
78
53
64
73
28
Matis Louvel
75
64
71
71
73
76
69
74
67
67
67
66
71
25
Tobias Lund Andresen
66
56
60
60
68
68
62
60
71
73
57
63
59
22
Laurence Pithie
72
66
72
71
73
73
70
73
72
73
67
72
69
22
Suranga Ranaweera
67
80
73
76
75
75
74
52
58
65
57
69
73
29
Kevin Vauquelin
68
73
67
72
68
72
70
58
68
68
71
70
71
23
We have Hodeg for the three sprint stages and Ranaweera for the mountain stage, hoping for a not too strong competition in both terrains. The final TTT will probably hinder our GC ambitions though.
Start
End
Race
Cat
07-Aug
11-Aug
Post Danmark Rundt
HC
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Age
Lewis Askey
67
63
70
58
69
65
69
72
66
73
60
67
67
23
Alex Baudin
65
66
66
66
68
66
67
63
63
66
67
65
63
23
Kristians Belohvosciks
70
60
62
67
69
71
65
62
59
67
69
65
72
22
Joris Delbove
65
74
72
58
67
72
74
62
60
69
71
72
58
24
Alvaro Hodeg
72
53
65
67
69
74
70
51
79
78
53
64
73
28
Antti-Jussi Juntunen
68
63
72
61
67
70
65
61
68
71
68
61
60
25
Paul Lapeira
73
69
71
61
70
70
67
71
72
73
75
70
64
24
Tobias Lund Andresen
66
56
60
60
68
68
62
60
71
73
57
63
59
22
We couldn’t avoid this race, so it’s all about getting some stage results from Hodeg once again and seeing our riders in the breaks. Apart from that we’re mostly hunting XP here.
Start
End
Race
Cat
11-Aug
GP Kigali
C1
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Age
Ewen Costiou
71
66
72
68
71
68
63
66
70
72
68
69
69
22
Maxime Daniel
72
55
68
55
75
75
72
79
75
71
68
73
63
33
Conor Dunne
66
74
74
69
71
72
73
70
62
69
74
69
69
32
Janvier Hadi
68
74
72
74
73
70
71
61
74
71
68
69
74
32
Matis Louvel
75
64
71
71
73
76
69
74
67
67
67
66
71
25
Matija Mestric
73
63
70
63
69
70
68
76
55
65
71
75
67
27
Rui Oliveira
70
67
76
70
77
72
72
66
75
78
65
67
71
28
Laurence Pithie
72
66
72
71
73
73
70
73
72
73
67
72
69
22
It’s the last cobbled race of our season and so the last opportunity for Daniel to get a good result. There are some bumps on the road, but he should be okay with them. He doesn’t have his entire support squad here though due to XP management reasons, but at least this gives us the opportunity to send Hadi to his home race.
Start
End
Race
Cat
22-Aug
Milano - Torino
HC
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Age
Lewis Askey
67
63
70
58
69
65
69
72
66
73
60
67
67
23
Alex Baudin
65
66
66
66
68
66
67
63
63
66
67
65
63
23
Kristians Belohvosciks
70
60
62
67
69
71
65
62
59
67
69
65
72
22
Ewen Costiou
71
66
72
68
71
68
63
66
70
72
68
69
69
22
Arman Garibian
69
74
70
71
72
73
76
55
60
70
66
70
71
24
Olivier Le Gac
70
69
77
60
73
74
71
52
64
69
74
73
60
31
Tobias Lund Andresen
66
56
60
60
68
68
62
60
71
73
57
63
59
22
Aurelien Paret-Peintre
72
76
77
72
73
75
73
63
72
74
72
70
72
28
It’s double-header time and we have to split up our hills squad to get something out of both races. With a rather selective finale and an uphill finish we chose to send APP here to get us a result.
Start
End
Race
Cat
22-Aug
GP Lugano
HC
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Age
Welay Hagos Berhe
67
71
69
69
71
68
71
60
61
66
67
64
67
23
Alan Boileau
67
73
75
65
68
70
72
62
67
74
66
67
64
25
Joris Delbove
65
74
72
58
67
72
74
62
60
69
71
72
58
24
Janvier Hadi
68
74
72
74
73
70
71
61
74
71
68
69
74
32
Paul Lapeira
73
69
71
61
70
70
67
71
72
73
75
70
64
24
Matis Louvel
75
64
71
71
73
76
69
74
67
67
67
66
71
25
Rui Oliveira
70
67
76
70
77
72
72
66
75
78
65
67
71
28
Daniel Paulus
69
74
77
64
71
68
73
56
62
71
73
67
64
31
Part two of the hilly double header and it’s actually a goal race for us. We hope to achieve the top 5 with Oliveira here, counting on less selective race than in Italy with most of the bigger obstacles in the first half of the race.
Start
End
Race
Cat
23-Aug
31-Aug
Tour de l'Avenir
U23
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Age
Lewis Askey
67
63
70
58
69
65
69
72
66
73
60
67
67
23
Alex Baudin
65
66
66
66
68
66
67
63
63
66
67
65
63
23
Welay Hagos Berhe
67
71
69
69
71
68
71
60
61
66
67
64
67
23
Ewen Costiou
71
66
72
68
71
68
63
66
70
72
68
69
69
22
Tobias Lund Andresen
66
56
60
60
68
68
62
60
71
73
57
63
59
22
Laurence Pithie
72
66
72
71
73
73
70
73
72
73
67
72
69
22
Pedro Silva
66
69
70
58
75
73
66
60
65
74
74
65
60
23
Kevin Vauquelin
68
73
67
72
68
72
70
58
68
68
71
70
71
23
It’s always one of our season highlights to see the future of our team ride in the Tour de l’Avenir. We once again send a nearly complete squad (including two of our loanees) with the addition of Akers Pedro Silva. We don’t have a top-favourite in any terrain, but we have some options in all of them. The major goal will be a GC top 5 by Vauquelin though.
Most RDs were spent in the Tour de France, but given our youth squad there (and that we weren’t allowed to score points) it was also our least successful race. And though most of our (co-)leaders were active this month the most noticeable rider of the month was clearly Thibault Pinot who was in 8 breaks and got only our second (classification) win since February, only beaten by Askey by some days.
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
01-Jul
Riga - Jurmala GP
-
Top 10
We got Askey in the break and though the young Brit wasn’t able to repeat his Great Ocean Race Classic magic we got some nice points out of the race after Hodeg did another of his PTHC performances where he isn’t seen all race and finishes 7th in the end, starting the month on a high.
points:
60
Alvaro Hodeg
60
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
03-Jul
23-Jul
Tour de France
-
Stage Top 10s
We actually opened the race in the prologue with Vauquelin, but that’s as much as we can say about our prologue. Lapeira joined the break in the first proper road stage and got some points there. Berhe was on breakaway duty in stage 3. Vauquelin and Delbove were in the break in the next stages. And though nothing came out of this efforts so far we were in every break, so the team did what we hoped for. As a reward our riders took a day off in stage 6. A rested Vauquelin entered the break in the next stage, once again fruitless. Stage 8 was a huge one for the GC, but we also played our small role in it with Louvel in the break and Pinot on the attack later in the stage. Louvel got into the mood and accompanied Berhe for some more TV time in stage 9. Our Ethiopean did the same in the next stage before our team used the TT in stage 11 as a rest day. Then it was French National Holiday and we nearly missed the break of the day, but in the end Pinot made it there and though he wasn’t able to fight for the stage or KoM, he finished 7th in the end and netted us our first top 10 in the race. And while Pinot failed to join the first group of the break in the next (really short) stage, he was part of the first chasing group and added another 7th place from this attack. Stage 14 saw a new name in the break with Delbove, making it 7/8 riders in breaks so far. The next stage was pan-flat so we weren’t disappointed when none of our riders joined the break. There also wasn’t anything in it for us in stage 16. So we sent two riders into the next break with Pinot and Vauquelin, but once again the break wasn’t successful. We tried the same in stage 18 with Pinot and Garibian, but once again to no success. At least we managed to get every single rider in a break this way. In stage 19 Delbove and once again Pinot were our men in the break. The last mountain stage was anonymous for us, as was the cours d`honneur on the Champs Elysées.
In the end we achieved our main goal (apart from getting our youngsters much needed XP) as we were active throughout the race, getting every single of our riders in one break or the other. In total we gathered 19 breakaway appearances, 6 of them by Pinot alone who also got our only actual results with two 7th places.
points:
n/a
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
08-Jul
11-Jul
Euskal Bizikleta
-
GC Top 10; Stage Top 5; Stage Top 10s
We came to the Basque country with Oliveira as our captain and he showed this was a good decision already in the first stage where he finished 5th and got some bonus seconds. He added a 6th place in the next (and last) flat stage, getting himself in a good position for the hilly stages. He got another 6th place in stage three. He did a bit worse in the last stage, but as he still finished in the first group he got 8th in the GC in the end.
points:
45
Rui Oliveira
44
Laurence Pithie
1
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
18-Jul
23-Jul
Benelux Challenge
-
KoM Win; Stage Top 5
The opening prologue was never to be a good stage, so our race really began with stage 2. We got Lund Andresen in the break in stage 2, but spoiled all GC hopes by Daniel being dropped in a split and everyone else also losing time. So it was on someone else to salvage this race and Askey did his best by dominating the KoM sprints in stage 3 and taking over the jersey, also defending it in the next stage. The fourth stage was also the first one with real cobbles – and now Daniel was able to show something by finishing 4th in the sprint. The next stage saw Mestric in the break – and more importantly the many available KoM points were distributed so well among the break that Askey kept the jersey in the end. Apart from that it was a rather anonymous stage again. The final stage was pan flat, so getting Belohvosciks and Costiou in the break was a fair attempt that lead to nothing nonetheless. In the end Askey was our man of the race, adding a KoM win in a HC race to his palmares.
points:
49
Lewis Askey
37
Maxime Daniel
10
Laurence Pithie
1
Matija Mestric
1
Askey winning the KoM sprint at the Mur d’Huy on his way to winning the KoM jersey.
Start
End
Race
team goal
results
25-Jul
29-Jul
Tour d'Andorra
-
GC Top 5; KoM win; 3 Stage Podiums; Stage Top 10; 3rd Teams
Ranaweera finished 12th in the first stage as part of the fourth group, losing some time but staying in the competition for the top 10. Stage 2 saw us chasing the break to make use of Hadis combination of climbing and sprint skill and he indeed won the sprint from the peloton commandingly – too bad there was one escapee still out in front. But 2nd is clearly a good result nonetheless. The next stage saw Pinot active in the break and Ranaweera finishing in 9th with most of the other GC favourites, thus also climbing to 9th in the GC. Our leader climbed even further to 5th in the GC with his fabulous 2nd place in the stage 4 MTT, which also ties our best ever TT result. And stage 5 was the icing on the cake. Pinot was part of the winning break and finished 3rd in the stage. He also got enough points to win the KoM classification. Ranaweera was able to stay with the other favourites and stayed 5th in the GC. In addition we ended 3rd in the team classification. In short: it was another great race for us in Andorra, this is going to be one of our favourite races.
Scandinavia Open Road Race
Tour of East Java
Tour of California
Tour of Luxembourg
Clasica San Sebastian
Tour de Vineyards
GP Kigali
Milano - Torino
GP Lugano
Euskal Bizikleta
Benelux Challenge
Tour d'Andorra
