After their relegation in 2021 which saw many of the team’s young stars need to be sold to fit into the cap in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Xero returned to the Pro Tour in 2024 and immediately showed that this time they intended on sticking around. 7th in the division, by some margin the team’s highest ever finish in the total hierarchy of cycling, and becoming one of seven teams to accomplish such a jump in the three-division era. Now going into their tenth season, looking to bring in a decade in the sport on a high.
By now the team’s most successful rider by acclimation and any metric you like, Joseph Areruya transitioned fairly seamlessly to life in the highest division, establishing himself as one of the very best in the world. The Rwandan finished with 1894 points for 3rd in the Individual Rankings, six victories including the GC in Scandinavia and claiming Africa’s first ever Monument victory at the Giro di Lombardia. Although this was more of a 2022 than a 2023 in terms of his PCT seasons, where he faltered and struggled at times, his highs were high enough - two race wins with Herklotz present - that it can still be considered a resounding success.
While Areruya was overjoyed to achieve that Monumental milestone for African cycling, he was beaten to the record of being the team’s first Monument winner by Thomas Pidcock, who capped off a blistering start to his age 25 season by claiming the honours at the Milano - Sanremo after a crafty late escape. The Brit, the topic of much conversation over his career so far for his refusal to specialise in any terrain, exceeded even the wildest predictions, with podiums in one-week stage races in Portugal and Tirreno - Adriatico to go with that Monument success, while challenging in Northern Europe and the Netherlands. His rivalry with Mauri Vansevenant over the season was one of the PT’s most captivating storylines. Pidcock’s 1526 points put him an incredible 13th in the standings, as he and Areruya made up over half the team’s total scoring.
New marquee signings Filippo Ganna and Matti Manninen brought proven PT experience to the team and both finished inside the Top 50 of the division and provided hugely memorable moments: Ganna won the prologue and another stage of the Tour de France, while Manninen won the Rund um Koln and a stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Further down the squad list, Vermeersch, Hamza, Tesfaye Heyi, van Zyl all provided great contributions, as did our loanees and mercenary climbing additions. A fantastic squad effort.
Heading into this squad’s sophomore season in the PT, there are again questions over what the end product will look like, as the team enter transfers with half a roster after many renewals departures, along with the loanees returning home. There will certainly be a lot of action for the Lionhearts over the next few weeks as the transfer madness begins. Despite their young leaders and great season they will have to dive headfirst back into it, a situation management will look to reframe as an opportunity to further build the squad sustainably for the future.
What that future brings depends if you ask the media (title challengers in the next few years) or the team management (just looking to cement their top-half status). However as they made clear last season, Xero Racing’s beloved jersey isn’t made to blend into the peloton, and they’ll be looking for plenty more chances to show it off in 2025. You only turn double digits once - let's make it special!
About: The overnight success that is Xero is now a international company still based in little ol' NZ. They develop online accounting software for small businesses but are moving into larger clients as well. Sponsor Since: 2016 Contract Until: 2026 Focus Nations: New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain (minor), United States (minor)
Xero stepped in at the last minute in 2016, and since then have been a great asset to the team and are now nearly synonymous with us after seven years as title sponsor. They had publicly noted their disappointment in our lack of impact on the young blood of New Zealand cycling and with only two full-time New Zealand riders left in the team, there were always serious questions as to whether Xero would want to continue, with rumours their renewal for 2021 had more to do with PT exposure than local interest. However recent corporate reshuffling and aggressive international expansion led higher ups to see the team in a new light, and after an initial two-year renewal for 2023/24, they are now locked in for another two years!
About: Qhubeka is a non-for-profit, the South African programme of World Bicycle Relief, distributing bikes to help connect people to schools, clinics and jobs. Sponsor Since: 2018 Contract Until: 2026 Focus Nations: South Africa
A charity which helps use bicycles to support communities in poverty, as well as as a tool to help people of any age move forward in life. Not a sponsor by any means, quite the opposite. We ride for Qhubeka to increase awareness and taking part in fundraising, both of them increasing their funds and reach. We are delighted to make a two-year renewal of our partnership with Qhubeka
About: Visit Rwanda is a premier tourism company operating in, you guessed it, Rwanda. Sponsor Since: 2019 Contact Until: 2025 Focus Nation: Rwanda, The World (minor)
The Rwandan tourism company stepped up their involvement in the team after local hero Joseph Areruya established himself as a star in 2021 with his 27th-placed finish in the Pro Tour, including gaining huge exposure and popularity with an aggressive Giro d'Italia, where he won the white jersey. After two seasons of massive exposure in the PCT, he hit new heights as one of the very best riders in the world, finishing 3rd in the PT Individual Rankings and winning Africa's first monument at the Giro di Lombardia. Safe to say he's been in a few advertising campaigns for them by this point.
The Secondary Sponsors
Spoiler
About: Octagon is the sports and entertainment marketing division of the Interpublic Group (IPG). The IPG is one of the "big four" advertising companies and so being sponsored by the South African arm of the sports arm of the IPG is a smaller deal but with big background. Sponsor Since: 2016 Contract Until: 2026 Focus Nations: South Africa, The World
Octagon help us get our name on the backs of buses, billboards, wherever, in our target countries. Good for publicity, finances and fans. They have stepped down from their title sponsor role (2016-18) but maintain a solid presence within the team as our marketers and talent representatives. We are very pleased with the work they do and proud to have them onboard through to what would be our eleventh season in 2026 - along with Xero they are our only remaining sponsors from our inaugural season.
About: Castle Lager is South Africa's favourite beer and is now available in over 40 countries worldwide. Sponsor Since: 2019 Contact Until: 2025 Focus Nations: South Africa, The World (minor)
Castle Lager continues their long association with South African sport as they extend for another season with us.
About: Expedia is an American online travel shopping company - from flights to hotels and cars. Sponsor Since: 2022 Contract Until: 2025 Focus Nations: The World
Expedia joined us as a new sponsor this season and we are very pleased with our work with them as a secondary sponsor and also our travel partner!
The Minor Sponsors and Partners
About: Cell C are a South African mobile operator and telecommunications company. Sponsor Since: 2022 Contract Until: 2026 Focus Nations: South Africa
Cell C, much like Castle Lager, have a long-time involvement with South African sport, and after MTN and Telkom used to sponsor Project: Africa, Cell C are the third such company to be involved with South African cycling teams. They extend with us for another two seasons.
About: Stoney Creek are New Zealand's most trusted brand in outdoor clothing. Sponsor Since: 2022 Contract Until: 2026 Focus Nations: New Zealand, Australia (minor), Great Britain (minor), United States (minor), Canada (minor)
Stoney Creek make amazing products which keep our team warm and protected off the bike, and the riders have been very happy with their first foray into cycling-specific gear and are very pleased they have signed another two-year deal as clothing supplier, and also extending as a sponsor too.
About: Telkom Indonesia is a majority state owned telecommunications company, the largest in Indonesia. Sponsor Since: 2017 Contract Until: 2025 Focus Nations: Indonesia
Jamalidin Novardianto is an absolute fan favourite and nowhere is this more clear than in his home country of Indonesia. Not investing too much money, the state-owned telecommunications firm wanted in and are essentially sponsoring the team, just so they know we're tight and all, as long as he rides for us. So until he retires, then. They are the third of our sponsors to have been on this journey since the CT days, having signed on in our second season!
Why change perfection? It's another year in our absolutely stunning kit, by prolific and super-talented designer the_hoyle! Special thanks to Ezeefreak for updating the logos to reflect sponsor changes in 2021.
@the_hoyle - Aww, that's lovely to hear! I don't think I'll ever drop it, it's such an awesome design and great piece of work. Still love it so much - thank you. Great to see you on the forum again too
A positive renewals for the team, at least cap-wise. All but two riders who re-signed took a paycut despite the team's successes last year, showing the team-first culture we have developed in the team and the desire of all of these riders to see the squad continue to grow and succeed. This is lead by the trio of Areruya, Pidcock, and Ganna, our highest-paid riders all taking moderate wage cuts. In return they have gained some cache with the entire Xero team, and will be hoping to see the recruitment of a stronger calibre of domestique on each of their terrains.
Florian Vermeersch has the biggest change as he assumes the role of a full-time leader for our northern classics side, as well as as a sprinter at times during the season. This means he gets paid like a leader, and will be expected to deliver like one. Meanwhile, Morne van Niekerk, fresh off his loan-out year with Evonik, returns and also receives a wage rise which the team is very happy to pay, given the cycling world's growing understanding of the value of quality time-triallists.
Disappointingly, Matti Manninen, Yacine Hamza, and Corbin Strong all refused to agree terms with the team, wanting far more than their projected scoring output would indicate. Manninen is clearly struggling with his place in the cycling world in his twilight years, which meant that we quickly realised negotiations were beginning from two very different places. While he struggled to find consistency in a Xero jersey last season, we thank him for what was still a very solid scoring season and two wonderful victories, the Rund um Koln classic and Stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana - neither will be forgotten for a long time and take their place among the most notable victories in team history.
Meanwhile, Hamza (with whom we shared the same dance last season) and Strong, two beloved youngsters who have been with us since their neo-pro seasons, wanted to test their value in free agency, expressing openness to a return through that process.
Departing us also are team favourites Shaun Nick Bester and Johann van Zyl, both winding down their careers and perhaps looking for spots on a P/CT outfit. We would welcome them back later in free agency, or in the future as they transition to their post-riding career.
Old Wage
New Wage
Change?
Joseph
Areruya
€880,000
€800,000
-€80,000
Thomas
Pidcock
€540,000
€500,000
-€40,000
Filippo
Ganna
€450,000
€360,000
-€90,000
Florian
Vermeersch
€145,000
€280,000
€135,000
James
Fouche
€140,000
€125,000
-€15,000
Hamish
Schreurs
€120,000
€75,000
-€45,000
Morne
Van Niekerk
€50,000
€75,000
€25,000
Henok
Tesfaye Heyi
€75,000
€60,000
-€15,000
Jamalidin
Novardianto
€60,000
€50,000
-€10,000
Guillaume
Martin
€50,000
€50,000
-
Matti
Manninen
€410,000
Released
-€410,000
Corbin
Strong
€50,000
Released
-€50,000
Yacine
Hamza
€75,000
Released
-€75,000
Farzad
Khodayari
€50,000
Released
-€50,000
Sergei
Pomoshnikov
€50,000
Released
-€50,000
Shaun Nick
Bester
€50,000
Released
-€50,000
Johann
Van Zyl
€50,000
Released
-€50,000
Total:
-€870,000
Overall, as expected the team have a small roster going into transfers, and some cap space to manoeuvre with beyond just filling out those roles. The team's availability post (or, fair warning, unavailability post) is expected within the next 1-2 days as they look forward to the transfer period with great excitement and a little nerves about the market. All you other teams, get working on those availability posts and don't be shy with the dots!
Pretty ridiculous to have four great leaders and still almost a million of cap space to play with And also ridiculous to look at these wage cuts, in particular Areruya and Ganna might need some lessons in negotiating
Sure, the roster is small currently, but I'm sure you'll find ways to add another great dude there. Great stuff, definitely not looking like a recently promoted team!
@Fabianski - Maybe other leaders need some lessons in loyalty! Very happy to have some selfless stars in our squad. Definitely excited to see what we can add this season
@redordead - Don't think this will be an "all-in" season for us given our leader's timelines - if that's where I end up aiming I have four years to work with for Areruya and Ganna's peaks. Something to think about in the future maybe, for now I would be happy to build another team that could repeat the Top 10 while being able to take more than 10 riders into next transfers
Indeed these renewals are among the best I have seen in quite some time. Significant reductions on every single rider except for newly maxed Vermeersch and already van Niekerk. Both getting aproximately what they deserve now.
I would be very surprised if you didn't create a team that concentrate more around top 5 than top 10, while still building for a potential PT title next season. With no riders left to max out, you can pretty easily control the wage distribution for the next couple of seasons, even with the necessary training to give a final push. Really looking forward to see what your final roster is going to look like.
SotD wrote:
Indeed these renewals are among the best I have seen in quite some time. Significant reductions on every single rider except for newly maxed Vermeersch and already van Niekerk. Both getting aproximately what they deserve now.
I would be very surprised if you didn't create a team that concentrate more around top 5 than top 10, while still building for a potential PT title next season. With no riders left to max out, you can pretty easily control the wage distribution for the next couple of seasons, even with the necessary training to give a final push. Really looking forward to see what your final roster is going to look like.
Wow! Very kind of you to say. While I regret some of the departures you're right I don't think I could ask for much more from those that stayed - decreases almost everywhere and as you said more than fair wages for Vermeersch and van Niekerk.
Those words in the second paragraph definitely don't mean nothing coming from someone who's spent 2/3 of my lifetime (sorry ) competing in the Top 5 of the Pro Tour. Thank you very much and I certainly hope I can live up to them. Looking forward to our first real season at this level together.
Coming out of the off-season, we'd like to present the updated Xero All-Time Leaderboards, a collection of various statistics of the team since our inception in 2016. First, though, an update on the history of our team awards:
Xero Team Awards
Rider
F. Rider
Y. Rider
Loan-out
Break.
Ride
'16
Diggle
Novardianto
Novardianto
-
Novardianto
Salinas
'17
Roux
Bennett
Kennett
Schleck
Novardianto
Roux
'18
Velits
Bennett
Areruya
-
Areruya
Gilanipoor
'19
Bennett
Bennett
Areruya
Novardianto
Higuita
Areruya
'20
Bennett
Bennett
Areruya
-
Nikiema
Meurisse
'21
Areruya
Areruya
Higuita
Pidcock
Higuita
Bennett
'22
Areruya
Bennett
Kipkemboi
-
Tesfaye
Bennett
'23
Areruya
Areruya
Pidcock
-
Tesfaye
Bennett
'24
Areruya
Pidcock
Vermeersch
-
Horvat
Pidcock
Rider = Rider's Rider, F. Rider = Fan's Rider, Y. Rider = Young Rider.
And now onto the All-Time Leaderboards!
Loyalty
Years
Loan In
Loan Out
Stag.
Tenure
Jamalidin Novardianto
9
0
1
0
2016-
Nils Schomber
8
0
1
1
2016-23
George Bennett
7
0
0
0
2017-23
Joseph Areruya
7
0
0
0
2018-
Morne van Niekerk
6
0
1
0
2019-
James Fouche
6
0
1
0
2019-
Jordan Schleck
6
0
2
0
2016-21
Hugo Houle
5
0
0
0
2019-23
Hamish Schreurs
5
0
1
0
2017-20, 24-
Yacine Hamza
5
0
1
1
2020-25
Tom Davison
4
0
0
0
2016-19
Luke Rowe
4
0
0
0
2018-21
Stanislau Bazhkou
4
0
0
0
2018-21
Salim Kipkemboi
4
0
0
0
2020-23
Johann van Zyl
4
0
0
0
2021-24
Florian Vermeersch
4
0
0
0
2021-
Henok Tesfaye Heyi
4
0
0
0
2021-
Daniel Habtemichael
4
0
1
0
2019-22
Thomas Pidcock
4
0
2
0
2021-
Spoiler
Marvain Tognama Kossohorou
3
0
0
0
2016-18
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
3
0
0
0
2017-19
Dylan Kennett
3
0
0
0
2017-19
Mekseb Debesay
3
0
0
0
2018-20
Shaun Nick Bester
3
0
0
0
2019-20, 2024
Bachirou Nikiema
3
0
0
0
2020-22
Robert Stannard
3
0
0
0
2020-22
Corbin Strong
3
0
0
0
2022-24
Geremie Nzeke
3
0
1
0
2016-18
Sergio Higuita
3
0
1
0
2019-21
Jonathan Salinas
2
0
0
0
2016-17
Simon Clarke
2
0
0
0
2016-17
Tom Diggle
2
0
0
0
2016-17
Matthew Lloyd
2
0
0
0
2016-17
Anthony Roux
2
0
0
0
2017-18
Jaco Venter
2
0
0
0
2018-19
Xandro Meurisse
2
0
0
0
2020-21
Ilan Van Wilder
2
0
0
0
2022-23
Daniel Afoa
2
0
1
1
2017-18
Tom Scully
1
0
0
0
2016
Ole Hirschlein
1
0
0
0
2016
Aleksandr Efimkin
1
0
0
0
2016
Timothy Gudsell
1
0
0
0
2016
Igor Antón
1
0
0
0
2017
Stijn Vandenbergh
1
0
0
0
2017
Egidijus Juodvalkis
1
0
0
0
2017
Peter Velits
1
0
0
0
2018
Tosh van der Sande
1
0
0
0
2018
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
1
0
0
0
2018
Arvid de Kleijn
1
0
0
0
2019
Kristian Dyrnes
1
0
0
0
2019
Tsgabu Grmay
1
0
0
0
2019
Mikiel Habtom
1
0
0
0
2019
Darren Young
1
0
0
0
2022
Sergei Pomoshnikov
1
0
0
0
2024
Guillaume Martin
1
0
0
0
2024-
Farzad Khodayari
1
0
0
0
2024
Filippo Ganna
1
0
0
0
2024-
Matti Manninen
1
0
0
0
2024
Jean Helwani
1
1
0
0
2016
Rei Onodera
1
1
0
0
2017
Gregory Daniel
1
1
0
0
2018
Callum Scotson
1
1
0
0
2018
Syver Waersted
1
1
0
0
2020
Luke Mudgway
1
1
0
0
2021
Regan Gough
1
1
0
0
2022
Alan Boileau
1
1
0
0
2023
Kees Duyvesteyn
1
1
0
0
2023
Oier Lazkano
1
1
0
0
2023
Jhon Stiven Ramirez
1
1
0
0
2023
Mohammad Ganjkhanlou
1
1
0
0
2024
Joren Bloem
1
1
0
0
2024
Jensen Plowright
1
1
0
0
2024
Ziga Horvat
1
1
0
0
2024
Kim Ok Cheol
1
0
0
1
2016
Scott Ambrose
1
0
0
1
2017
Joseph Kimathi
1
0
0
1
2018
Hernan Ricardo Aguirre
1
0
0
1
2018
Mingrun Chen
1
0
0
1
2019
Akramjon Sunnatov
1
0
0
1
2019
Than Tung Huynh
1
0
0
1
2019
Miguel Florez
1
0
0
1
2019
Jason Tesson
1
0
0
1
2020
Henri Vandenabeele
1
0
0
1
2022
Vito Braet
1
0
0
1
2022
Felix Engelhardt
1
0
0
1
2023
Edgar Andres Pinzon
1
0
0
1
2023
Historic moment as Novardianto, always first place on countback, goes clear of Schomber and now stands as the only rider from our original 2016 squad. The only other rider who rode every year from 2017 and the only other rider from 2018 are now tied for third as Mr Xero George Bennett also left the team before last season. van Niekerk (despite his loan-out this year) and Fouche catch another 2016 original in Schleck for tied fifth, while Hamza and the returning Schreurs (also a CT rider for us) move into the Top 10.
Breadwinners
Points
Biggest Year
Joseph Areruya
5961
1894
George Bennett
3407
716
Hugo Houle
2399
653
Thomas Pidcock
2099
1526
Luke Rowe
1943
529
Mekseb Debesay
1214
482
Anthony Roux
841
631
Filippo Ganna
720
720
Matti Manninen
687
687
Xandro Meurisse
658
382
Spoiler
Stanislau Bazhkou
581
278
Peter Velits
572
572
Jamalidin Novardianto
526
138
Henok Tesfaye Heyi
466
130
Johann van Zyl
403
178
Sergio Higuita
396
379
Nils Schomber
382
191
Jonathan Salinas
370
263
Daniel Habtemichael
360
244
James Fouche
335
136
Florian Vermeersch
287
223
Tom Diggle
276
218
Morne van Niekerk
250
134
Simon Clarke
244
134
Shaun Nick Bester
219
85
Robert Stannard
210
112
Hamish Schreurs
202
133
Tsgabu Grmay
165
165
Salim Kipkemboi
162
93
Yacine Hamza
150
145
Bachirou Nikiema
139
109
Kristian Dyrnes
138
138
Tom Davison
130
57
Jordan Schleck
129
86
Tosh van der Sande
128
128
Ziga Horvat
125
125
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
106
106
Guillaume Martin
97
97
Sergei Pomoshnikov
96
96
Farzad Khodayari
92
92
Geremie Nzeke
90
63
Luke Mudgway
76
76
Corbin Strong
67
54
Igor Antón
66
66
Ole Hirschlein
66
66
Jensen Plowright
63
63
Jaco Venter
63
40
Mohammad Ganjkhanlou
60
60
Joren Bloem
58
58
Tom Scully
52
52
Stijn Vandenbergh
50
50
Matthew Lloyd
37
36
Marvain Tognama Kossohorou
28
13
Timothy Gudsell
21
21
Dylan Kennett
18
9
Ilan Van Wilder
14
12
Darren Young
13
13
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
10
9
Alan Boileau
8
8
Rei Onodera
4
4
Kees Duyvesteyn
4
4
Aleksandr Efimkin
4
4
Oier Lazkano
3
3
Egidijus Juodvalkis
2
2
Arvid de Kleijn
2
2
Syver Waersted
2
2
Henri Vandenabeele
1
1
Hernan Ricardo Aguirre
1
1
Jean Helwani
1
1
Daniel Afoa
1
1
Callum Scotson
0
0
Vito Braet
0
0
Mingrun Chen
0
0
Edgar Andres Pinzon
0
0
Jhon Stiven Ramirez
0
0
Miguel Florez
0
0
Felix Engelhardt
0
0
Mikiel Habtom
0
0
Jason Tesson
0
0
Joseph Kimathi
0
0
Kim Ok Cheol
0
0
Regan Gough
0
0
Scott Ambrose
0
0
Gregory Daniel
0
0
Akramjon Sunnatov
0
0
Than Tung Huynh
0
0
Now truly a gigantic lead for Areruya at the top of the table with 3405 points in his last two seasons. Bennett is still a clear second having held the lead from the 2019 season until being passed in 2023. The next Xero legend is of course Hugo Houle, however his gap has been slashed to just 300 by the amazing season of Thomas Pidcock, who now sits fourth despite having raced just two seasons in a Xero jersey. P/CT heroes Rowe, Debesay and Roux stay ahead of PT signings Ganna and Manninen, who knock our other original PCT leaders Velits and Bazhkou out of the Top 10. Just behind them are the first non-leaders in Novardianto and Tesfaye Heyi.
Another way to look at the points - the year-by year scoring and progression of each rider. Particularly notable is having five of the top six riders together in the 2020 promotion squad along with 10th and 11th - what a special team that was.
Chicken Dinners
Classics
GCs
Stage Wins
Total
Joseph Areruya
4
4
18
26
George Bennett
2
3
12
17
Anthony Roux
1
1
6
8
Thomas Pidcock
1
1
4
6
Hugo Houle
0
1
5
6
Nils Schomber
0
0
4
4
Luke Rowe
2
0
1
3
Tosh van der Sande
0
0
3
3
Mekseb Debesay
0
0
3
3
Matti Manninen
1
0
1
2
Filippo Ganna
0
0
2
2
Peter Velits
0
0
2
2
Xandro Meurisse
1
0
0
1
Igor Antón
0
0
1
1
Sergio Higuita
0
0
1
1
Yacine Hamza
0
0
1
1
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
0
0
1
1
James Fouche
0
0
1
1
Jonathan Salinas
0
0
1
1
In 2023 Areruya went truly bananas in the wins column, needing eight to overhaul George Bennett, he managed to do it in one go and with some change left over. While he "only" won six races last season, he now boasts the impressive records that if we split him into his stage wins and his race wins, the former would still lead the list outright while the latter would tie Anthony Roux for third place. Pidcock draws level with Hugo Houle in fourth place, while Ganna and Manninen both picking up two wins are the only newcomers on this list.
Areruya becomes the first rider with 30 race wins while with Xero, and also finally becomes the rider to necessitate the addition of World Championship columns. Ganna heads into the tie for 10th with his Italian NC to go with his two Tour de France stage wins, while Ganjkhanlou's Iranian double (ahead of teammate Khodayari) adds him to this list as well.
Two pieces of trivia we probably mention every year:
1) While the Tokyo Olympics were cancelled, the streets will never forget the Areruya-Bennett 1-2 over Herklotz in the semi-finals, even if the MGUCI won't let us add it to this list.
2) Morne van Niekerk is the only rider on this list who has a win that came from when he wasn't a contracted Xero rider, having joined us in the 2018 Tour de l'Avenir before signing with us in 2019.
Jerseys
Points
KOM
U25
Total
Joseph Areruya
8
0
4
12
Thomas Pidcock
2
0
4
6
George Bennett
3
2
0
5
Hugo Houle
3
0
0
3
Luke Rowe
2
0
0
2
Daniel Habtemichael
0
0
2
2
Anthony Roux
1
0
0
1
Mekseb Debesay
1
0
0
1
Peter Velits
0
1
0
1
Tom Davison
0
1
0
1
Timothy Gudsell
0
1
0
1
Sergio Higuita
0
1
0
1
Jamalidin Novardianto
0
0
1
1
Robert Stannard
0
0
1
1
James Fouche
0
0
1
1
Florian Vermeersch
0
0
1
1
Pidcock goes into second alone despite being often thwarted in U25 classifications by his rival Vansevenant, and also managing to tie Areruya's record of four white jerseys. Once again the rest of the pack is left chasing Areruya's points jersey total alone before they even think about adding his U25s into the mix. Vermeersch is the new addition, winning the U25 jersey in the Franceville Classique.
Greedy Bastards
Total Wage
Highest Year
Joseph Areruya
€3,310,000
€880,000
George Bennett
€1,770,000
€420,000
Thomas Pidcock
€1,540,000
€600,000
Hugo Houle
€1,429,000
€409,000
Luke Rowe
€1,165,000
€370,000
Mekseb Debesay
€835,000
€365,000
Robert Stannard
€710,000
€340,000
Florian Vermeersch
€690,000
€280,000
Xandro Meurisse
€540,000
€300,000
Jamalidin Novardianto
€460,500
€65,000
Spoiler
James Fouche
€457,000
€140,000
Filippo Ganna
€450,000
€450,000
Matti Manninen
€410,000
€410,000
Sergio Higuita
€350,000
€250,000
Peter Velits
€350,000
€350,000
Hamish Schreurs
€330,000
€120,000
Nils Schomber
€325,000
€65,000
Morne van Niekerk
€312,000
€60,000
Stanislau Bazhkou
€285,000
€75,000
Tosh van der Sande
€275,000
€275,000
Salim Kipkemboi
€270,000
€105,000
Jordan Schleck
€260,000
€70,000
Daniel Habtemichael
€252,500
€12,000
Henok Tesfaye Heyi
€235,000
€75,000
Tom Diggle
€230,000
€130,000
Tom Davison
€225,000
€75,000
Anthony Roux
€220,000
€130,000
Johann van Zyl
€218,000
€55,000
Tom Scully
€210,000
€210,000
Ilan Van Wilder
€205,000
€130,000
Yacine Hamza
€185,000
€75,000
Kristian Dyrnes
€180,000
€180,000
Bachirou Nikiema
€160,000
€60,000
Jonathan Salinas
€155,000
€80,000
Marvain Tognama Kossohorou
€150,000
€50,000
Tsgabu Grmay
€150,000
€150,000
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
€150,000
€50,000
Corbin Strong
€150,000
€50,000
Dylan Kennett
€150,000
€50,000
Ole Hirschlein
€140,000
€140,000
Jaco Venter
€135,000
€70,000
Shaun Nick Bester
€131,000
€81,000
Geremie Nzeke
€120,000
€105,000
Matthew Lloyd
€105,000
€55,000
Simon Clarke
€105,000
€55,000
Igor Antón
€100,000
€100,000
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
€81,500
€81,500
Mikiel Habtom
€70,000
€70,000
Sergei Pomoshnikov
€60,000
€60,000
Stijn Vandenbergh
€55,000
€55,000
Jensen Plowright
€50,000
€50,000
Guillaume Martin
€50,000
€50,000
Farzad Khodayari
€50,000
€50,000
Mohammad Ganjkhanlou
€50,000
€50,000
Rei Onodera
€50,000
€50,000
Egidijus Juodvalkis
€50,000
€50,000
Arvid de Kleijn
€50,000
€50,000
Timothy Gudsell
€50,000
€50,000
Aleksandr Efimkin
€50,000
€50,000
Ziga Horvat
€50,000
€50,000
Darren Young
€50,000
€50,000
Gregory Daniel
€37,500
€37,500
Joren Bloem
€30,000
€30,000
Joseph Kimathi
€15,000
€15,000
Henri Vandenabeele
€10,000
€10,000
Vito Braet
€10,000
€10,000
Mingrun Chen
€10,000
€10,000
Edgar Andres Pinzon
€10,000
€10,000
Hernan Ricardo Aguirre
€10,000
€10,000
Miguel Florez
€10,000
€10,000
Felix Engelhardt
€10,000
€10,000
Jason Tesson
€10,000
€10,000
Kim Ok Cheol
€10,000
€10,000
Regan Gough
€10,000
€10,000
Scott Ambrose
€10,000
€10,000
Akramjon Sunnatov
€10,000
€10,000
Than Tung Huynh
€10,000
€10,000
Daniel Afoa
€10,000
€10,000
Callum Scotson
€0
€0
Oier Lazkano
€0
€0
Jhon Stiven Ramirez
€0
€0
Alan Boileau
€0
€0
Jean Helwani
€0
€0
Syver Waersted
€0
€0
Kees Duyvesteyn
€0
€0
Luke Mudgway
€0
€0
Only one change in the Top 10 as Pidcock moves from fifth to third - he used to be the major outlier on this list when comparing to the points list, but now he's just one spot too high - as he probably will be next year as well as he'll move past Bennett here and Houle in points. Stannard will sadly always be the biggest outlier here after we had to sell him, while Vermeersch will be expected to start repayments in 2025. Areruya broke his own record for highest wage by €90,000 last season, and has now almost double the earnings of Bennett.
Single Season Record: €880,000 (Joseph Areruya, 2024)
Value for Money
€/point
Anthony Roux
€262
Ziga Horvat
€400
Jonathan Salinas
€419
Simon Clarke
€430
Stanislau Bazhkou
€491
Henok Tesfaye Heyi
€504
Guillaume Martin
€515
Joren Bloem
€517
George Bennett
€520
Johann van Zyl
€541
Spoiler
Farzad Khodayari
€543
Joseph Areruya
€555
Hugo Houle
€596
Matti Manninen
€597
Shaun Nick Bester
€598
Luke Rowe
€600
Peter Velits
€612
Filippo Ganna
€625
Sergei Pomoshnikov
€625
Mekseb Debesay
€688
Daniel Habtemichael
€701
Thomas Pidcock
€734
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
€769
Jensen Plowright
€794
Xandro Meurisse
€821
Tom Diggle
€833
Mohammad Ganjkhanlou
€833
Nils Schomber
€851
Jamalidin Novardianto
€875
Sergio Higuita
€884
Tsgabu Grmay
€909
Stijn Vandenbergh
€1,100
Bachirou Nikiema
€1,151
Yacine Hamza
€1,233
Morne van Niekerk
€1,248
Kristian Dyrnes
€1,304
Geremie Nzeke
€1,333
James Fouche
€1,364
Igor Antón
€1,515
Hamish Schreurs
€1,634
Salim Kipkemboi
€1,667
Tom Davison
€1,731
Jordan Schleck
€2,016
Ole Hirschlein
€2,121
Jaco Venter
€2,143
Tosh van der Sande
€2,148
Corbin Strong
€2,239
Timothy Gudsell
€2,381
Florian Vermeersch
€2,404
Matthew Lloyd
€2,838
Robert Stannard
€3,381
Darren Young
€3,846
Tom Scully
€4,038
Marvain Tognama Kossohorou
€5,357
Dylan Kennett
€8,333
Henri Vandenabeele
€10,000
Hernan Ricardo Aguirre
€10,000
Daniel Afoa
€10,000
Rei Onodera
€12,500
Aleksandr Efimkin
€12,500
Ilan Van Wilder
€14,643
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
€15,000
Egidijus Juodvalkis
€25,000
Arvid de Kleijn
€25,000
Jean Helwani
Infinite
Oier Lazkano
Infinite but More
Alan Boileau
Infinite but More
Syver Waersted
Infinite but More
Kees Duyvesteyn
Infinite but More
Luke Mudgway
Infinite but Most
Callum Scotson
N/A
Vito Braet
N/A
Mingrun Chen
N/A
Edgar Andres Pinzon
N/A
Jhon Stiven Ramirez
N/A
Miguel Florez
N/A
Felix Engelhardt
N/A
Mikiel Habtom
N/A
Jason Tesson
N/A
Joseph Kimathi
N/A
Kim Ok Cheol
N/A
Regan Gough
N/A
Scott Ambrose
N/A
Gregory Daniel
N/A
Akramjon Sunnatov
N/A
Than Tung Huynh
N/A
CT leaders and PT domestiques are the name of the game here, with Ziga Horvat jumping straight to second place despite us paying the full €50,000 of his loan deal this year. Joren Bloem (€30,000) and Guillaume Martin also jump into the Top 10, knocking Areruya down to 12th with Farzad Khodayari also ahead of him. Bazhkou and to an extent Bennett (who did lead us for a year in CT but was better known in the PCT and PT) the only exceptions to the rule. Houle, Rowe, Ganna and Manninen all also lurk outside the Top 10, along with Areruya being quite efficient leaders.
And as always, Anthony Roux will never be beaten for either a single season or a career.
Single Season Record: €135/point (Anthony Roux, 2017)
Men of Steel
RDs
Jamalidin Novardianto
584
Nils Schomber
505
Morne van Niekerk
356
Joseph Areruya
355
James Fouche
343
George Bennett
326
Johann van Zyl
322
Salim Kipkemboi
291
Tom Davison
285
Florian Vermeersch
270
Spoiler
Stanislau Bazhkou
263
Hamish Schreurs
254
Hugo Houle
243
Bachirou Nikiema
240
Corbin Strong
238
Dylan Kennett
229
Shaun Nick Bester
226
Jordan Schleck
225
Henok Tesfaye Heyi
224
Daniel Habtemichael
212
Yacine Hamza
205
Marvain Tognama Kossohorou
201
Luke Rowe
191
Robert Stannard
179
Ilan Van Wilder
178
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
174
Sergio Higuita
166
Jaco Venter
131
Xandro Meurisse
111
Mekseb Debesay
110
Geremie Nzeke
107
Anthony Roux
107
Tom Diggle
106
Simon Clarke
103
Matthew Lloyd
98
Jonathan Salinas
97
Arvid de Kleijn
87
Oier Lazkano
85
Luke Mudgway
83
Kees Duyvesteyn
83
Jensen Plowright
81
Ziga Horvat
81
Guillaume Martin
80
Thomas Pidcock
79
Alan Boileau
78
Rei Onodera
76
Farzad Khodayari
76
Sergei Pomoshnikov
75
Mohammad Ganjkhanlou
75
Callum Scotson
72
Joren Bloem
72
Gregory Daniel
71
Jhon Stiven Ramirez
69
Mikiel Habtom
65
Syver Waersted
64
Timothy Gudsell
63
Tsgabu Grmay
63
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
62
Darren Young
62
Egidijus Juodvalkis
60
Aleksandr Efimkin
60
Jean Helwani
57
Ole Hirschlein
53
Regan Gough
53
Tosh van der Sande
51
Kristian Dyrnes
50
Matti Manninen
50
Igor Antón
48
Tom Scully
47
Peter Velits
46
Stijn Vandenbergh
45
Filippo Ganna
45
Hernan Ricardo Aguirre
15
Joseph Kimathi
15
Daniel Afoa
15
Mingrun Chen
15
Than Tung Huynh
15
Miguel Florez
15
Jason Tesson
15
Felix Engelhardt
15
Scott Ambrose
14
Akramjon Sunnatov
14
Henri Vandenabeele
14
Vito Braet
14
Edgar Andres Pinzon
14
Kim Ok Cheol
10
Jamalidin Novardianto has lead us in this category ever since he had the most race days in our inaugural season, barring losing the lead by one day in 2022 before regaining it. He now leaves Schomber behind in second place, while Areruya is denied a moment on the podium by one day, and will slip back behind again with van Niekerk's return from loan.
Fouche surpasses Bennett to move into the Top 5, and will have his sights on Areruya's position next season. van Zyl and Vermeersch move into the Top 10, while Schreurs, once in the Top 10 back in 2020, now has a chance to come back into it during his second stint with the team.
Single Season Record: 100 (Nils Schomber, 2019) CT: 76 (Jamalidin Novardianto, 2016; Rei Onodera and Dylan Kennett, 2017)
Shut Up Legs
Breakaways
Wins
KOM
Jamalidin Novardianto
33
0
0
Henok Tesfaye Heyi
23
0
0
Sergio Higuita
19
1
1
James Fouche
18
1
0
Joseph Areruya
17
1
0
Nils Schomber
15
0
0
Bachirou Nikiema
13
0
0
Morne van Niekerk
13
0
0
Tom Davison
12
0
1
Salim Kipkemboi
12
0
0
Spoiler
Johann van Zyl
10
0
0
Robert Stannard
9
0
0
Corbin Strong
8
0
0
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
7
0
0
Shaun Nick Bester
7
0
0
Xandro Meurisse
6
0
0
Yacine Hamza
6
0
0
Kristian Dyrnes
5
0
1
Geremie Nzeke
5
0
0
Marvain Tognama Kossohorou
5
0
0
Hamish Schreurs
5
0
0
Daniel Habtemichael
5
0
0
Joren Bloem
5
0
0
Ziga Horvat
5
0
0
Timothy Gudsell
4
0
1
Dylan Kennett
4
0
0
Kees Duyvesteyn
4
0
0
Oier Lazkano
4
0
0
Jensen Plowright
4
0
0
Peter Velits
3
0
1
Anthony Roux
3
0
0
Rei Onodera
3
0
0
Gregory Daniel
3
0
0
Jordan Schleck
3
0
0
Stanislau Bazhkou
3
0
0
Florian Vermeersch
3
0
0
Regan Gough
3
0
0
Ilan Van Wilder
3
0
0
Guillaume Martin
4
0
0
Mekseb Debesay
2
1
0
George Bennett
2
1
0
Matthew Lloyd
2
0
0
Jean Helwani
2
0
0
Igor Antón
2
0
0
Daniel Afoa
2
0
0
Jaco Venter
2
0
0
Mikiel Habtom
2
0
0
Darren Young
2
0
0
Jhon Stiven Ramirez
2
0
0
Farzad Khodayari
2
0
0
Filippo Ganna
2
0
0
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
1
1
0
Tom Diggle
1
0
0
Aleksandr Efimkin
1
0
0
Stijn Vandenbergh
1
0
0
Callum Scotson
1
0
0
Hernan Ricardo Aguirre
1
0
0
Luke Rowe
1
0
0
Than Tung Huynh
1
0
0
Miguel Florez
1
0
0
Syver Waersted
1
0
0
Jason Tesson
1
0
0
Sergei Pomoshnikov
1
0
0
While he briefly lost hold of the race day lead, Novardianto has never been troubled in the breakaway count, always holding a double-digits lead thanks to steadily having 2-5 a year since his huge rookie season, balancing them with his usual domestique, late attacker, stage hunter and leadout duties. He does actually have a victory to his name, in the Giro d'Italia during his PT loan year, but with us is still on the hunt, with a few podiums and Top 5s to his name.
No wins or KOMs this year, but Fouche, van Zyl, Horvat and Bloem all registered five or more appearances during the season. Perhaps amusingly for those who did not follow him as a youngster, Areruya still appears in the Top 5 here - probably our second greatest breakaway rider after Jams but obviously hasn't been allowed to add to his tally after his first two years.
Finally it's our Team HQ Rider of the Month wins, which was the last category still lead by George Bennett. That was until October, where Joseph Areruya, looking like he might lose a month comprised of only races he was a leader in after poor performances in Quebec and Japan, won the Giro di Lombardia and with it his 13th Rider of the Month award, and his record-equalling 4th of the season.
This leaves Areruya, Novardianto and Roux the only riders leading a category here - a record which we’ll guess would probably hold for a long, long time as the fight becomes a battle for second place on every list. We’d love to be proven wrong, though!
Single-Season Record: 4 (Anthony Roux, 2017; Thomas Pidcock, 2023; Joseph Areruya, 2024)
The days of large renewals fines forcing a mix of seasoned PCT leaders and the brightest young talents in the sport to be on the trade block are now safely in the rear-view mirror for Xero Racing. This means that the previous most anticipated availability posts in the peloton might now have been replaced with the least anticipated ones.
Age
Stats
OVL
Wage
Joseph
Areruya
29
81 MO, 81HI
79.84
€800,000
Thomas
Pidcock
26
Yes
78.39
€500,000
Filippo
Ganna
29
80TT, 82PL
77.73
€360,000
●
Florian
Vermeersch
26
78CB, 78SP
77.57
€280,000
●
James
Fouche
27
78MO, 75HI
75.94
€125,000
●●●
Morne
Van Niekerk
32
78 TT, 77PL
74.43
€75,000
●●
Henok
Tesfaye Heyi
31
75FL, 73HI
74.12
€60,000
●
Hamish
Schreurs
30
77CB, 75ST
74.04
€75,000
●●●
Jamalidin
Novardianto
31
76FL, 79AC
73.81
€50,000
Guillaume
Martin
32
75MO, 72HI
73.24
€50,000
●●●●●
● strong intention to keep | ●●● open for offers | ●●●●● clear intention to sell
Some riders are open for offers but not actively being sold, which means we here at Xero Racing HQ can get all hands on deck and get to work on making incoming transfers happen rather than outgoings. Unless plans change, that may well mean that everyone's favourite transfers HQ doesn't even get off the ground this year - and for that we are sorry.
However, so you aren't all here for nothing: the team are looking at bringing in some PT Loans. There is flexibility as to the wage/fee arrangements. Please hit us up to discuss any loan ideas you might have. Or transfers. Or anything. It's transfers time, baby, let's get into it!
Xero Racing 2025 
Australia, 
Great Britain (minor), 
United States (minor)
Rwanda, 
The World (minor)
Thomas Pidcock
Matti Manninen
Yacine Hamza
Sergei Pomoshnikov
Farzad Khodayari
Ziga Horvat [Loaned In]
Joren Bloem [Loaned In]
Edgar Andres Pinzon [Stagiaire]
Hugo Houle
Salim Kipkemboi
Nils Schomber
Oier Lazkano [Loaned In]
Daniel Habtemichael
Bachirou Nikiema
Darren Young
Stanislau Bazhkou
Jordan Schleck
Luke Rowe
Syver Waersted [Loaned In]
Carl Ngamoki-Cameron
Mingrun Chen [Stagiaire]
Than Tung Huynh [Stagiaire]
Akramjon Sunnatov [Stagiaire]
Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou
Peter Velits
Geremie Nzeke
Rei Onodera [Loaned In]
Egidijus Juodvalkis
Jonathan Salinas
Ok Cheol Kim [Stagiaire]
Tour of Qatar
Classique du Grand-Duché
Copenhagen-Malmo TTT
Franceville Classique
GP Liechtenstein
Scandinavia Open Road Race
Riga - Jurmala GP
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
And also ridiculous to look at these wage cuts, in particular Areruya and Ganna might need some lessons in negotiating 
