jt1109 wrote:

Unsure on Owen think he could be a bit of an overpay but others looks solid depth signings as mentioned above Roson very strong move at the price

Here come the fast men. And a fast learner, hopefully!

He's back! And much more expensive! Yikes!! Kulikovskiy rejected our best contract offer in renewals but now comes back on a much higher package. Full props for knowing his worth, although we're not quite pleased with the impact on our finances We hope he can repeat some of the fine performances he put up for us last season.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
75.6	73	64	68	71	64	70	73	78	61	78	79	65	67	66

Our second sprinter for the season is another one who say quite a few suitors this off season. Hofstetter has been a journeyman rider, regularly changing teams from one season to the next, but always contributing significantly higher than his wages would have one assume. He will be a strong second leader for the sprints and also accompany the cobbles squad wherever required.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
75.36	74	62	66	70	64	71	71	75	73	77	78	71	68	66

Our fourth loan in is another stage racer, who will regularly join up with Haig in his quest for mountain glory. His role will be similar to that of Obando and Agirrebeitia, and we hope the three of them together can be somewhat more useful than mere bottle carriers.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
71.84	69	71	71	71	73	70	70	70	60	67	68	68	65	73

knockout wrote:

Two of my favourite "77-78 SP tier" sprinters. Love seeing them together at your team!

redordead wrote:

We might be entering an era where it's usually worth it to renew your riders

jandal7 wrote:

Big fan of those signings for you even if the Kuli wage hurts

baseballlover312 wrote:

Haig and Zmorka should be a great duo to keep you up with good planning. Rekita also a great value rider. Good work!

SotD wrote:

Had both Kulikovskiy and Hofstetter on my early transferlist as supplements to Farantakis, then they got off the list, only to getting increasingly higher on the list towards the end. I think you managed to land them on very favorable wages, despite being riders that could have likely been snatched cheaper early for the right powermove

I think both will have decent seasons!

The final update of the transfers for incomings covers three FAs and a talent who comes in via a last minute deal. We will also include the loan-outs for the season and the outgoings!

We went into the closing stages of the transfer window battling it out with two other teams for our last signing of the window. We were able to come out on top of the silent bidding and secure the servies of McCormick to add another spoke to our puncher wheel. He should be able to ride in support of Mick VD all through the season.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
74.36	70	66	71	76	65	74	71	70	53	73	73	67	59	65

In the past, we have admired the attacking spirit of Elissonde but were never really in a position to sign him. We took the opportunity to give him one last ride at the top level with one of our last moves this transfer window. He will add some more muscle to our climbing department.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
71.99	63	75	73	70	60	71	72	74	63	52	61	58	69	60

It's the tear of the returning stags as Allegaert, another 2017 Stagiare for us, follows Hofstede in through the door as the last piece of our cobbles puzzle. We hope to utlize his all-round skills in multiple terrains.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
72.40	74	59	63	66	65	74	75	62	72	72	71	67	65	68

Young Danish talent Jorgensen, not to be confused with his more famous namesake, joins our team as part of deal which sees Pira go the other way, the latter himself having joined just a couple of days before in a different deal! He will develop into a useful TT rider in the next couple of years.

OVL	FLA	MON	MM	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DHI	PRL
68.19	72	55	56	57	59	71	68	64	72	53	58	64	64	65	73
Time Trial	76	56	59	61	76	71	68	76	53	58	64	67	66	78
Track-TT	76	55	58	60	76	71	67	76	53	61	66	64	66	78

Benoot, Olivier and Cataford, our top three scorers from last season's promotion campaign, left the team in transfers. The Kuroedas and Shirota have also been loyal servants of the team for multiple seasons now. Carcueva and Miholjevic were the others leaving from the team we had after renewals. We wish them all the best for their future endeavours.

A word of extra appreciation for Benoot, who leaves as our record points scorer, a feat that will take some time beating!

Leemreize is the first of our self developed talents who we've felt worthy of training. This is his first year being training eligible, and probably the only opportunity to train him as other riders will get more priority starting from next season. We are pleased to have been able to gather the cash needed for the same in the closing days of the transfer window. We hope he can step up and at least partially fill the void left by the departure of Olivier!

	FL	MO	MM	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
2024	66	78	77	76	65	70	74	74	60	62	72	76	68	65
		↓↓↓	↓↓↓
2025	66	79	78	76	65	70	74	74	60	62	72	76	68	65

Haig takes over leadership duties of our stage racing and climbing squads. Leemreize will be the leader in most places where Hiag cannot go, while Roson is expected to get a couple of leadership opportunities of his own, besides shadowing Haig for a lot of the season.

Fully develop Mick VD takes over leadership duties on the hills with able but shallow support from Hofstede and McCormick. We hope Mick can already show himself a few times at the front of the pack this time.

Without a lot of RDs available on cobbles, we did not feel the need to invest heavily in this department, with Owen's somewhat big offer in FA the only substantial move in that aspect. we do hope we can use the little depth we have to get some scoring on the board in every Northern Classic.

We consciously shifted to a sub-top leader strategy in the flats after most of the better sprinters went too high in FAs. Kulikovskiy and Hofstede will cover most of the sprint duties in stage races, while Cherkasov will be included in the classics to add some chaos in the closing stages

Along with Haig, Zmorka was another top target for us in the off-season, as a part of our attempt to improve our TT department further from last season. Rekita will be his deputy this season, with John, Tim and Arias Villanueva making up the rest of the TT unit, along with youngster Holm Jorgensen.

Hayter is on the last year of his development, along with Alben. As many as five of the above talents will be out on loan this season, with the hope of coming back being better next season. We didn't fulfill our target of getting a good cobbles talent in the off-season, so that's something to target next time!

We went into transfers with three top targets and managed to sign two of them. We would have liked to sign a stronger third leader but options ran out quite fast, following which we decided to invest in our homegrown rider instead. We do not believe the team is strong enough to ensure safety in our first PT season right from the start, but we do have a fighting chance of staying in if we get our planning right and if certain things go our way.

It has taken us eight full years to reach the PT, and we're striving to ensure it does not end at the first go. The aim for the season is definitely to somehow stay in the division, and then build on this team in the future.

kandesbunzler26 wrote:

It was a bit hard to keep track with all your activities in transfers, but the final squad looks good enough to successfully fight relegation!