Top 10 climbers riders according to my system (Mon is highest main stat):

Position	Last name
1	Herklotz
2	Bernal
3	Lecuisinier
4	Kudus
5	Pogacar
6	Haig
7	Morton
8	McNulty
9	Sivakov
10	Godoy

Top 10 puncheurs riders according to my system (Hill is highest main stat):

Position	Last name
1	Areruya
2	Lopez
3	Gidich
4	Vansevenant
5	Pidcock
6	Valter
7	Mohoric
8	Higuita
9	Schmid
10	Bagioli

Top 10 TT riders according to my system (TT is highest stat):

Position	Last name
1	Wirtgen
2	Dunbar
3	Würtz
4	Ganna
5	Leknessund
6	Evenepoel
7	Zmorka
8	Mullen
9	Kämna
10	Munton

Top 10 Cobble riders according to my system (Cob is highest main stat):

Position	Last name
1	Pedersen
2	Per
3	Anderberg
4	Gerts
5	Vermeersch
6	Gamper
7	Siric
8	Ovsyannikov
9	Van Hooydonck
10	Senechal

Top 10 Sprinter according to my system (Sprint is highest main stat):

Position	Last name
1	Gaviria
2	Cullaigh
3	Farantakis
4	Kanter
5	Philipsen
6	Kemboi
7	Halvorsen
8	Groenewegen
9	Groves
10	Ackermann

Top 10 wage effective riders according to my system (pts/wage):

Position	Last name
1	Darbellay
2	Munton
3	Foss
4	Anderberg
5	Kirsch
6	Gaudu
7	Siric
8	Romo
9	Aleotti
10	Kämna

Top 10 OVL effective riders according to my system (pts/OVL):

Position	Last name
1	Herklotz
2	Areruya
3	Bernal
4	Lopez
5	Kudus
6	Lecuisinier
7	Gidich
8	Gaviria
9	Wirtgen
10	Pogacar

Top 10 riders according to my system (Points):

Position	Last name
1	Herklotz
2	Bernal
3	Areruya
4	Lecuisinier
5	Kudus
6	Lopez
7	Wirtgen
8	Gaviria
9	Gidich
10	Pogacar

Best rider: Patrick Gamper
Other scorers: Oomen, Bonifazio, De Plus, Van Gils, Potocki

Newly promoted Lierse SK end up last on my ranking, maybe not that suprising when the only transfers are signing two expensive talents and loaning them out? This is a a PCT squad and in my opinion going straight back to PCT.

Lets start with Gamper who is a strong cobble rider with his flat and energy stats, also his TT ability will make him score extra points. While Oomen is not the strongest climber in PT his a strong rider with great stats and should score good points for Lierse SK and give them some fun races. Bonfazio, with all the love he gets from his manager, is a good sprinter with his flat stat to support him, and Mareczko is a good leadout rider. De Plus, Van Poucke and Van Gils are good puncheur/climber riders but at this level I just believe more is needed and Potocki/Sajnok is the same. Good at what TTing but the level is just one step above in PT.

Lierse is a team with lots of potential, and with 2 of the strongest talents added this season loaned out. I just honestly believe they have already decided its okay to relegate with pretty much doing nothing in the transfer season

Best rider: Higuta
Other scorers: Halvorsen,Aular, Lopez Nolasco, Galvan Ramirez

Higuita spearheads a team with many different riders who can score, and both him, Halvorsen and Aular are strong leaders. There are also great depth behind Aular as the main climber with riders like Lopez Nolasco, Galvan Ramirez, Osorio, Carcueva and Beltran.

Halvorsen is a strong sprinter with a good flat stat, he on the other hand totally lack support, with Ruiz the best leadout rider. Higuita as the main should (and will I guess) be used in the hilly races, I love his climbing and energy stats. He will be a great points scorer. Ulloa is the cobble leader, he is not among the best in the division, but I guess he is better than nothing? The team also got a pretty nice TTT train spearheded by Ocamo who is a very good TTer, his weakness is that he is a pure TTer.

In general I am a bit surprised by seeing LPH this low on my ranking but I have given other teams more points and thats how it is. A thing to notice however is that my system is hurts teams with fewer riders a bit and that could be an effect here.

Best rider: Pedersen
Other scorers: Gaudu, Cort Nielsen, Abrahamsen, Bagioli, Gebrezgabihier

Maybe not the biggest surprise to guess Grieg-Maersk for relegation with all the money spent on the future, still there are several great riders here.

Pedersen is the big star, one of the best cobble riders in the world with his flay, energy stats and sprinting. A real monster. He also got the supportteam of his dreams with Abrahamsen, De Gendt, Bohli, Jansen and Blume Levy. This team will score a lot of points in the northern classics! Depth is also the name of the game for the hills with several riders capable of scoring. On the hills however they lack a really big star and rather have to hope for scoring depth points with the likes of Gaudu, Bagioli, Gebrezgabihier, Hindley and Ssabagwanya. Cort Nielsen is the best climber of the team, and while a nice rider he is far behind the best in the division. There is not a lot of TTing in this squad any more, and no sprinters.

In general I feel that behind the points from Pedersen Grieg will not score a lot and will go down to PCT

Best rider: Schmid
Other scorers: Groves, Darbellay, Ferreyra, Fernandes, Szarka, Stewart, Abdurrahman

I have always underestimated this kind of depth teams, and maybe I do it again? I just do not see Jura getting enough points without any top leaders and this is a strenght in numbers team.

Schmid is the top rider and a good rider, but I believe he will be weaker this year with the change of game. Groves is a good sprinter with his hill stat and should do well, he also got some very strong leadout riders in Szarka and Larsen. They should be able to put him in perfect positions at the end of races. Darbellay I've ranked as the most wage effective rider in the division and with his climbing, TTing and ok energy stats he is a steal at 115k. However, Ferreyra at 420k does not feel like a steal... Talking about Ferreyra there are some very nice TTers here in him, Fernandes and Jassuame who combines TT with hills/climbing and should do well in stages races without the long climbs. The cobble leader Jake Stwart is not among the best, but could suprise as his support stats are elite.

Jura got a team that needs those depth points to avoid relegation, I believe that they will not get enough this year.

Best rider: Haig
Other scorers: Zmorka, Van Dijke, Leemreize, Kulikovskiy, Hofstetter

Two new good and experienced leaders for Sony in Haig and Zmorka. Both have done well in PT earlier. Haig is one of the top climbers in the world with a great TT and good energy stats. Zmorka is a top TTer and the got more riders to form a good TTT-team, he does lack hill or sprint to really make his point scoring great. These are the two riders that really need to perform for Sony this year, but to avoid relegation they will need the other riders to perform a bit over their ability.

Van Dijke is a nice puncheur with some spriting skill aswell, but a few steps behind the top of the division. Leemreize is a good climber, but I am really concerned about his energy stats. Kulikovsky and Hofstetter are pretty much two clones. Sub-top sprinters wo can survive hills. Also Logan Owen is a the cobble leader who should score some points but it is more hoping for top 10 than scoring big points.

There are several depth riders in Roson, Rossi, McCormick, Cherkasov and Ulysbayev here but in the end I rank them on the last relegation spot, having to take the tough road back to PCT

Best rider: Kudus
Other scorers: Godoy, Jacobs, Buchmann, Müller

As I put the points Kudus just about avoids relegation this season on his new team, but a lot will depend on him! Luckily he is one of the absolute best riders in the world. Last season him and Gaviria wasn't enough, this season he got Godoy as the number 2. Godoy is on his own a great climber with good energy stats and should score great points by himself.

Jacobs is also a very nice cobble rider, I would've loved for him to have a sprint or a bit more hill but his flat and energy stats will help him score good points. Buchmann and Müller is an interesting pair of puncheur, none of them are at the very top of the division but Buchmann could raise the hilly races with a bit longer climbs while Müller could race the longer ones where stamina is needed. Will be interesting to see if it will work out.

UBS got climbing depth with Balmer, Stöckli and Schir, and TT riders like Barbio, Schäppi, Haugard and Blum should help the team get some extra points and in the end I believe they just pips it out and avoid relegation

Best rider: Farantakis
Other scorers: Altur, Giannoutsos, Kinoshita, Kriakidis, Kortsidakis, Ioannidis, Stavrakakis

ELCO is not a team with a big top scorer, but a team with several riders who can score well.

Fanatakis I have ranked as the top rider. I like a good sprinter with a strong prolouge and I believe he will be a strong scorer. Altur is a nice cobble leader, not at the very top of the division but should do well and got a good support team with riders like Korsidakis and Stavrakakis. Its the same thing with Giannoutsos, he is a good rider just not top of the division, I love his energy stats and he has some great support troughtout the team. Kinoshita is a rider I think will do well this season, I believe his strong stamina will help a lot and make him have a good season. Kirakidis is a type of rider I really like as a TT rider with TT and hills/climbing, will be interesting to see how he does this year.

In general I believe ELCO - ABEA is strong enough to stay up this year but they can not afford too many missteps

Best rider: Vansevenant
Other scorers: Van Hooydonck, Wellens, Phinney, Guerreiro

Mauri Vansevenant is a great rider, and I think he will be even better this season. I really love him as a rider. He also got a very good support team and everything should be ready for him to have a fantastic season.

Van Hooydonck as the second leader on the team and a strong cobble rider who can both TT a bit and ride over hills. Wellens and Phinney spearhead the climbing/GC squad. I rank Wellens higher than Phinney now as with his decline Phinney's energy stats have plummeted. He can still TT and based on that will score points, but I suspect a dissapointing season from him. In general riders like Guerreiro, Vanhoucke, Schelling, Teuns, Vliegen, Vesely, Denz, Hessmann, Gonzalez Salas and Havik rounds out a squad that I believe will be at the bottom half, but a bit above the most scary relegation battle

Best rider: Pogacar
Other scorers: Philipsen, Siric, Ackermann, Schlegel

Cedevita let one of their big scorers in TGH go, but added Philipsen, Ackermann and Schlegel while training Pogacar (even more) and Siric compared to last year.

I rank them 14th and Pogacar is still the big star. His energy stats combined with great climbing and good hill/TT makes him one of the best GC riders in the world. Cedevita will need another good season from him. Philipsen joins the team as a main sprinter, and he is a good one, giving the team presence on the flat stages. Will be interesting to see where they decide to send him.

With his training Siric joins the upper echolons of cobble riders with great flat, good hill, great energy stats and a good sprint. I would not be suprised if Siric challanges in races like Paris-Roubaix this season.

The hilly squad will be lead by Pascal Ackermann who lacks some pure puncheur skills but got a great sprint. I am not sure how well he will do as the competition is really hard, but I'm looking forward to seeing him this season. Schlegel gives the team a good alternative when Pogacar can't race and together with Hocevar adn Papnov he will give the team extra points. I also like a rider like Fred Wright who you just can place in any race and he will do a job.

Last notes from me here are the rouleurs and TT riders who should ensure that the team competes in TTTs and for stage wins from attacks.

Best rider: Leknessund
Other scorers: Dombrowski, Aleotti, Carboni, Teunissen, Warchol, Senni, Malecki, Vervaeke

Gazelle is a team well known for their depth and they are still a very deep team, I just believe they are weaker than they've been.

Dombrowski is still a good rider, but decline has gotten to him and he is not at the level he used to be. Combined with declines from Teunissen and Warchol aswell it will be felt. They will still score good points, but less than last year! To be honest, I believe Leknessund will be the top scorer for Gazelle this year. Great energy stats, great TT and good climbing should see the norwegian have a good season this year.

Aleotti is the hilly leader, another rider with great energy stats, and Teunissen will still be the cobble leader. The real star of this team is (once again) depth. Riders like Carboni, Senni, Malecki, Vervaeke, Budenieks, Peters, Sendeku, Vahtra, Kubis and we could go on makes the team able to score points in so many races and ways that they are always hard to place.

Most likely I undervalue them and they (once again) are a team where 2+2 becomes 5 or even 6 and they can just laught at this prediction

Best rider: Gerts
Other scorers: Evenepoel, Formolo, Champoussin, Aniolkiwski, Kron, Van den Berg

Another team who has spent big on talents, but I feel this team has the scoring ability to back it up.

Gerts is a great cobble leader with his hill stat and among the favorites to win Ronde Van Vlaanderen. I really like Gerts and can see him having a great season. Evenepoel is a great rider with his TT ability, he does lack recovery and should most likely be used on shorter stage races. U25 points will help him score a lot!

Champoussin has been trained and is pretty much the clone of Formolo. Both are good riders and will do very well. Together with Kron they form a strong hill trio, even though they will most likely be used a lot in stage races aswell. The team should anyway score well on the hills with these riders. Aniolkowski is a good sprinter, but in reality the team waits for Kooij to become the great leader here.

I would also like to say I love the look of the stamina stat on this team, 10 riders with 75 or higher, I think that is a great build for PCM24. In the end a safe 13th place and with their talents a team that will just become better.

Best rider: Sivakov
Other scorers: Skujins, Senechal, Samolenkov, Razumov, Mamykin, Vlasov, Banaszek, Vingegaard, Strakhov

There are two things that really stand out for me when looking at the entire Tinkoff team together, that is the awesome national focus and the great focus on stamina stat. 15 riders with 75 or over in stamina! As my knowledge of PCM24 goes that will be very valuable this season and makes me believe Tinkoff could really overperform my ranking here, but I am staying with my rules.

Sivakov is the main leader and he is being trained into a great GC rider. Good climbing, great energy stats and good TT makes. He is still just that tiny step behind the top who can win GTs, but from next season he will be right up there! Vingegaard is one of the few new faces on the team and will together with Mamykin, Vlasov, Rikunov and others form a good support climing team for Sivakov. There are also a great TTT train here with 5 riders 77 or higher, including Vlasov who can climb well and Razumov who in himself should score some good points with TT combined with som hill.

Skujins is the aging hilly leader who might have his last good season this year. Tikhonin, Strakhov and Trakhov looks like great support riders for him. Senechal is another good rider, I rank him also right behind the really greats on his terrains but should be a consistent scorer. When it comes to sprints Samolenkov and Banaszek is the sprinters on the team. To be honest while they look good I am not really sure if they will be able to do that much and there is a total lack of leadout riders for them.

All in all I place Tinkoff at 11th, but I would not be surprised if they put this prediction to shame with their great focus on energy stats that could make this team do much better

Best rider: Morton
Other scorers: Cullaigh, Kemboi, Yates, Oliveira, Hayter

Lachlan Morton is still a good rider at 33 and will lead cycleYorkshire for another year, a strong climber with good backups and a hill stat that is more than well enough for his job, he can also do some TT. I believe he will have another strong season at this level.

Behind Morton the sprinter duo of Cullaigh and Kemboi stands out. Strong sprinters and the team also got a good leadout rider for them in Cameron Scott, folloed by several okayish leadout riders. Kemboi combines his sprinting with a great prl and flat stat to propel him into more good results and jerseys. Yates should also have one more good year in him, while he is declining his hill combined with good sprinting should still give him several good results.

Oliveira and Hayter combines the two kinds of TT riders I like as they can both ride on hills and sprint some. Hayter has an awesome flat stat as well that makes him scary. cycleYorkshire has pretty much decided to ignore cobbles and together with Cullaigh their best cobble rider is Ballerini, he should not be good enough at this level (or most other levels).

There is a factor I find interesting here as there are many riders with good acc and some sprint, if cycleYorkshire manage to place these riders in breaks that survives they should steal some stage wins and points from it. In the end I believe the team will score enough points from their top 4 to get a top 10

Best rider: Per
Other scorers: Carthy, Aranburu, Skjelmose Jensen, Meiler, Rodenberg, Kragh Andersen, Eg

David Per is a great cobble rider and I rank him as the 2nd best cobble rider in PT. He will once again put a casket (?) of Carlsberg on his shoulders and secure a good placement for the danish squad. Meiler is a great domestique for him, together with Menten, Resell, Cannister and Askey they form one of the best cobble squads.

Carthy had a great year last season and while I still have him scoring well I think he wont do as well, still a great scorer and climber. Skjelmose Jensen is a great nr 2 in the mountains with TT ability to back it up, he should take the position of Galta and make Carlsberg not miss him too much. There are several great support riders in Eg, Gregaard and Hellemose here aswell. Aranburu as the hilly leader is an interesting case, his climbing ability should help, but I am afraid his stamina could be a real weakness this year.

Rodenberg and team legend Kragh Andersen are goodish sprinter, some weaknesses on both of them but they will still give good results here and there, I love Forssell as a supportrider for them that could steal some points with his prl.

In general a good squad with several good point scorers but they rely on Per to lead the team to greatness. I see them comeing in 9th, but I also have a hard time seeing them get higher, and I don't really see Carlsberg as a team with the potential to suprise that I see in other teams

Best rider: Bernal
Other scorers: Bagioli, Geoghegan Hart, Mullen, Mas, Barthe, Minali

Bernal had an amazing season last year and I see no reason he should not repeat. His climbing and TT combined with some of the best energy stats in the world just makes him an awesome rider.

Latour and Philipsen from last season has been replaced with Bagioli and TGH. Bagioli with his training should have his best season ever. I sincerely belive PCM24 will fit him well. However, the puncheur field is strong in PT. TGH is a great secondary climber who is a lot like a weaker version of Bernal with climbing and TT, should be a great rider to send whereever Bernal can't go. Mas, Eyob and Zambanini are great support riders for the 2 leaders.

Ryan Mullen is a good TT rider with some hill and together with Krul, Durbridge, Korsaeth and Rajapakshage should form a great TTT train to help the 2 GC guys. Ferreira as the cobble leader is pretty far from the top of the division and should just hope to pick up a few points here and there, hopefully better than nothing? I believe Garcia Cortina might end up scoring more points in the cobble classics with his sprint, flat and stamina. Minali is an okay sprinter, but will need both some skill and luck in planning for him to score well.

As an endnote I like the McCarthy longshot, great hill stat and stamina is kind of the same I do with Vogt. Will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Best rider: Areruya
Other scorers: Pidcock, Vermeersch, Olivier, Blums, Fouche

Areruya with his mon-hill combo is an awesome rider and will be one of the top scorers of the division once again, combining him with Pidcock and Vermeersch makes one of the coolest teams in the peloton.

Pidcock is one of a kind rider who just does well whereever he is sent, must be both a nightmare and a dream to plan, really excited to see where he ends up racing this season. I rank him right outside top 10 total point scorers this season. Vermeersch is a great cobble leader with his sprint and flat stat, I would've wished for him to have a bit more support from the squad as Pidcock is the second best cobble rider and then it is Novardianto, who is not a great one...

Fouche takes another year as one of the main climbers of the squad and should score some points but the headline of the climbers is newly signed Olivier. He had his first decline this year but still brings good climbing and good energy stats. He will not be a GT winner, but should score consistent points for Xero. Blums and Martinez, together with Paulus are good support riders who at times should get their own chances.

All in all this is a team with a very good top 3 (maybe 4 with Olivier) but that in general lack some support in my opinion. Still a team that it is hard not to cheer for and it will be very interesting to see both how this season goes and the future

Best rider: Herklotz
Other scorers: Kanter, Madouas, Kämna, O'Brien, Rutsch

Silvio Herklotz, best rider in the world. In general every manager is just happy that there are just 2 more seasons til he declines... He will have another awesome season and gives Team Puma - SAP a good points base to do well.

The team is also built up with several good climbers to support him, but other than Kämna I don't really see any of them fight for a lot of points. Kämna however is a good climber with a very good TT stat that will make him do well. Kanter is a very good sprinter and if Steimle and Gross are used as leadout riders he have some of the best he can have. They should also be capable of sprinting for their own chances at times. Madouas is a good puncheur, but quite some way behind the PT elite and Rutsch has been trained into a good cobble rider, but also he is still some way behind the elite here.

Among the different support and secondary riders I really like O'Briens Hill-TT combo, while he is weaker in TT than those that will be his main competitors his hill (and flat) should make him able to challenge in those stage races.

Not a lot has changed for Team Puma - SAP when it comes to point scoring and I believe they will finish around where they did last year just a bit better in 6th

Best rider: Anderberg
Other scorers: Valter, Groenewegen, Romo, Andersen, Konychev, Stokbro

The training of Hampus Anderberg propels him into being one of the best cobble riders in the world, great flat and energy stats and for a cobble rider awesome TT stats make shim a great rider. He got some strong support riders with Stokbro and Kalf the best.

The team tries to go without a lead climber and have instead decided to have a 1-2 punch on the hills with Valter and Romo. Valter is the better pure climber of them with great acceleration while Romo is more an attacker with great stamina. Will be interesting to see how they work together, I for one think it will do very well. The best pure climbers on the team are Williams and Lopez, and while they should get many chanses during the season I can't really see them getting top results.

Groenewegen is the main sprinter with several riders that can work as his leadouts and he should have one of the best trains in the peloton. Riders like Andersen and Konychev should with their support stats do really well on their own, and it might mainly fall to Prasad, Sarreau, Salby and Räim to act as leadout. Andersen also is the best prl rider in the world and that should score well! Talking about the likes of Andersen and Konychev Aker seem to have prioritized getting great flat and stamina riders, I believe that will translate to quite some extra points!

In general a good squad that should fight at the upper part of the table and I believe they will end in 5th

Best rider: Gaviria
Other scorers: Dunbar, Latour, Stüssi, Firdaus, Frankiny

I really like what Indosat has done after their promotion and puts them right into 4th here!

Gaviria is expensive, but he is a great sprinter and gives the team a good base of consistent points. The leadout also looks very good with Nur Hasan, Trondsen and Baska. Dunbar had a great season in PCT and I rank him as a top rider in PT aswell. The combo of climbing and TT will never go out of fashion. I also believe picking up Latour and Stüssi to lead in races without Dunbar will end up very well. I really rate both of the highly and love Stüssi at 180k wage. Firdaus, Frankiny, Wibisono and Zweihoff gives great depth in the climbing department.

One of the things that can really hurt Indosat is the total lack of scoring potential on cobbles and no really great puncheurs. They need their climbers and Gaviria to really perform well do make up for that. This is team I rank highly that with just a few dissapointments can fall down the standings

Best rider: Gidich
Other scorers: McNulty, Ganna, Hsu, Mano, Tiller, Chaiyasombat, Fung, Salzmann

Going from a team who decided to have no leaders on some terrains to one that has leaders on all.

Gidich is the biggest name here, a great puncheur who should have (another) good season. Combining a good hill stat with climbing, accelleration and energy stats, as well as some TT makes him a point scoring monster. Supportriders like Simmons and Conca looks good aswell.

McNulty is a great GC rider with his climbing, TT and energy stats. He has a low acc but I think he will do well no matter what. He is among those riders I put right below GT winning, but if he hits the right one he might surprise. Ganna and Mano is a great TT pair where both can ride over hills well. This makes them both capable of scoring quite a lot of points for King Power powering them into the top 3 I guess they will get. They also fill out a good TTT team with riders like Fung, Matsuda, Leung, Van Baarle and Milesi. Fung is also a good climber and can get extra points that way.

Tiller is a good cobble rider on the shelf below the top and has a nice 2nd in command in Salzmann. Hsu as the main sprinter got a great leadout rider in Contreras, who I'm curious if will be used as leadout, or go for his own sprints. Still the duo should get some points on the flat stages, specially if they can avoid the very best sprinters.

In general an exciting squad with nice riders sprinkled all trough getting a 3rd for the second year in a row

Best rider: Wirtgen
Other scorers: Würtz, Mohoric, Spengler, Kirsch, Munton, Geniets, Girdlestone, Lampawog

Not a team with a lot of big changes and considering they ended 12th last year this is quite a big jump in rankings, but there are several really great riders here.

Wirtgen is the best TTist in the world, and he got great climbing stats to propel him up the individual rankings. To partner him Vesuvio has signed the world TT champion Würtz, just so they can fight it out on training camp for who really deserves the crown. The TTT squad behind them is insane with Munto, Lampawog, De Bod, Tanfield, Pelikan, Onodera, Affini and Gunnlaugsson... They could field 2 top 5 TTT teams.

Mohoric is still a great puncheur with a good support squad and should score good points. The change of game makes me believe he will be better than last year, Spengler is a good dobble rider with his main stat, but his support stats makes me rank him behind the best. His main helper Lampawog has a great combo of Flat, TT, Stamina, Resistance and Cobble stat who should make him score extra. The main climber is Kirsch. A good climber a few steps behind the best, but with some good support riders in Girdlestone, Luc Wirtgen and Ries.

All in all I expect EA Vesuvio to have a much better year than last year and climb all the way up to 2nd.

Best rider: Lecuisinier/Lopez
Other scorers: Plapp, Ovsyannikov, Foss, Herregodts, Eenkhoorn, Neilands

I belive many predicted them as winners last year aswell, but this season I see no way they will not win. This is close to as good a squad I believe you can make in the game when trying to win before PHL and MAL gets too old.

PHL is a top climber, among the very best of the game and a potential GC winner no matter the competition. MAL is the among the very best puncheurs in the game with his awesome main stat, I rank him 2nd because of his stamina/resistance who might just make him that tiny bit weaker than his main stat suggests.

Evonik as been creative with loaning and training and Ovsyannikov is one of the results of this, a great cobble rider with a great sprint who should do really well and pick up many points for the team. Herregodts is another results of this with trained TT making him a good point scorer with his climbing/hill skills combined with TT. More important than Herregodts is the Plapp-Foss pair, top class GC riders on the shelf behind the very top who I both believe will have great years. I love their Mon-TT combo and their energy stats, not to forget that Plapp is 25 for U25 points aswell. Enkhoorn, Krasts, Arndty and Bergstrom Frisk are great support for the main climbers.

In general this is a team with good leaders on all terrains, and good support, might not have had funds for top sprinter (though Ovsyannikov is quite alright there) but I believe this team will win the PT with a landslide. To be honest, I would be more surprised with them not winning than if 10th ranked cycleYorkshire relegated!

Ollfardh wrote:

Dead last is hard, but not unfair when only Gamper makes your lists. I mean, your analysis is pretty much spot on, good riders but not good enough for the PT.

Best rider: Areruya
Other scorers: Pidcock, Vermeersch, Olivier, Blums, Fouche

Areruya with his mon-hill combo is an awesome rider and will be one of the top scorers of the division once again, combining him with Pidcock and Vermeersch makes one of the coolest teams in the peloton.

Pidcock is one of a kind rider who just does well whereever he is sent, must be both a nightmare and a dream to plan, really excited to see where he ends up racing this season. I rank him right outside top 10 total point scorers this season. Vermeersch is a great cobble leader with his sprint and flat stat, I would've wished for him to have a bit more support from the squad as Pidcock is the second best cobble rider and then it is Novardianto, who is not a great one...

Fouche takes another year as one of the main climbers of the squad and should score some points but the headline of the climbers is newly signed Olivier. He had his first decline this year but still brings good climbing and good energy stats. He will not be a GT winner, but should score consistent points for Xero. Blums and Martinez, together with Paulus are good support riders who at times should get their own chances.

All in all this is a team with a very good top 3 (maybe 4 with Olivier) but that in general lack some support in my opinion. Still a team that it is hard not to cheer for and it will be very interesting to see both how this season goes and the future

Best rider: Herklotz
Other scorers: Kanter, Madouas, Kämna, O'Brien, Rutsch

Silvio Herklotz, best rider in the world. In general every manager is just happy that there are just 2 more seasons til he declines... He will have another awesome season and gives Team Puma - SAP a good points base to do well.

The team is also built up with several good climbers to support him, but other than Kämna I don't really see any of them fight for a lot of points. Kämna however is a good climber with a very good TT stat that will make him do well. Kanter is a very good sprinter and if Steimle and Gross are used as leadout riders he have some of the best he can have. They should also be capable of sprinting for their own chances at times. Madouas is a good puncheur, but quite some way behind the PT elite and Rutsch has been trained into a good cobble rider, but also he is still some way behind the elite here.

Among the different support and secondary riders I really like O'Briens Hill-TT combo, while he is weaker in TT than those that will be his main competitors his hill (and flat) should make him able to challenge in those stage races.

Not a lot has changed for Team Puma - SAP when it comes to point scoring and I believe they will finish around where they did last year just a bit better in 6th

Best rider: Anderberg
Other scorers: Valter, Groenewegen, Romo, Andersen, Konychev, Stokbro

The training of Hampus Anderberg propels him into being one of the best cobble riders in the world, great flat and energy stats and for a cobble rider awesome TT stats make shim a great rider. He got some strong support riders with Stokbro and Kalf the best.

The team tries to go without a lead climber and have instead decided to have a 1-2 punch on the hills with Valter and Romo. Valter is the better pure climber of them with great acceleration while Romo is more an attacker with great stamina. Will be interesting to see how they work together, I for one think it will do very well. The best pure climbers on the team are Williams and Lopez, and while they should get many chanses during the season I can't really see them getting top results.

Groenewegen is the main sprinter with several riders that can work as his leadouts and he should have one of the best trains in the peloton. Riders like Andersen and Konychev should with their support stats do really well on their own, and it might mainly fall to Prasad, Sarreau, Salby and Räim to act as leadout. Andersen also is the best prl rider in the world and that should score well! Talking about the likes of Andersen and Konychev Aker seem to have prioritized getting great flat and stamina riders, I believe that will translate to quite some extra points!

In general a good squad that should fight at the upper part of the table and I believe they will end in 5th

Best rider: Gaviria
Other scorers: Dunbar, Latour, Stüssi, Firdaus, Frankiny

I really like what Indosat has done after their promotion and puts them right into 4th here!

Gaviria is expensive, but he is a great sprinter and gives the team a good base of consistent points. The leadout also looks very good with Nur Hasan, Trondsen and Baska. Dunbar had a great season in PCT and I rank him as a top rider in PT aswell. The combo of climbing and TT will never go out of fashion. I also believe picking up Latour and Stüssi to lead in races without Dunbar will end up very well. I really rate both of the highly and love Stüssi at 180k wage. Firdaus, Frankiny, Wibisono and Zweihoff gives great depth in the climbing department.

One of the things that can really hurt Indosat is the total lack of scoring potential on cobbles and no really great puncheurs. They need their climbers and Gaviria to really perform well do make up for that. This is team I rank highly that with just a few dissapointments can fall down the standings

Best rider: Gidich
Other scorers: McNulty, Ganna, Hsu, Mano, Tiller, Chaiyasombat, Fung, Salzmann

Going from a team who decided to have no leaders on some terrains to one that has leaders on all.

Gidich is the biggest name here, a great puncheur who should have (another) good season. Combining a good hill stat with climbing, accelleration and energy stats, as well as some TT makes him a point scoring monster. Supportriders like Simmons and Conca looks good aswell.

McNulty is a great GC rider with his climbing, TT and energy stats. He has a low acc but I think he will do well no matter what. He is among those riders I put right below GT winning, but if he hits the right one he might surprise. Ganna and Mano is a great TT pair where both can ride over hills well. This makes them both capable of scoring quite a lot of points for King Power powering them into the top 3 I guess they will get. They also fill out a good TTT team with riders like Fung, Matsuda, Leung, Van Baarle and Milesi. Fung is also a good climber and can get extra points that way.

Tiller is a good cobble rider on the shelf below the top and has a nice 2nd in command in Salzmann. Hsu as the main sprinter got a great leadout rider in Contreras, who I'm curious if will be used as leadout, or go for his own sprints. Still the duo should get some points on the flat stages, specially if they can avoid the very best sprinters.

In general an exciting squad with nice riders sprinkled all trough getting a 3rd for the second year in a row

Best rider: Wirtgen
Other scorers: Würtz, Mohoric, Spengler, Kirsch, Munton, Geniets, Girdlestone, Lampawog

Not a team with a lot of big changes and considering they ended 12th last year this is quite a big jump in rankings, but there are several really great riders here.

Wirtgen is the best TTist in the world, and he got great climbing stats to propel him up the individual rankings. To partner him Vesuvio has signed the world TT champion Würtz, just so they can fight it out on training camp for who really deserves the crown. The TTT squad behind them is insane with Munto, Lampawog, De Bod, Tanfield, Pelikan, Onodera, Affini and Gunnlaugsson... They could field 2 top 5 TTT teams.

Mohoric is still a great puncheur with a good support squad and should score good points. The change of game makes me believe he will be better than last year, Spengler is a good dobble rider with his main stat, but his support stats makes me rank him behind the best. His main helper Lampawog has a great combo of Flat, TT, Stamina, Resistance and Cobble stat who should make him score extra. The main climber is Kirsch. A good climber a few steps behind the best, but with some good support riders in Girdlestone, Luc Wirtgen and Ries.

All in all I expect EA Vesuvio to have a much better year than last year and climb all the way up to 2nd.

Best rider: Lecuisinier/Lopez
Other scorers: Plapp, Ovsyannikov, Foss, Herregodts, Eenkhoorn, Neilands

I belive many predicted them as winners last year aswell, but this season I see no way they will not win. This is close to as good a squad I believe you can make in the game when trying to win before PHL and MAL gets too old.

PHL is a top climber, among the very best of the game and a potential GC winner no matter the competition. MAL is the among the very best puncheurs in the game with his awesome main stat, I rank him 2nd because of his stamina/resistance who might just make him that tiny bit weaker than his main stat suggests.

Evonik as been creative with loaning and training and Ovsyannikov is one of the results of this, a great cobble rider with a great sprint who should do really well and pick up many points for the team. Herregodts is another results of this with trained TT making him a good point scorer with his climbing/hill skills combined with TT. More important than Herregodts is the Plapp-Foss pair, top class GC riders on the shelf behind the very top who I both believe will have great years. I love their Mon-TT combo and their energy stats, not to forget that Plapp is 25 for U25 points aswell. Enkhoorn, Krasts, Arndty and Bergstrom Frisk are great support for the main climbers.

In general this is a team with good leaders on all terrains, and good support, might not have had funds for top sprinter (though Ovsyannikov is quite alright there) but I believe this team will win the PT with a landslide. To be honest, I would be more surprised with them not winning than if 10th ranked cycleYorkshire relegated!