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[PT] Xero Racing '26 | Squad Presentation
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 09-08-2026 13:15
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World Champion
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@knockout - You're one to talk 
@LLS - Felt like it was about time I turned the tables and let you make other bids while holding the lead for once  No hard feelings
@SotD - I'll wear that as a high compliment!
@bbl - <3 |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 10-08-2026 07:16
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 13357
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What's with all (returning manager notwithstanding) of the conglomerate having a TTT team now? 
Ferreyra is cheap compared to last year!
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 11-08-2026 10:54
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World Champion
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
What's with all (returning manager notwithstanding) of the conglomerate having a TTT team now?
Ferreyra is cheap compared to last year!
Classic groupthink from us really For me maybe like knockout a couple of years ago perhaps 10 years is as long as the bit could stretch before you want to end it
And that's a great way of looking at it |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 11-08-2026 11:29
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Transfers Vol. 3: Final Signings
Aside from Bennett and the time triallists, three other signings were made in transfers: two young riders from either side of the Tasman, and a northern classics rider to replace the outgoing (on loan) Florian Vermeersch, who was exchanged with Carlsberg late in transfers for the outgoing (permanently) Daan Olivier.
 Lukas Meiler
31 | Maxed | 119,000| FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 74 | 65 | 70 | 74 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 77 | 63 | 71 | 75 | 66 | 64 |
Lukas Meiler is a great classics rider and a second German signing for us after Heidemann earlier in transfers. He'll be our leader for the cobbled races on the calendar while Vermeersch is out on loan and hopefully he can score solidly and maybe spring some surprise results. His strength also lies in the hills which will see him also feature in the punchy races as a support for our leaders there. He comes from the unit that supported David Per for Carlsberg and that's great experience to have in the group, and when afforded opportunities to ride for himself a bit more in previous years as the former #2 option there scored over 300 points in 2024.
 Dylan Hopkins
25 | 3.38XP | 65,000| FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 73 | 65 | 68 | 71 | 65 | 69 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 68 | 69 | 75 | 66 | 68 | | ... | | 78 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 67 | 72 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 70 | 73 | 80 | 68 | 70 |
It's been a while since we had a full-time Aussie on the team, but much like Kelland O'Brien, Dylan Hopkins makes a great argument for why we added two this year. A versatile rouleur, he is a developing rider who could go in many directions, the one above being as a "fighter" route which we would consider as a kind of long-term Tesfaye Heyi replacement, with power on the flats, skills across terrains and a real punch. Much deliberation to be done!
 Lewis Bower
22 | 1.00XP | 260,000| FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 70 | 62 | 66 | 70 | 64 | 67 | 73 | 64 | 66 | 72 | 74 | 73 | 68 | 67 | | ... | | 73 | 65 | 71 | 78 | 64 | 74 | 77 | 72 | 66 | 77 | 79 | 78 | 69 | 67 | | 77 | 62 | 67 | 71 | 64 | 72 | 77 | 76 | 70 | 79 | 81 | 73 | 69 | 67 |
The real prize for us this transfers if it couldn't be Kanter, would obviously be the headlining new Kiwi talent in Lewis Bower. After not being able to chase Pithie to our fullest extent, we weren't missing out on this guy. Another versatile youngster who can go down many roads (while specifically not being suited to fighter training - I'm sure somehow that's deliberate!), we've presented the most basic puncheur and sprinter options here but obviously will likely end up mixing it up somehow - but we'll let you all wait and see where that goes! The Kiwi Demare? Or an extremely well-rounded sprinter ripe for training into one of the world's best? The future is bright for young Lewis.
We nearly signed him for an absurdly cheap 100k, though we still believe his final wage represents a bargain. He'll ride in the PCT on loan with our friends at SparkNZ - Liquigas, surprisingly the first Xero rider to do so (though four have gone the other way - about time Spark pulled their weight to be honest!). There he will begin his pro career and development in the peloton before hopefully returning to Xero already quite a useful rider at 23 in the 2027 season. |
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 11-08-2026 12:41
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Team Leader
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Wasn't going to let you have Bower that cheap  Really a big fan of the more hill dominated route as he still has great SPR and ACC. Indeed a Demare type rider and I still think a very fair wage. You can certainly expect your Aussie team across the ditch to come after him in a few years!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-08-2026 23:46
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| Heine |
Posted on 11-08-2026 12:49
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Oh yes, same as I want to take the hills route with Magnier Id go the hills route with Bower if I had him
In other words, do the sprint route!
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 11-08-2026 19:39
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2545
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You brought in some nice TT depth and a great Kiwi talent in Bower, but I'm especially happy to see former loanee Hopkins getting a contract again!
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| Caspi |
Posted on 11-08-2026 19:41
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Would have liked to sign Heidemann and/or O'Loughlin, but ran out of money. They should do well for you in TTT's
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 11-08-2026 22:58
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Directeur Sportif
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With that Stamina Bower has to be a Sprinter. To me he also looks more trainable on that path.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 12-08-2026 12:26
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3482
Joined: 07-08-2011
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Croatia14 wrote:
With that Stamina Bower has to be a Sprinter. To me he also looks more trainable on that path.
You realise you have to tell jandal the opposite of what you want for him to do it right? #ReversePsychology
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 13-08-2026 09:02
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World Champion
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@LLS - Better start saving The remaining SPR/ACC is indeed very compelling, shoutout to the additions team for balancing him very well between both, I know that's a tight line to walk!
@Heine - Don't think there's a bad option, so don't try your reverse psychology on me
@kandes - A very cool rider, I'm glad he has a fan! We'll try take good care of him 
@Caspi - They're both very nice pure time triallists while also being solid on the road too with high 60s MO/HI etc. Good pieces for a TTT that won't be useless for their other 90% of the calendar is a win for me
@Croatia - I think I agree with you. However on the other hand, you won't like to hear it but there's a hilly sprinter with 74STA who's done pretty well for me including a monument win, so maybe the hills path isn't doomed
@whitejersey - Hey! |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 13-08-2026 12:51
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World Champion
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Transfers Vol. 4: Where Did All The Money Go?
No money spent on incomings at Xero HQ, we've seen this film before - training is afoot. Though Thomas Pidcock has long been thought the most trainable jewel in Xero's arsenal, he perhaps needed a few years of focused max-money time on him given the spending rules, and Xero aren't bursting at the seams for assets - at least not ones they're willing to spend. The other option - as with Rune Herregodts last year - is to loan out a leader rather than sell them - but given his wage and role within the team, combined with the new and old rules around loans, that isn't a feasible option either for a rider who's spent two seasons straight in the Top 20 riders in the Pro Tour. However, there was another leader who did receive an offer for such a deal, and a leader Xero have waited a long time to train. First, though, an equally necessary and surely as impactful move that wasn't publicly announced in a public transfer document weeks ago:
 Joseph Areruya
30 | Maxed | 740,000| FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 72 | 81 | 81 | 81 | 65 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 53 | 68 | 76 | 75 | 60 | 65 | | | | | ↓↓↓ | | 72 | 81 | 81 | 81 | 66 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 53 | 68 | 76 | 75 | 60 | 65 |
A third and final time attending training camp for Xero's very own Joseph Areruya. Signed by the team as a young neo-pro back in 2018, this now represents the final form of the team's all-time leading scorer. Nothing as earth-shattering as his last two trainings, but if this can save him a second here and there, especially riding with our much-improved TTT unit, it'll be worth the money spent on getting him in the wind tunnel. And now for something less marginal...
 Florian Vermeersch
27 | Maxed | 290,000| FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FT | DH | PL | | 78 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 78 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 76 | 72 | | | | | | | | | ↓↓↓ | | 78 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 80 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 76 | 72 |
Though the team has had nothing but faith in Florian Vermeersch since signing him in 2021, they've always known this training would have to come to help him ascend to the Top 10 cobblers in the world on a regular basis. Despite a largely disappointing first year of leadership last season, the way he rode away from Mads Pedersen in a one-on-one duel - and how many others in the peloton can say they've done that? - to win the Tour of the Battenkill last year showed his undoubted raw potential, and the team have decided to spend their big move of this transfers investing in that potential. However, they'll have to wait a year to have this Florian Vermeersch in a Xero jersey, given some of the money to facilitate this training came from a loan to Evonik - ELKO. We'll be giving Florian all of our support still this season, and hope he can have a great season for the defending PT champs before he returns to us in 2028. |
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-08-2026 14:45
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Grand Tour Champion
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<3
It's a pleasure to help your training plans out again with this deal!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 14-08-2026 08:06
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 13357
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Training for others' benefit is so boring
Areruya ready to save 0.75 seconds in TTs as well!
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 16-08-2026 11:20
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World Champion
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@knockout - Hope he can do great things for you this year
@Abhishek - Left wondering a bit if it couldn't have happened keeping him here for sure, but not sure it quite would have. I'm confident it's mostly for my benefit still with five years at max once he's back And given Areruya has lost multiple GCs by under 3 seconds in his career, every second counts |
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| redordead |
Posted on 18-08-2026 08:37
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jandal7 wrote:
Nothing as earth-shattering as his last two trainings, but if this can save him a second here and there, especially riding with our much-improved TTT unit, it'll be worth the money spent on getting him in the wind tunnel.
Hopefully the improved TTT unit won't just drop him. Although the TTT in Catalunya is quite short so maybe it's fine.
The results of the Vermeersch training will be awesome and is as I expected it, even if Evonik gets to benefit from it first
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 20-08-2026 12:24
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World Champion
Posts: 11906
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redordead wrote:
jandal7 wrote:
Nothing as earth-shattering as his last two trainings, but if this can save him a second here and there, especially riding with our much-improved TTT unit, it'll be worth the money spent on getting him in the wind tunnel.
Hopefully the improved TTT unit won't just drop him. Although the TTT in Catalunya is quite short so maybe it's fine.
The results of the Vermeersch training will be awesome and is as I expected it, even if Evonik gets to benefit from it first
Always a concern, hopefully this training lessens it even slightly. And yes, looking forward to hopefully a big jump for Vermeersch |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 24-08-2026 06:33
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World Champion
Posts: 11906
Joined: 17-12-2014
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Official 2025 Squad Presentation
Many changes to report at Xero camp as the team presents what is a fairly new-look roster for their third successive Pro Tour season, even if the names at the top stay broadly the same. Eight new riders in the squad, with another three riding their first seasons in a Xero jersey after loans out last year, and one more returning after two years away from the team.
Expect further squad discussion and rider previews in the coming weeks, for now this is just a formal presentation rather than analysis.
Some stats about the squad:
- The average age is 28.6
- 12/22 of our the riders were developed at least in part at Xero
- As the team enters its second decade, only 5 riders remain from one of the first five seasons - Novardianto (joined 2016 - the first season), Bennett (2017), Areruya (2018), Fouche, and van Niekerk (both 2019)
- 4 riders in the squad with a TT of at least 78 is a 400% increase on the previous record - 2020-2023, 2025 tied for 1.
- 4 New Zealanders on permanent Xero contracts is the highest since 2019, while 2 Aussies is the highest since we were in the CT (2017).
- The team had 2 training camps - the first time they ever trained multiple riders.
2025 Official Squad
| | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | ...Joseph | Areruya | 72 | 81 | 81 | 81 | 66 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 53 | 68 | 76 | 75 | 60 | 65 |  ...Thomas | Pidcock | 78 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 72 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 81 | 74 | 83 | 72 | | ...Rune | Herregodts | 73 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 79 | 74 | 78 | 71 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 74 | 66 | 80 |  ...Martins | Blums | 72 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 68 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 63 | 64 | 70 | 73 | 78 | 71 | | ...James | Fouche | 66 | 78 | 77 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 62 | 61 | 75 | 75 | 65 | 69 | | ...Lukas | Meiler | 74 | 65 | 70 | 74 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 77 | 63 | 71 | 75 | 66 | 64 |  ...D. A. | Ferreyra | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 78 | 72 | 74 | 74 | 54 | 68 | 69 | 73 | 68 | 77 |  ...Roman | Lutsyshyn | 70 | 50 | 52 | 54 | 64 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 55 | 79 | 80 | 58 | 57 | 70 |  ...Morne | van Niekerk | 76 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 78 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 64 | 61 | 67 | 72 | 64 | 77 |  ...Michael | O'Loughlin | 73 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 78 | 69 | 74 | 69 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 69 | 65 | 75 | | ...Byron | Munton | 67 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 60 | 60 | 64 | 70 | 65 | 74 | | ...Miguel | Heidemann | 72 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 77 | 68 | 74 | 71 | 58 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 64 | 75 |  ...Dylan | Redy | 71 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 70 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 65 | 69 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 72 | | ...Kelland | O'Brien | 75 | 67 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 61 | 64 | 69 | 67 | 66 | 72 |  ...Jamalidin | Novardianto | 76 | 61 | 65 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 78 | 74 | 69 | 73 | 79 | 74 | 68 | 75 |  ...Mateo | Frankovic | 74 | 62 | 67 | 71 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 70 | 67 | 74 | 76 | 66 | 71 | 66 | | ...George | Bennett | 63 | 77 | 75 | 72 | 61 | 69 | 68 | 70 | 54 | 61 | 67 | 51 | 59 | 61 |  ...Ivan | Romeo | 69 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 55 | 60 | 63 | 68 | 71 | 73 | | ...Dylan | Hopkins | 73 | 65 | 68 | 71 | 65 | 69 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 68 | 69 | 75 | 66 | 68 | | ...Nate | Pringle | 72 | 60 | 63 | 66 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 67 | 63 | 64 | 71 | 64 | 72 | | Loaned Out: | | ...Florian | Vermeersch | 78 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 80 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 76 | 72 | | ...Lewis | Bower | 70 | 62 | 66 | 70 | 64 | 67 | 73 | 64 | 66 | 72 | 74 | 73 | 68 | 67 |
Talents - Maxed
| | | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Lewis | Bower | 73 | 65 | 71 | 78 | 64 | 74 | 77 | 72 | 66 | 77 | 79 | 78 | 69 | 67 | | Ivan | Romeo | 71 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 75 | 55 | 60 | 64 | 69 | 72 | 76 | | Nate | Pringle | 76 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 78 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 63 | 64 | 74 | 65 | 77 | | Dylan | Hopkins | 78 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 67 | 72 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 70 | 73 | 80 | 68 | 70 |
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