Here I will list all the new Continental teams, which had to pick a completely new team. Who of them did the best during the transfer season and will be able to challenge the PCT teams in the 2012 season?
Actually there were 13 new teams but one Polish team disappeared out of the media after the team manager wasn`t available any longer.
The PCT teams are pretty strong and this year there are lots of big names in this division, so even harder for the new teams to compete with them. But do they just fight for the 19th in the overall CT ranking or will the be able to reach the top10 in their very first year?
I know that Heine already finished now, but I had the idea and preparations before I`ve seen it, the more the better Just to avoid misunderstandings, in future I will write PCT for former CT teams and CT for the 12 new teams
Aker Solutions
Leaders: Gustav Larsson, Jose Alarcon
Sprinters: Lucas Sebastian Haedo, Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
No question that the new Norwegian team will be one of the best in the mountains this season. It`s definitely one of the top3 climber teams in the CT division. Star of course the Venezuelan Jose Alarcon. He is one of the best climber in cycling and a big sign for the ambitious team. Together with his South American domestiques he will for sure be able to collect some wins on hard terrain.
Also Gustav Larsson should be able to get good results. The Swede is an excellent time trialist and also a good climber. A perfect combination for good GC results. He is the only very good time trialist in the team, so the expectations are pretty high here. He is also 1 of just 4 Scandinavians, for sure there will come more in the future.
Concentrated on the hard mountain stages the sprinters don`t have that much support. Haedo and Jørgensen are pretty average but will go for their chance in weaker start fields.
When the leaders don`t have lots of luck and Roux can do well in the hills, this is definitely one of the top teams in the CT.
Cyclevox Continental Cycling Team
Leaders: Tomas Vaitkus, Trent Lowe, Ignas Konovalovas
Sprinter: Mitch Docker
Cyclevox is a good mix of nice riders in all specialities. The core is pretty much British but the leaders are coming from other countries.
Ignas Konovalovas is the team`s best time trialist and also a good puncheur. He`s not the best in the CT, but definitely a good rider to bring some results. He will have lots of experienced domestiques, that support him in the hilly stages.
Another big name is his countryman Tomas Vaitkus. He is a pretty good sprinter in the CT and also some strengths against the clock and on cobbles. So he will take care for the top results. Although he doesn`t even needs a real lead-out, riders like Docker and Briggs will support him.
Especially the Australian Docker will also go for his own chance. He is a good climber for a sprinter and might get good results in harder sprint stages.
It will be a hard season for them as they don`t really have the best riders in the harder stages with Casar, Lowe and Van Der Velde, but they are well prepared for the future with big talents for all terrains. So the team could become great in 2-3 seasons.
The focus in this team is clearly on Italian riders. Except of Niemiec it`s completely Italian. But this signing was very important as the Polish stage racer is supposed to ease the burden on Damiano Caruso. The Italian is a great climber with some skills in time trials. So he is definitely a good bet for their target races in Malaysia, Trentino or San Luis.
Niemiec has to take care for good results in smaller stage races, otherwise the season could be quite disappointing with the high ambitions.
He can`t challenge the best, but he should be capable to reach some top 5/10 results in races with a weaker startlist.
The 3 sprinters aren`t the best in the CT, so it will be hard for them to get top results, although they should be able to get good results and some points for the team, too.
Therefore lots of big Italian talents will get the chance to improve in this team, which will for sure have good chances in future.
Koppert Cycling Team
Leaders: Tom Veelers, Sebastian Langeveld
Sprinters: Bobbie Traksel, Hans Dekkers, Jan Hopman
Koppert is another team with a big National core. 18 riders are from the Netherlands and these will also their best riders this season.
They are focussing on the cobbled races and with Tom Veelers they have a very good chance to do well there. He is not just a good cobbler but also a nice sprinter. This could be his biggest advantage against the stronger cobblers.
With Langeveld and Taillefour they also have another option in these kind of races. Especially Langeveld should also be capable to do well in the harder cobbled classics including hard hills.
Their second focus is on the timetrials. With Rick Flens they have a very strong rider there. Unfortunately this is his only strenght, quite similar to Van Zandbeek, Westra and Ligthart.
The rest of the team are some average sprinters with Dekkers, Traksel, Hopman or Stroetinga.
In general probably one of the weaker teams in the CT due to the lack of riders for every uphill race, but with lots of nice talents such as Slagter, Venter or Vlatos.
The Oz Cycling Project
Leaders: Jack Bobridge, Baden Cooke
Sprinters: Mark Renshaw, Ahmad Haidar Anuawar, Simon Clarke
Oz is a new Australian team with their focus on the sprints.
With Baden Cooke they have a very experienced fast man in their squad. He is supposed to lead the team in flat stages and also the cobbled classics. He will have great support with a nice lead out train. There the team is pretty much prepared with Renshaw, Haidar Anuawar, Clarke and their loanie Matthews.
For good GC results Jack Bobridge is the man to watch. He is an average puncheur with good time trial skills plus some room to improve, although he won`t improve this season I think, but he is still young and good for many more seasons.
With Ford and Laidler they have some more average time trialists, that should be able to get some nice results, but as soon as the races are too hard they won`t do very good in the overall ranking.
Their best man in the hard mountain stages is the Australian Shaun Lewis, who will be supported by Khalmuratov and Thuaux. But none of them will be able to win many races.
The team is still in their beginning and it might be a hard first season for them, but the future is looking very good. Jack Bobridge will become a great rider as also their young Kiwi gun George Bennet, who is a great allrounder in some years.
The new Belgium Bpost team is very well prepared to dominate the cobbles in the CT. With Maes, Vanspeybrouck and Albert they have 3 great cobblers in their squad that will guarantee some points. They also have some nice domestiques for these races, so they won`t have big problems to take the control in their own hands.
Also the puncheur section is looking promising. Jelle Vanendert clearly their strongest is a great allrounder. Pretty sure he will be seen quite often and take some good results. Also Cyril Gautier should be strong enough to get some top results.
Their joker could be Michiel Elijzen, who should be able to get very good results in time trials and with a bit luck also in the GC. He could become an important addition to the classic fraction.
Their sprinters are quite average, so some nice results for sure but probably not the big coup. Same situation for the climbers. No real top climber in their team, so they won`t be seen very often in these stages.
Also their team is one of the smallest in the CT, they were able to get several big talents. Biggest for sure Joeri Stallaert but also Van Keirsbulck and the La Lavandier brothers are to mention.
The team should be quite strong if they don`t have bad luck in the classics.
With half of their team being very big talents it`s for sure a team with a great future.
Team CSC-Orbea
Leaders: Igor Anton, Rui Costa
Sprinter: Bruno Lima, Eloy Teruel, Roman Maksimov
CSC is back in cycling. And they even signed the former stars Sastre and Basso, but both of them aren`t their stars any longer.
The new CSC star might be Igor Anton. The Spaniard will be the arrow of one of the best climber teams next to Aker Solutions.
He is able to get lots of good results in the mountains and stage races in general. He has a nice support in Soler, Colorado, Duenas, Parra Bustamante, Rodas and Perez Cuapio. All of them will also be able to ride for own results.
With Rui Costa they have a good rider for short stage races including hard hills and a time trial. He won`t be able to beat the best in the league but still getting good results for his team.
Second time trialist is Ivan Kovalev, but he won`t be their man for most races due to his weak climbing skills.
While Lima and Teruel should get some top 10 results, although they can`t compete with the best sprinters, Roman Maksimov is the big question mark. He is on of the fastest sprinters in the world, but also one of the worst climbers in the history of cycling. So let`s see how he will perform during the season.
With this mountain squad plus Rui Costa as loyal points collector they could be one of the strongest CT teams this season.
If Maksimov finds his rhythm in the sprints, then they could even become the best but his is quite unlikely in my opinion.
Meiji - Fuji Cycling Team
Leaders: Yukiya Arashiro, Jack Bauer, Matthew Lloyd
Sprinters: Anuar Manan, Sung Baek Park, Taiji Nishitani
You just have to love this team. Great jersey and a nice Asian squad. Pretty unique in cycling.
Big star of the team is last year`s TdU winner Arashiro. He is suppsed to take care for more strong results this season, although it will be hard to repeat this coup another time.
So even more important that the last minute transfer Jack Bauer decided to sign with them. He is a good time trialist with good puncheur qualities. He is also perfect for sprints out of a smaller group. So we should be able to get some results of him. He might be one of the surprises this season.
The sprinter formation in this team is pretty awesome. They don`t have a big sprinter star, but almost everybody in the team can sprint. So they could make some nice sprint trains during the season. Sun Baek Park might be the sprinter with the best chances for good results.
Although it`s one of the weaker teams I think they will surprise some of us with lucky breakaway success. With all of their stars having a big season I expect them to be 9th or 10th of the new teams.
Team Puma - SAP
Leaders: Daniele Bennati, Pierre Rolland
Sprinters: Enrico Gasparotto, Thomas Vedel Kvist, Lars Croket
This is the first of 3 new German CT teams. It`s one of the strongest sprinter teams, not just in the CT.
Daniele Bennati of course the big surprise in this team. He is one of the best sprinters in cycling. So it was a big surprise that he signed for the new German team for 550.000, what much less than paid for similar riders. But obviously he was convinced that the whole team will be build around him to be the most successful sprinter this season.
Most of his lead-out will also be able to ride on their own. Especially Gasparotto, Croket and Vedel Kvist are excellent sprinters with good top10 chances.
Pierre Rolland is also a nice signing. The timetrialist with a good punch in the harder stages is supposed to collect some points in the easier stage races.
Biggest problem is that they don`t really have riders for the other races. They won`t do well in cobbled classics, not in the hills and also not in the mountain races. So lots of points might be missing in the end.
Although they will have lots of great stage results in the end, they will be in the second half of the CT ranking in the end. But riders like Keldermann, Egger, Dumoulin, Le Gac or Vogt will take care for this problem in the next seasons.
Team Rothaus - Aegon
Leaders; Lars Boom, Maxime Vantomme, Ryder Hesjedal
Sprinters: Eric Baumann, Claudio Cucinotta, Christoff Van Heerden
Lars Boom might be the key this season for the German team. He is one of the best time trialists combined with puncheur skills in the CT, so he is expected to do well in lots of races. He will be supported by Ben Hermans, who will also go for his own chance in the hilly classics. Together they will get some nice results.
In the mountains Ryder Hesjedal is the biggest bet. He won`t be able to compete with the big climber teams, but supported by Rob Ruijgh he should do well in smaller stage races and maybe even some good results in the hard ones.
Maxime Vantomme is their big sprinter star. He gets too much money for sure, but even bigger are the expectations of course. He is one of the fastest sprinter and can deliver many good results.
But in worst case also other sprinters can take this role. With Baumann, Cucinotta, Van Heerden, Gajek and Iglinksi there are more fast men in the squad.
The team is pretty average everywhere and so they should also finish somewhere in the middle of the ranking.
With Koep, Krieger, Scheit and Schachmann they also have some good talents for the future.
Sprinters: Aleksei Saramotins, Heinrich Haussler, Iljo Keisse
The last of the new German team has some great options in the hills. With Kessler and Wegmann they have even two of the big German puncheurs, that were desired by many teams. Both of them should be able to get many good results.
In the sprints Heinrich Haussler is the fastest in their team. With his good hill skills he should be able to get some very nice results. His support Keisse, Saramotins and Tronet is a great leadout train, but due to their lack of end speed it will be hard for them to get very good results on their own.
With Coyot they also have a good rider for the cobbled classics. He won`t be able to compete against Bpost or Koppert, but for sure he will collect some points in these races. He will have some nice support, especially Rast could be their joker this season.
Due to their lack in time trialists and climbers they can`t compete with the best teams, but due to their strong leaders they will finish in the first half.
Team Venchi ProCycli
Leaders: Franco Pellizotti, Fabio Duarte, Cesare Di Maggio
Sprinters: Claudio Corioni, Sergio Marinangeli
Definitely one of the best of the new CT teams. They really proved a good hand in the transfer season.
With Pellizotti and Duarte they have tow strong climbers. They should get a lot of points for them. While the Italian is the better puncheur, Duarte gains this time back in the time trials. Only problem could be that they don`t really have a backup for them.
In the hills everybody is looking on Di Maggio. He could do well in these stages, but he could also totally fail there. Lots of the team`s success also depends on him.
Bodnar and Sestili will try to get some results in time trials but none of them is really able to beat tge best.
Therefore they have a great sprinter in Corioni. He should be able to win some stages as also challenging the best. A very good signing as also the backup Marinangeli and Vigano, who will help him if they don`t ride on their own.
Due to their stars they should be able to perform very well and finish as one of the 3 strongest new teams. But they have to extend their squad in the quality of the helpers.
CT Team Ranking
Spoiler
1
Venchi
2
Aker Solutions
3
CSC - Orbea
4
Ferrari
5
Cyclevox
6
Rothaus - Aegon
7
Trilux - Falke
8
Bpost
9
Meiji - Fuji
10
Koppert
11
Puma - SAP
12
Oz Cycling
Best riders in CT
Climbers
Jose
Alarcon
Aker Solutions
Gianpaolo
Caruso
Ferrari - ERG
Fabio
Duarte
Venchi
Franco
Pellizotti
Venchi
Igor
Antón
CSC-Orbea
These 4 teams are by far the best in the mountain stages. They will fight for the CT mountain crown. While Duarte is the best stage racer, Alarcon must and will gain time in the mountains to keep a good overall result.
Puncheurs
Cesare
Di Maggio
Venchi
Matthias
Kessler
Trilux - Falke
Jelle
Vanendert
Bpost
Fabian
Wegmann
Trilux - Falke
Antony
Roux
Aker Solutions
Trilux - Falke is expected to do well in these races. With their strong duo they have good chances to be the best CT puncheur team. But also Venchi and Aker Solutions prove that there climbing team is great no matter what kind of climbs.
Sprinters
Daniele
Bennati
Puma - SAP
Roman
Maksimov
CSC-Orbea
Maxime
Vantomme
Rothaus - Aegon
Claudio
Corioni
Venchi
Mitch
Docker
Cyclevox
Bennati of course the top favourite as best sprinter in the world. While Maksimov is a lottery but for sure one of the fastest in short, flat races, the main challenger might be Rothaus` Vantomme and once again Venchi`s Corioni. Mitch Docker could do well in harder stages as he combines a good climbing and sprint skills.
Time Trialists
Gustav
Larsson
Aker Solutions
Lars
Boom
Rothaus - Aegon
Ivan
Kovalev
CSC-Orbea
Rick
Flens
Koppert
Pierre
Rolland
Puma - SAP
Larsson and Boom might be the best as they have also strenght in uphill sections and so good bets for overall results. Pierre Rolland can perform well in these races, too, but he lacks the big uphill punch.
Flens and Kovalev are pure time trialists.
Cobblers
Pieter
Vanspeybrouck
Bpost
Nicolas
Maes
Bpost
Tom
Veelers
Koppert
Fabien
Taillefour
Koppert
Niels
Albert
Bpost
No question that these two teams will be the dominant teams in these races. Also the next cobblers are often some of these teams.
Especially Bpost can dominate all cobbled races, not just in the CT. Interesting to see, who will be their leader.
Fighter
Yuan
Wei
Meiji - Fuji
Pier Graziano
Sgrigna
Ferrari
Fabian
Wegmann
Trilux - Falke
Antony
Roux
Aker Solutions
Juan
Gelabert
CSC-Orbea
Especially Wegmann and Roux can be expected to do well in breakaways. The other riders will be seen pretty often but without big chances to be the strongest in the group.
Then riders like Kwok, Elijzen, Bauer, Longo Borghini, Ford, Pirazzi or Eichler are better bets for a stage win.
Edited by roturn on 10-07-2011 13:51
All 12 teams finished now.
Hope we can look back on it after the season to compare with other previews and laugh about our predictions.
In general I think all teams did quite well in the transfer seasons.
Some with strong riders in one kind of stages, others by building a likable, regional team aiming for future success and others with an average team for all kind of races to perform quite well all over the season but without being great in any category.
And now I will read all of Heine`s preview to compare our predictions. So far I just read the PCT and Rothaus text.
Edited by roturn on 10-07-2011 01:53
You guys did a great job with the previews! Though it's hard for me to read of our team's weakness all the time But I'm glad you mentioned Bennett and guys like Anuawar, too. In general: nice reading, like Heine's preview (and SotD for PT). I'm looking forward to the next.
@ Tsmoha: You maybe have no real rider for harder races, but maybe you will take advantage of the Asian race series. I think these races are very unpredictable as most teams are concentrating on the mountains in South America or the big European races.
So teams like Oz or Meiji could collect some points in Asia. With Bauer and Bobridge you have good time trialists there and not sure if Ignatiev, Boom, Koren or Reus will be seen very often in the same races as these two.
If so it will be hard, otherwise it could work out much better for you than expected in the previews.
Another great review, my team is spot on. Especially about Roman Maksimov, if he can get over hills this will be a great year. If not it is up to all my climbers to help Anton and Costa get a lot of points.
@ Heine: Not too sure if I predicted better than you. I think both of us will find many mistakes later.
@Mresuperstar: The 3rd for you was when Maksimov totally fails, so I think you will get many points without him.
I hope I'll do a bit better than 8th out of the teams, but we shall see. I think you've got my team pretty much down - Huge on the cobbles, pretty decent puncheurs and then a bit of a wildcard for the small tours with not much sprinting talent to speak of this season. Though next season I will get Kevin Peeters back from loan and he will provide me with another decent sprinter.
I'm looking forward to the cobbles battle between myself, Koppert and Blythe.
Your team has definitely some of the best talents. If all of them improve as much as possible, then the team will already be much better next season.
On the other hand all of them will need PT experience and might miss in the same season later.
With your cobblers, Elijzen and the two puncheurs you will have good chances in stages imo but you don`t really have someone to get many points in most stage races constantly over the whole season.
But maybe I am totally wrong.
Also some of the PCT Teams are weaker than yours imo, so it might be around the 20th-25th in the overall CT ranking.
Very cool review. I hope you and I are right, while everyone else is wrong, about Meiji being a bit weak, as I think we do have a very good sprinting team, just not one superstar, but riders that can be in the Top 5 in every stage, and every race we enter, for flat stages that is.
Thanks for mentioning this in the other thread or else I wouldn't have noticed it, as I was away over the last three days.
Nice depth in you review, thanks a lot for another great read.
I must say I'm surprised to see me tipped as 2nd, I'll gladly take that
It looks like Venchi got an edge compared to the rest of us, but for the rest of us, I think it will be really tight, hopefully that will last to the last month of racing. Which should bring an exciting season to us
Well, Alarcon will bring you lots of points. Due to his small average he will have quite a lot race days. Plus you have lots ot other climbers and Roux in the Hills for several top 10 results.
Pretty much the same situation at CSC, so you two should be really close in the end.
Ferrari lacks the amount of good climbers, you two have. Therefore he will collect points somewhere else.
Venchi isn`t even that strong in my opinion. I choose to set him as 1st, but it could also be the 3rd. He just has 3 great riders. And Pellizotti and Duarte will have less race days as Alarcon for example. Ànd Di Maggio is a big questionmark. But due to his two time trialists with decent hill stats and the best sprinters of the top teams I decided, that he is the strongest, although it depends a lot on a few riders different to the other teams.
Eagerly awaiting the rest! The more the merrier
