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The Oz Cycling Project #PCT14
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 18-03-2014 10:47
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Directeur Sportif
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[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/MG14_Oz_Graphics/MG_Oz_Lewis_zpsd86b89e1.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l]  Shaun Lewis
On the team #2012-2013
Age: 26 (when joining the team)
Wage: 120.000€ (in his best season)
Role: Climber (MO 76, RES 73, ACC 72)
Shaun joined the team in it's first season 2012 to add "depth" to a non-existing climbing core. Even though lacking outstanding skills, his experience gained with Jayco-Red Bull (now Simply Red Bull) made us hope he would do something special here and then..
51 points in total wouldn't be any special at all, but at least he grabbed a nice stage-win in Wellington, one of our "target races" back then.. he also added two Top-15's in Swaziland and Nedbank Cycling Classic, which was won by our biggest talent Jack Bobridge after a 90km solo-attempt!
With The Oz avoiding mountains whenever possible, Lewis had some hard times showing his strength. But to be honest, he couldn't really deliver in "his" races in 2013 (like Tour of Japan or Clasica a Quetzaltenango). At least he grabbed his second stage-win for The Oz in the Tour of America, where he also finished 18th in GC.
Anyway, he never didn't really fit into the team's overall plans and was recently sold to Lotto - Australia Post. A nice step for Shaun, joining an Australian focussed ProTour-team! We wish him the best and may he grab his third stage-win in three years!
| Season | Rk | Race | Cat | #Div (Pts) | | #2012 | Stage | Tour of Wellington | | | | 13th | Tour of Swaziland | | | | 14th | Nedbank Cycling Classic | | | | 319th | Individual Ranking | | CT (51) | | #2013 | Stage | Tour of America | C1 | | | 18th | Tour of America | C1 | | | 367th | Individual Ranking | | PCT (29) |
Shaun taking out America's 11th stage out of a breakaway!
Edited by tsmoha on 18-03-2014 11:01
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 18-03-2014 20:40
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 00:26
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 18-03-2014 21:17
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Directeur Sportif
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Joined: 19-07-2010
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Rising Aussie star arrived - so did Koren!
It took Oz some days to finally land our biggest target in the free agent market and so we're more than happy to announce the arrival of one of the biggest Aussie talents: Jack Haig (21)!
Signing for a 140,000€ wage, Haig promises some great potential in stage races, combining very good skills in both mountains and timetrials, plus the ability to survive hills as well. The talent - who comes off a stellar season in Australia's domestic cycling scene (by winning the National Road Series) - will be loaned out to a CT-team to gain the needed expierence on a lower level.
The Oz is also proud to announce a rather surprising addition to the team: Slovenian Kristjan Koren left Heineken to join our team and him being a "light" version of Bobridge (better TT, worse HI), we are quite happy to add another threat on our most important terrains this year!
| Rider (Age) | Key stats | Potential/Wage | | Jack Haig (21) | 69 MO, 70 TT | 78 MO, 77 TT, 74 HI |  Kristjan Koren (28) | 78 TT, 74 HI, 77 STA | 180,000€ |
Haig showed some great potential in Australia's domestic cycling scene!
Koren adds more than just depth and may lead some races as a captain..
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 18-03-2014 21:29
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
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I really had to restrain myself from the ex-Huon riders  Great that you got hold of Haig for the Oz
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 18-03-2014 22:36
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Directeur Sportif
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TheManxMissile wrote:
I really had to restrain myself from the ex-Huon riders
Glad you did (at least in Haig's case) Thanks, I'm really happy to have him on board. Like Bobridge, he will be a key rider for Oz in the future. At least that's my plan for now
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 19-03-2014 19:57
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
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Australia's reigning road champion joins The Oz - O'Shea returns
For the first time in it's two years, The Oz Cycling Project will have the two Aussie National Champions on it's team: with Michael Rogers re-signing with The Oz a few days ago, we are proud to announce the addition of reigning road champ Wes Sulzberger!
"Sulz" (coming off a solid season with Simply Red Bull in the ProTour) could well become a bargain thanks to his minimum wage and "only" 200,000€ spent as fee. He brings a solid allround setup to be featured in both sprint trains or even going for results on his own in less selective hilly races.
Like Rogers, also TT-specialist Glenn O'Shea was picked up off free agency after being released in the renewals. Thanks to an offer for one of our favorite riders (King Lok Cheung), that we had to accept, O'Shea will now become his third chance at The Oz, which he joined in 2012! He rather focussed on track racing the past two years, but is now expected to go for "maxed out" in 2015.
| Rider (Age) | Key stats | Potential/Wage | | Wes Sulzberger (28) | 74 FL, 70 HI, 73 SP | 50,000€ | | Glenn O'Shea (25) | 72 TT | 77 TT |
With Sulzberger on boad, The Oz has both Aussie champs for 2014!
After focussing on track, O'Shea may finally get more racedays now!
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| Roman |
Posted on 19-03-2014 20:22
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Grand Tour Specialist
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I really don't know why, but O'Shea is one of my the most favourite riders in this game. Great to see him back in your team! 
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 19-03-2014 21:25
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
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Cool to know that there's at least one O'Shea-fan out there Now that one of my favorite riders had to leave, I'll definitely start liking O'Shea as well. Still a bit surprised he was still available that "late" in the transfers, tbh. He's not far away from his TT 77.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 20-03-2014 22:31
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Directeur Sportif
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[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/MG14_Oz_Graphics/MG_Oz_Lloyd_zps197ba65b.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l] Matthew Lloyd
On the team #2013
Age: 30 (when joining the team)
Wage: 250.000€
Role: Puncheur (MO 73, HI 76, FI 75)
The Aussie veteran joined The Oz in 2013, being transferred from our most favorite "rivals" Meiji-Cannondale. His rather huge wage wouldn't be a burden, as we didn't expect him to score big time, but help saving our team from relegation.
It could have went worse, eventually: Lloyd picked up a couple of decent results, while failing to win a single stage/race (he finished 3rd in two stages: Taiwan and US Pro Cycle Challenge). His best results would be nice 8th place in Tour of Japan, even though it took us some luck to achieve this Top-10.
In a quite succesful Gisborne GP, Matthew was one of four Ozzies to finish inside the Top-20 (with Jiao grabbing a great 7th place) and Lloyd hanging on for 10th.. In addition to those Top-10s, he did quite well in Taiwan, the USPCC and the TDU. So overall a solid season, finishing 122nd in the PCT's individual rankings.
Even though he accepted his wage being cut down to 140,000€ this year, The Oz was always considering him as a possible transfer option. Which happened: Lloyd signed with a completely rebuilt Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling (which also signed one certain Aussie talent). It looks like he would be a true leader in a PCT-team now, so all the best, Matty!
| Season | Rk | Race | Cat | #Div (Pts) | | #2013 | 8th | Tour of Japan | C1 | | | 10th | Gisborne GP | C1 | | | 12th | Tour of Taiwan | C1 | | | 13th | US Pro CC | HC | | | 15th | Tour Down Under | C1 | | 122nd | Individual Ranking | | PCT (183) |
On his way to a 3rd place in USA Pro Challenge's third stage..
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 20-03-2014 22:52
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World Champion
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I'll wish him luck too  I always felt he performed better for you, but after you list the results, I think he was actually better for me. 4th at Japan Cup pretty much pays for all those other results  Especially when my goal was Top 5 or 10 and it was a pretty big fluke he did so well
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 20-03-2014 22:54
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Directeur Sportif
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Just looked it up: he scored 201 points for you back in 2012, finishing as 134th in the final rankings. So pretty much the same, but achieving a goal definitely is a huge plus
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 21-03-2014 20:18
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
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Give youth a chance - final pieces added?
It may not be the biggest news in our transfer season, but credit where credit is due: The Oz confirmed the signing of Rhys Gillett (24), who will join the team coming off a breakthrough year in Australia's National Road Series.
Gillett, who raced for more and more popular African Wildlife Safaris, showed some nice potential in our beloved country's domestic cycling scene - like scoring a stage-win in the tough Tour of Tasmania (see picture below). He ain't too far from being maxed and will be a useful domestique once the road goes up.
Another youngster joined the team on loan: Victor Campenaerts (23) will look for some well needed experience and since he's going to be a pure TT-specialist, both The Oz and recently promoted BPost felt it was a logical step for Victor to join our TT-focussed squad.
| Rider (Age) | Key stats | Potential/Wage | | Rhys Gillett (24) | 68 MO, 68 HI | 73 MO, 73 HI, 79 FI |  Victor Campenaerts (23) | 71 TT, 71 PRL | Loaned in (BPost/PT) |
Gillett is yet another succesfull NRS-rider to join The Oz!
Campenaerts joins the team as a loanee from BPost..
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 21-03-2014 20:20
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World Champion
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Lovely updates, and love the new signings, Koren & Goos should do great. It'd be nice if we can promote together this season
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| YvesStevens |
Posted on 21-03-2014 20:20
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I guess Gillet doesn't know how to use Gillet.... badum tss |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 21-03-2014 22:00
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
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@Alakagom: Thanks, mate! I'm not that optimistic about my chances for promotion as others seem to be, but yes, it would be fine indeed
@Yves: That joke.. I didn't see coming
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 22-03-2014 21:14
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
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[img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/MG14_Oz_Portraits/MG_Oz14_08_Drapac_zps0daa730e.jpg[/img-l][img-l]https://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x323/tsmoha/NRS_Portraits/NRS_Platzhalter_zps31ed228a.png[/img-l] Damion Drapac
On the team #2012-2013
Age: 24 (when joining the team)
Wage: 50.000€ (in his best season)
Role: Sprinter (FL 70, SP 78, ACC 77 at his best)
Damion joined the team in 2012, but was loaned out to ProTour (Festina) immediately. We were hoping for him to gain some well needed experience and to welcome him back with a better (while still not maxed) setup of skills a year later.
In 2013, Drapac was actually our best sprinter, with only Rasmussen and aging Cooke on the squad. Eligible for C2-races, the management decided to play his strengths mostly in those less contested events (especially as he's as "strong" on hills as Rasmussen is).
This move would eventually pay off: Damion did quite well in some C2-races, with the Tokyo GP (3rd) and Tour of Southland (4 podium finishes, 3x second) as his best results. But let's not forget his great tactics in the HC-event Eneco Tour (7th): thanks to some breakaway appearances, Damion scored valuable bonus seconds in intermediate sprints to finish in the Top-10!
However, with Oz's new superstar Matthew Goss and also Anthony Giacoppo joining the team in 2014, we felt like Drapac would be better off to a CT-team, where he actually could be amongst the very best sprinters (in pan-flat races).. the deal ain't sealed yet, but it looks like Drapac will join Bank of Ireland - Irish Cycling for the 2014 campaign!
| Season | Rk | Race | Cat | #Div (Pts) | | #2012 | Loaned out | - | | | | #2013 | 3rd | Tokyo GP | C2 | | | 7th | Eneco Tour | HC | | | 4x podium | Tour of Southland | C2 | | | 147th | Individual Ranking | | PCT (143) |
Damion finished 2nd in three stages (adding another podium finish later) in Tour of Southland, only beaten by Roman "The Russian wanna-be-rocket" Maksimov!
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 22-03-2014 21:24
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8058
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No no no... he is the "Russian Rocket."
These history pieces are always a great read tsmoha.
Good luck to your squad this season.
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| 547984 |
Posted on 22-03-2014 21:25
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5008
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It's a shame I couldn't seal him up. 
baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar! |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 22-03-2014 22:46
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
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Mresuperstar wrote:
No no no... he is the "Russian Rocket."
Actually, there's only one true Russian Rocket
Thanks for the kind words on the history pieces and for wishing good luck! Wish you the same, of course!
@547984: Yeah, sorry. Just couldn't refuse the other offer. I'm sure you will be fine even without Drapac on your roster
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 23-03-2014 19:10
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4476
Joined: 25-07-2010
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Love your HQ, and team
Really nice pieces of history you're writing here... And I still love that: 'Mre, I told you I can win!' expression of Maksimov
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
