Loaned out riders Jonathan Castroviejo Mikel Landa Panagiotis Vlatos Georgos Tzortzakis Rohan Dennis Michael Matthews Jens Keukeleire Wen Hao Li
..::Sponsor Goals::..
Team Standings Top 5 Tour de France Top 10 - FAILED (Markus Fothen crashed twice - 18th) Giro d'Italia Top 10 - FAILED (Markus Fothen abandoned from crash) Vuelta a España Top 10 - ACHIEVED (Alberto Contador achieved 2nd) Win: Giro di Lombardia
..::Sponsor target races::..
Tirreno-Adriatico
GC:
8th - Diego Ulissi (Having crashed)
25th - Jonas Ljungqvist
Points:
5th Points - Diego Ulissi
Mountains:
*Nothing*
Youth:
2nd Youth - Diego Ulissi
Team:
8th
Stageresults:
Stage 1 - 3rd Diego Ulissi
Stage 2 - 9th Geert Steurs
Stage 3 - 6th Diego Ulissi
Stage 4 - 5th Diego Ulissi
Stage 5 - 6th Tim Dees
Stage 6 - 6th Diego Ulissi
Stage 7 - 6th Diego Ulissi
..::Wins::.. Markus Fothen - Tour de France, stage 18 Filippo Pozzato - Vuelta al Pais Vasco, stage 5 Alberto Contador - Tour of Romandie, stage 5 Filippo Pozzato - Tour of Nothern Europe, stage 2 Anthony Lavoine - Tour of Oman, stage 2
..::2nd places::.. Alberto Contador - Vuelta a España, stage 5 Alberto Contador - Vuelta a España, stage 11 Alberto Contador - Vuelta a España, stage 16 Alberto Contador - Vuelta a España, stage 17 Alberto Contador - Vuelta a España, stage 18 Diego Ulissi - Tirreno-Adriatico, stage 1 Rafael RodrÃguez Segarra - Tour de Suisse, stage 5 Markus Fothen - Tour de Suisse, stage 6 Damion Drapac - Tour of Nothern Europe, stage 5
..::Wins::.. Diego Ulissi - Giro d'Italia, stage 7 Diego Ulissi - Giro d'Italia, stage 12 Mauricio Ardila - Paris-Nice, stage 7 Carlos Castaño - Deutschland Tour, stage 4 Sam Bewley - Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, stage 2 Steve Morabito - Vuelta a Asturias, stage 5 Carlos Castaño - Vuelta a Asturias, stage 6 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez - Tour of Northern Europe, stage 1 Sam Bewley - FBD Éire Tour, stage 3 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez - Criterium International, stage 2
..::2nd places::.. Carlos Castaño - Giro d'Italia, stage 8 Sam Bewley - Tour of Romandie, stage 2 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez - Vuelta a Asturias, stage 4 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez - Tour of Northern Europe, stage 4 Sam Bewley - FBD Éire Tour, stage 6
..::3rd places::.. Mauricio Ardila - Tour de France, stage 17 Carlos Castaño - Giro d'Italia, stage 7 Blaise Sonnery - Paris-Nice, stage 3 Anthony Lavoine - Tirreno-Adritatico, stage 3 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez - Vuelta al Pais Vasco, stage 4 Sam Bewley - Tour of California, stage 2 Sam Bewley - FBD Éire Tour, stage 4 Sam Bewley - Criterium International, stage 1 Patrick Gretsch - Tour of Qatar, stage 3
Team standings top 5 - Achieved (4th) Tour de France top 10 - Achieved (8th) Giro d'Italia top 10 - Achieved (5th) Vuelta a España top 10 - Failed (17th, Contador crashed) Monumentum (Milano San Remo) Win - Failed (2nd)Edited by SotD on 22-08-2012 13:54
In this schedule we are looking at our riders.
What they managed to grab last year, and what they have grabbed this season so far.
How many percentages they have gotten relatively to last season.
These riders need to score: 2691 to equal riders from last season.
At this point they have scored: 836
If they continue this, they will end up scoring: 2438pts
TEAM last season: 7162
TEAM this season: 1999
Races last season: 35
Races this season: 12
If the team continues we will end up with: 5830pts.
Edited by SotD on 13-12-2011 21:01
Team manager Andreas Jøhnke called the internation press into a conference room just outside of Frankfurt. The team for next season would be presented as of todays date. More riders will join in, but the team will not change drastically, manager Jøhnke declared.
"First of all welcome to all of you. We are happy to announce that we feel we have had a very nice contract renewals. We were pretty close with all offers and we managed to find a good solution in most cases. As of today I will like to present our team for the upcoming season in different categories. First of all we will like to re-present our team captains, for the Grand Tours:
Alberto Contador - "Alberto didn't have luck on his side this season, crashing his way out of contention for this years major goal. Vuelta a España. We are happy to be able to try once again." Carlos Castaño - "Carlos had an amazing season, getting a great 5th Giro d'Italia. We have a great piece of respect for him, and the fact that he didn't ask for a wage raise shows just how much he cares about our team." Mauricio Ardila - "Our liuteinant for most big races has agreed on a wage cut, as we told him we were looking for another GT rider. He was very cool about it, and told us that he would love to be able to finish his career in our team. We are loving that"
In the mountains we are pleased to present the following helpers:
Tim Dees - "Tim is a very strong allrounder, and we really love to have him in our team. He is well liked by all, and a superb helper." Steve Morabito - "Steve have been with me for a long time, and like Tim he is a very respected guy on our team. He usually picks a stage or two pr. season which he claim to be his. We have asked him to go for a couple more in the next season" Jonathan Castroviejo - "Jonathan was away on loan this season, so we are looking forward to see if he can progress into a good helper. He looks a lot like Tim Dees when climbing, can he hit that level we are very pleased"
In the hills we have the same squad as last season:
Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez - "We had a long discussion with Sammy about wanting him to stay, but step back a notch to make room for Ulissi. He accepted that he is on his late years, and even took a significant pay reducement. We have agreed that should a lucrative offer come along, then we are not going to bind him as a helper at our team. For that we have to great respect for him." Diego Ulissi - "We have a superstar on our hands here, so we jumped the air to breathe easy when he put his signature on the contract. We have given him a wage bonus for the prospect of being leader this season. He was happy to sign, and we are very happy to follow him."
The sprinters are taking significantly paycuts:
Blaise Sonnery - "Blaise recognized that he did a poor season, and offered his service at the same wage, we did not agree on that, and it didn't take long for Blaise to give in on a 50% pay cut. He told us that personal issues was to blame, so we are looking forward to see him prove himself"
Anthony Lavoine - "Anthony is very fast, but usually places himself a tad bad. We discussed what to do about it, but in the end couldn't really find a solution. Anthony likes to be here though and we are happy with his performances as a helper so far." Georgos Tzortzakis - "A greek sprinter? Oh yeah! Georgos have improved well during this season, we are still wondering if he is ready for leadout roles yet, but we might give it a shot!"
Our team is filled with highly qualified timetriallists. All of those are still here:
Patrick Gretsch - "Patrick have a closer relationship to this team than anyone else, so we didn't even have to go through the contract. He just signed the last page." Mathieu Bernaudeau - "We feel that Mathieu have moved forward quite a bit, and we expect him to be one of the best timetriallist next year, so we are happy to get through the talks with ease." Ramunas Navardauskas - "Ramunas is a funny type. You never know what to expect from him, and as usual he made us nervous when he talked about forming a new team with Raimondas Rumsas, where the two should be training in Colombia in order to make Navardauskas a new Tour de France competitor. He laughed and signed..." Kristof Goddaert - "No problems - He said and signed. Kristof is very important both on the road, but definately also off. He is a great person, and a lot of young riders are leaning on him. Wen Hao Li - "We didn't have too many thoughts on Wen Hao, as we already discussed his future a long time ago. We signed the same contract, and will look to loan Wen Hao out, because he is looking to improve faster." Jurgen van Goolen - "Also a very imortant rider for us. He climbs well, he timetrials well and he is just a very good guy. He wasn't too pleased with our first offer, but in the end we sorted things out, like we always do. Just a respectable kind of guy."
For the cobbles we are putting all money on one guy:
Frederik Nolf - "We have watched Frederik as he has matured into a great rider. Still we are a bit in doubt whether his qualities can lift us to a cobbled win, which we need soon. Frederik signed a contract, but in respect of eachother we opened up for talks to other teams"
That also means that Vladimir Bileka and Francis Mourey will quit the team. We could not find a place in our team for them, and wish them all the best of luck in the coming season. We are also saying thanks to all the guys we loaned this year. All are very welcome at our team again, should they ever want to.
And by that Andreas Jøhnke opened up for what the press is always waiting for. Any questions?Edited by SotD on 11-06-2011 22:32
We certainly have some money saved up, and it's very likely that Diego is going away for a couple of months to prepare for the coming season. We have a great amount of belief in him, as he is a very fast finisher, and also seems able to handle the toughest of races. We cannot confirm that he will be trained yet, but it's withing great likelyhood.
Regarding the teams future for new riders, we have a good amount of space cap left to secure a couple of high quality riders. We have a few in the list, but we have to look at the marked, like we always do. Obviously we will need some sort of backup to Frederik Nolf, if we decide to go for him in the cobbled races. The other alternative is getting a new leader all together. We are also looking at yet another Grand Tour rider. We weren't satisfied with last years result, eventhough Castaño did great. We know Alberto had a lot of bad luck, but we hope to take a bit of pressure of his shoulders to add another aspect. In the end we are probably going to need another sprinter aswell, but we have to look into where we get the most value for the money, and that is entirely based upon the marked mecanisms. We have been talking to Alejandro after his disband of your team, but it seems he is claiming a bit too much for our team. We put great honor in having a strong rider for all types of races, and such top athletes will definately put pressure on us to secure lowkey riders on other areas.
I hope you got your question answered...
Any more questions?
There is a great likelyhood that Jonathan will be given the option of leaving for a loanspell, if he wants to do so. Whether or not we would be claiming his wage payed, and a fee ontop for his services is not decided yet though. As for now he is an important domestique for us, but talks are open.
Any more questions?Edited by SotD on 12-06-2011 09:44
We have to say that whatever Ramuas does is a bit of a wonder to us. We haven't got a clue where we have him, but we are quite happy with him, and he is not one of the riders we are aiming to sell. He is a very cheap asset and a great helper in our TTT squad. Having said that, we are not concluding anything, and does he want to leave we are not standing in his way, but a fair amount of money or a good trade is needed, since his wage is a big bonus being so low.
Alberto have been given several steaks in the off season. We have an idea that it might help him get better at climbing. We have been trying to send Castaño and Ardila too, but both were unhappy with the thought of them eating more meat should make them stronger climbers. Ardila went the exact opposite and is now only eating salad. We are a bit fussed, and concerned with that.
Jurgen have been a part of our team for a long time, and is well respected. He wasn't all pleased with our first contract offer, and that made us know that he isn't staying at our team at any cost. We are willing to listen to offers, but he is important for us, so we need a good offer.
An insider of Team Milka - Vittel said there are some possibilities that they will try to make an good offer for the French rider of Festina - Corec Mathieu Bernaudeau. What is the opinion of Festina manager about the future of this rider?
Mathieau Bernaudeau is a very important rider for us at the moment. Last season he showed great progress and we believe he will be among the best Timetriallists this year. We have to look into how the team is put together fairly early in the transferperiod, but we need atleast 8 good timetriallists, and if riders like Ramunas, Jurgen and Mathieau is leaving, then we have to bring in riders at the same level and at the same wage cap. That will be extremely difficult.
We are not rejecting the fact that he could be leaving, but it will be a matter of how good the deal is, and how many riders are interested in leaving us.
It would take something, that no new team has. A superior rider at a very interesting wage. No amount of money would interest us in letting go of a rider we could make world class with a simple amount of training. Diego is just about the only rider in our team that is no go.
I here rumours that Diego Ulissi is actually not too happy with the renewals. My italian sources believe they heard him exclaim "How can he still be paying Sanchez more money than me!?"
Any comments?
I heard those rumours aswell, and contacted Diego about the "issue". He reassured me that the comment was ironical, and that he went on to add "No it's just a joke of course. Samuel Sánchez has been a mentor of mine and is a real cycling icon. I don't know his exact wage, but I would be extremely surprised if he was lower waged than I. He is a much better climber and Timetriallist, so the versatility that he possesses obviously is a money build. And seeing his results in the present, with highly profiled wins, I'm just happy to be able to ride in the same team as him once again."
So the comment is taken out of context, and we hope that the journalists will be better at quoting the context instead of making headlines of jokes. Diego has his best years ahead of him, and I'm sure he will get every penny he deserves, when he proves that he is a real team leader this season.
