Having too much spare time right now is not good. That results in a preview of the Continental teams. This is in no way meant to be a competitor to the already great previes out there, from Smowz, roturn and Heine. Also, I've written quite much on every team, it's probably too much. At least there's more to read for all of you!
I will, just like Smowz has done, post 6 teams in each post, and end my preview with a summary, thoughts on the upcoming season, and a guess for the rankings.
At last, I just have to thank Smowz, roturn and CountArach and Crommy, without their previews, I doubt I would have had the inspiration and motivation to write this preview.
The teams will be presented alphabetically, in this order:
Aker Solutions – Bergans
Bimbo Nutella (removed, race planner is missing, will return when their race planner is delivered)
California Giant Berry Farms – Specialized
Cerne
Cyclevox
Emu – Export
Ferrari – ERG
Focused Cycling
Hollister Pro Cycling
Jayco – Red Bull
Koppert Cycling Team
Meiji – Fuji
Oz Cycling Project
Pirelli – Alfa Romeo
Pokerstars.com
Proximus – Trek
Rapha Condor – Qhubeka
Saab – Scania
T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft
Team Bianchi
Team Bpost
Team CSC – Orbea
Team Puma – SAP
Team Rothaus – Aegon
Team Trilux – Falke
Team Venchi Procycling
Team WWE
Unicredit (on hold, their race planner is missing)
Vespa – Aprilia – De Rosa
Volkswagen – Siemens
I hope you can enjoy this preview, and laugh at it when the season is finished, and I've got all my predictions wrong Edited by ember on 31-07-2011 17:13
Aker Solutions – Bergans Nationality: Norwegian team
Team manager: ember
Last season: -
Leaders: Jose Alarcon, Gustav Larsson and Anthony Roux Sprinters: Jonas Aaen Jørgensen and Lucas Sebastian Haedo
It’s a new team, with very ambitious goals in the mountains. All their goals are based on mountains, and they need Alarcon to perform in every single race he will ride. Looking on the climber stat, he is the best climber in the Continental Tour, but he lacks secondary stats, which will reduce him in relatively long stage races. But still, he’s a great climber, and should pay off looking at the team’s goals, they suit Alarcon pretty well. With a wage of 1 000 000€, I can only hope he succeeds, and still demands a lower wage next year.
Gustav Larsson is also a leader in this team. The Swede has great time trial abilities, which should be useful in any stage race including both mountains and time trial(s). Other riders who wants to win those races, needs to be sure they drop Larsson in the high mountains. His wage is also more realistic than the money paid for Alarcon, for 200,000€ Aker Solutions – Bergans has got a good leader.
Coming to the hills, Anthony Roux is the obvious leader of Aker Solutions – Bergans. He was brought to the team from UBS – Lapierre, for the fee of 855,000. It’s a great amount of money, but looking at his wage, it will hopefully turn out to be good money spent. He will lack support though, Rovira is the only other rider in the team who has hills as his speciality. But Rovira is not likely to follow Roux in the tough hilly classics.
Apart from the three leaders, the team has also invested a lot of money in Jairo Agudelo and Wilmer Vasquez. They both have a lot of race days, and will likely get the chance to lead the team in a couple of stage races. Vasquez is aging though, this might be his last season were he is a threat to other riders in the mountains.
The signing of Alarcon clearly weakened the team on other terrains than mountains. The cobblers in the team is as good as non-existing, and speaking of sprinters, they have no one who is a real contender for a sprint classic, like Down Under Classic or GP of Moscow. Aaen Jørgensen is the strongest sprinter, though, he will struggle on speed bumps, which will probably give Haedo his chances. For a sprinter, he’s good at small climbs, which may give him good legs at the sprint. Anyway, the team is not likely to go for the sprint classics, meaning Aaen Jørgensen and Haedo has to use stage races to shine.
Summary of the team: An interesting team, they have invested heavily for the mountains, and Alarcon should do good there. Roux is likely to be a consistent contender for top 10 in hilly classics, but no more than that. Larsson is the X-factor of the team, he will make or break their season. If he shows good enough to follow the best climbers, he can decide a lot of stage races on a time trial. They won’t have any chance at their top 5 overall goal though, they have to hope Alarcon can succeed in the other races they target.
Mountains, mountains, mountains, and a Frenchman!?
California Giant Berry Farms – Specialized Team manager: Levi4life
Nationality: USA
Last season: 16th
Leaders: Ryan Eastman, Kristjan Koren and Samuel Sánchez Sprinters: Juan José Haedo and Benoît Sinner
An American orientated team, and it is a solid one. Ending 16th last season, with every chance of improving, but also with every chance of doing worse, this year. Levi4life has invested a lot of money in the preseason on Eastman, their young gun. And he has turned in to a dangerous stage racer, but he probably still lacks the decisive kick on the climbs. Next year though, he might look even stronger. Levi4life has also, very ambitiously, made a top 5 in the overall standings a team goal. I doubt they will make it, but with a lot of luck and Specialized bikes, you can’t rule them out. They made a very interesting deal in the transfer season, getting rid of Pozzato, their highest point scorer last season, bringing in Sanchez, which may turn out to be a weaker rider.
Ryan Eastman, the new American hope for stage races, looks a lot stronger than last year. Levi4life seems determined on making him a great stage racer, I’ll bet he will be even better next year. But already this year, he’s a contender for a podium in several stage races. He’s good time trial should also come handy, and give him an advantage over other captains. What races he will participate in is a mystery though, as the team has no obvious goals which suit him. He will probably race most of his races on American soil, and it would be great to see him challenging for the win in the 3 weeks long Tour of America.
Kristjan Koren is a great rider, and my guess is that he will be the best point scorer for Levi4life this season. He’s a great time trialist, combined with his ability to follow the best puncheurs, makes him a dangerous rider in many races. The team goal of a top 5 in Bayern Rundfahrt is a goal which fits perfectly to Koren. Expect to see him in a lot of stage races containing hills and a decisive time trial. He should be up in the mix there, fighting for the overall victory.
Their last leader is the aging Spanish star, Samuel Sanchez. One of the most successful riders in the ManGame overall, has stepped down, and will race for Cal Giant the upcoming season. It might turn out to be a great season for him, as he’s still very competitive on the hills. And with his experience comes the knowledge on how to decide classics in the last kilometers. Watch out for Sanchez in every hilly classic of this season, he should be very determined on having one more great season before he might retire.
For the sprints, they’ve got Haedo and Sinner. Haedo should be able to pick up some wins during the season, he’s capable of riding hills too, giving him fresh legs for the final sprint. He will be a threat both in sprint classics, and in stage races. Sinner will most likely hunt stage wins. He came close in the first bunch sprint this year, in Venezuela, and that bodes well for the continuation.
California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized has like many other teams in the Continental Tour, not focused on the cobbles, and they won’t be challenging the big stars there.
Summary of team: An interesting team, a great young gun in Eastman, he will challenge whenever the road rises. Koren might turn out to be worth his wage in gold. And Sanchez will fight bravely on the hills. It’s a very solid team, but I don’t see it be in the top 5 of the overall standings at the end of the season. On the other hand, this season might turn out very, very tight. So never say never.
Cerne Team manager: Gustavovskiy
Nationality: Portuguese team
Last season: 17th in Pro Tour, relegated
Leaders: Luis Leon Sanchez Gil, Pedro Nicácio Sprinter: Bruno Santos
A team which has taken a huge turn from last season. Last season they were in the ProTour, as Energie – Diesel, this year, they’ve gone almost completely Portuguese, and with that, a lot of tough and interesting decisions have been made. They have orientated their goals nicely, all of them are from races on the Iberian Peninsula, and Luis Leon Sanchez has a great chance in all of them! As a consequence of the team going close to all Portuguese in the transfer season, they’ve brought a lot of talents to their team. Reis, Borges and Coutinho are all great talents, but it will take at least 2 seasons to make them serious contenders in different races. But when they reach their potential, they will shine.
Luis Leon Sanchez is the star of this team, and the teams pride is heavily on his shoulders. If he doesn’t perform, it will most likely turn out to be a horrible season for Cerne, for points and rankings that is. Luckily, the chance of Luis Leon failing in his targeted races is small. He has great stats, the problem for their manager, Gustavovskiy will be to let him race the right races, as he won’t have many race days.
The Brazilian, Pedro Nicacio is a great rider for the hard stage races. He’s rock solid in both time trials and on the high mountains. He’s unlikely to challenge for an overall win though, but he should be right up there, for a top 10 overall in the stage races he participates in. Another benefit compared to Luis Leon is that he will have a lot more race days, more than 50 to be exact. That should make him captain in a lot of races, Cerne can only hope he performs consistent in all of them.
Bruno Santos is, by first look, their only sprinter. He’s not outstanding, but he will surely deliver results in stage races, aiming to win as many stages as possible. Cerne has already shown in Venezuela that they’ve got a good train for him, but they will need to that more than just once, and if they succeeds, Santos can pick up many stage wins.
Summary of the team: An extremely talented team, not for this season though. Luis Leon Sanchez will have to do good to get them into the top 10 in the overall standings. Their goals are nicely orientated on the Iberian Peninsula, and they suits Luis Leon perfect. That gives them every chance of a successive season, judged from their goals. And for the coming seasons, this will be a great team. They’ve got 3 Portuguese and Viviani, who all will be great riders in the coming years. I’ll bet Gustavovskiy can’t wait for the 2014 season. Their Brazilian stage racer should be able to bring them a lot of points, and at a wage of only 100 000 €, it’s a great rider to have in their team.
We are Portuguese, but crosses fingers for Luis Leon!
Cyclevox Continental Team Team manager: ANFreeman
Nationality: A British team
Last season: -
Leaders: Ignas Konovalovas and Trent Lowe Sprinters: Mitch Docker and Tomas Vaitkus
Another British team, and with help from outside the British Empire, they have a good shot on their goals for the upcoming season. As a new team, it looks like they went for a roster filled of decent riders, than a roster with one or two stars. It’s way too early to say if that will turn out to be a success, but I think they might have aimed a little bit too low in the transfer season. Though, there’s a lot of quality in this team, no doubt about that!
Ignas Konovalovas looks to be the obvious leader for their hilly campaign. After a bidding war with Aker Solutions – Bergans, ANFreeman and Cyclevox were forced to pay him a wage of 370 000€, but that could very well turn out to be worth it, Tour of Britain suits him perfect, and Cyclevox looks to have high ambitions for their home Tour. In other races, he will be challenging for a top 10, whenever there’s hills and a time trial. His great time trial means most of his competitors needs to get rid of him before the decisive time trial takes place, and that might turn out to be very difficult. Last year he was in the Israelian team, EL AL – IDF, and he could have done better than what he did there, ending the season 154th on the individual ranking. No doubt he will have the chance to shine in his new team.
Trent Lowe, an Aussie who can climb very well. He also got good secondary stats, and a solid time trial, it should make him a man to look out for, for other teams and leaders. He’s unlikely to challenge the stars on the Continental Tour, but with a lot of race days, and consistent performances through the whole season, he should pick up useful points for Cyclevox.
Their sprinters are quality. Mitch Docker, one of the fastest men in the Continental Tour, won two stages at last years Giro d’Italia, will now ride for Cyclevox. He’s also more than capable of surviving hills, no doubt he will be a contender for several wins through the season. He might give Cyclevox a head start in his home races, Down Under Classic and Tour Down Under. They also got Tomas Vaitkus, a powerful, Lithuanian sprinter. Just like Docker, he survives hills other sprinters don’t, and he will surely be a man to watch out for in the sprints, both in stage races and sprint classics. Docker and Vaitkus should do their goal of 15 stage wins through the season a very realistic goal.
Summary of the team: They’ve got a lot of decent riders, but lack a clear leader. Except for the sprints, where they will be a challenge to everybody on the Continental Tour. Be prepared to see their colors forming a train a lot of times. Their riders are mainly from English speaking countries, and so are their goals and targeted races. They have to trust their Lithuanian duo in a couple of races though.
In Great Britain we race, but in Lithuanians we trust!
Team Emu – Export Team manager: jack888
Nationality: An Australian team
Last season: 26th
Leaders: Mikayil Krasnoperov, Magno Nazaret and John-Lee Augustyn Sprinter: Dimitri De Fauw
A team who looks to have their eyes on the mountains, and their goals are orientated on hard stage races. Last year, as Yamaha – Greenpeace, they lacked a true leader, which resulted in Daryl Impey, placed 65th on the individual ranking was their best point scorer. They might face the same problem this year, they don’t have that leader who can guarantee a great result in whatever race he participates in. On the other hand, there’s no doubt jack888 has strengthened his team. With two great climbers, Krasnoperov and Nazaret, and Augustyn and Navarro just behind those two, they looks set to dominate the mountains. Question will be if it results in wins, or in brave top 5 placings. All of their goals looks achievable with Nazaret/Krasnoperov, and that’s always a huge advantage!
Magno Nazaret is a true climber. He also got great secondary stats, meaning he will be harder to drop as the race progresses. No doubt he is a tough challenge for everyone else, as soon as they hit the mountains. And with 50 race days, he will be able to participate in a lot of races, his number of race days might turn out decisive for Team Emu – Export and their hopes of achieving their goals.
Mikayil Krasnoperov has the mountain and time trial stats to dominate the Continental Tour. Unfortunately for jack888 and his team, he seriously lacks secondary stats, which probably means he won’t target the longer stage races. On the other hand, Guatemala, Colorado and Taiwan all have race profiles that could suit Krasnoperov better than most others. And with his incredibly high amount of racing days, he will probably turn out to be Team Emu – Export’s man for the individual ranking.
John-Lee Augustyn is a great climber, but he’s also solid at the shorter climbs. Jack888 invested 1 200 000€ in training for Augustyn, no doubt he has expectations for him. The only problem might be that he will be used to lead the team in hilly classics, as the team really lacks there. Augustyn is by far their best puncheur, but judging from jack888 race planning, it doesn’t look like Augustyn will have to lead the team in many classics, which should prove to be a good thing. Then he can race more in the terrain he loves, mountains, where he together with Navarro will be an extremely strong helper, or a captain himself in races were the competition is less.
Dimitri de Fauw is there only sprinter, and jack888 has definitely turned attention elsewhere than cobbles and sprints. De Fauw won’t have much help from his team mates in the final kilometers, and it will come down to how good he can do on his own. He should be able to do a couple of podiums on the flat stages of harder stage races. The team won’t participate in cobbled races, which, judging from their roster, no doubt is a clever call from their team manager!
Summary of team: They have no doubt improved from last season, and should have every chance of ending the season better than last year. The trio of Krasnoperov, Nazaret and Augustyn will be feared in whatever mountainous stage race there is. The support they will get in the mountains is also great, their father figure, Cadel Evans, Navarro, Seeldrayers, Montenegro and Orozco are all more than capable on mountains. A team that has every chance to dominate the mountains, but how many wins will they get?
As long as the road rises, we don’t care!Edited by ember on 31-07-2011 17:12
Ferrari – ERG Team manager: Pellizotti2
Nationality: An Italian team, with a touch from Sweden
Last season: -
Leaders: Gianpaolo Caruso and Przemyslaw Niemiec Sprinters: Tiziano Dall’Antonia, Crescenzo D’Amore and Emanuele Rizza
An Italian based team, where the riders look to be picked from an Italian cycling fans’ heart. An almost all Italian team should make the crowd go wild when participating in races in Italy. And they’ve got good riders to produce results in their homecountry and outside of it. They’ve also managed to bring in a few hot prospects, Enrico Battaglin and Marco Zanotti stands out as riders who might be superstars in two seasons time. They’ve got two goals in races held in Italy, winning Giro del Trentino and a top 10 in Giro dell’Emillia, they will have to trust Caruso for both of them, but I think Pellizotti2 also fancies Salerno in Emillia. No reason to not, at least!
Gianpaolo Caruso was without doubt the strongest Italian stage racer of the free agents. He’s dominant in the high mountains, but also knows how to ride the smaller climbs. Add a good time trial to that, and you have a great stage racer. However, his limited race days are most likely troubling Pellizotti2, we can only assume he will try to win his home races, Giro del Trentino, Brixia Tour, and then add succees in other countries on top of that. Whatever he does, he needs to succeed, as the team heavily counts on Caruso for stage races. But he has every chance of putting his name on both Giro del Trentino and Brixia Tour.
Przemyslaw Niemiec, a Polish stage racer, and the only foreigner in the team. Though, after several seasons in Italian teams, he should have no problems in finding his position in the team. And he’s a great stage racer, a few inches below Caruso, but still fully capable of leading the team in any mountainous stage race there is. With great secondary stats, and 50 race days, he will be capable to gain a lot of points for Ferrari – ERG in the races he enters. The question is how many races he will lead, and how many of his race days he has to work for Caruso. There’s quite a gap from Caruso to the third best climber in the team, and that might force Pellizotti2 to use Niemiec as Caruso’s superdomestique in a couple of races, like Giro del Trentino.
Pellizotti2 has also ensured he got the depth and leadout train for their best sprinter. But who is there best sprinter? Rizza and D’Amore are the fastest, but especially D’Amore will struggle on any speed bump they need to get over. On the other hand, Dall’Antonia will have no problems on speed bumps, and should have good legs in any bunch sprint he participates in. Anyway, all three of them should be capable of challenging for stage wins at different stage races, and having them all in a sprint classic, may be a smart move, then the rider with the best legs won’t have the opportunity to complain on a bad train in front of him. Will be interesting to see what Ferrari – ERG does with their sprinters, no doubt they can rack up some stage wins.
Summary of the team: An almost all Italian team, who will heavily rely Caruso. But why not? Caruso is a great stage racer, and he has every chance of winning whatever mountain stage he’s in. There’s no doubt the crowd will cheer for them in Italy, which will probably give them energy to perform better than expected on home soil. Salerno is an outside bet for the hilly classics in Italy, he might prove just as valuable as Caruso there. Other than Caruso, Niemiec and their sprinters, it’s a team filled of decent Italian riders, I expect to see them in a lot of breakaways, as they normally don’t have the strength to challenge the big stars, but will in most cases be stronger than most breakaway companions.
Focused Cycling Team manager: rjc_43
Nationality: A French team, with a touch from Germany
Last season: 8th in ProTour, relegated due to Wiggle’s promotion
Leaders: Romain Sicard, Jérémy Roy and Damien Gaudin Sprinters: Mathieu Drujon and Romain Feillu
One of very few French teams in the whole ManGame, and it looks to be a team where youngsters and their development are priority #1. Though, a focus on youngsters doesn’t mean they are not competitive in the races they will participate in! Especially Roy and Gaudin should be able to put up a great fight on hills and cobbles. Though, Roy will be bravely supported of the talents in the team, Gaudin will lack support on the cobbles.But who knows, French riders are used to ride on their own, Gaudin is surely not an exception.
Romain Sicard came to Focused in a brave loan deal, which saw Focused pay his whole wage, but gaining money they used on training Roy. Eventhough the Basque is only on loan, he should be able to give Focused Cycling a fair amount of points. Mainly a climber, but he’s also solid on hills and in the time trial. That makes him a challenger for a top 10 in whatever stage race he wants. His great secondary skills should do him good as longer the stage race is, unfortunately that also gives him a limited amount of race days, which means he can’t participate in too many of them.
Jérémy Roy is a really interesting rider ahead of this season. With less competition in the hills this year, he will be a serious contender in all hilly classics. And with more than 50 race days, rjc_43 can pretty much let him race whatever classics he wants, and he should be a guarantee for a good result. His sprint isn’t bad neither, so he will be able to finish things off in a small group sprint at the end too. My guess is that he will be the man Focused Cycling has to count on for the rankings, he should be able to score a lot of points.
Damien Gaudin is a French cobbler, and he is a great cobbler in the Continental Tour, one of the very best. As questioned before, the big question is the support he will get from his team, if there is any support at all. But just like Roy, he will have a lot of race days, and that should come handy for Focused Cycling, and if he avoids bad luck and crashes on the cobbles, he will score them some much needed points.
For the sprints, they have an interesting duo in Drujon and Feillu. They both have the acceleration to win stages and races, question is whether they will help each other or race on their own, with a train for both of them. If they can co-operate well, there’s no doubt this duo will be dangerous in any sprint classic there is, and also bring several stage wins to Focused Cycling.
Summary of the team: An interesting team, they have a lot of youngsters in their team, and with Roy, Sicard and Gaudin to lead the team, they are ensured some points. I doubt it will be too many though, but Gaudin and Roy might accomplish their goals, and make their season successful. Speaking of goals, it’s hard to tell, as Focused Cycling hasn’t made their goals public. The youngsters in the team will surely look for all possible opportunities to attack, which should mean a lot of TVtime for them. That’s never a bad thing!
In youngsters we hope for results, from Frenchmen we expect them!
Hollister Pro Cycling Team manager: ltt
Nationality: USA
Last season: 17th
Leaders: Robert Kiserlovski and Alessandro Proni Sprinters: Allan Davis, Aleksandr Serebriakov
Hollister Pro Cycling ended last season 17th, with Davis being their best scorer, placing 49th on the individual ranking. This year Davis has every chance of improving, he’s got a really strong team around him. Hollister Pro Cycling and ltt can only hope he will improve from last season, as he looks to be the key rider for Hollister this season too. It’s worth mentioning that they’ve got two of the worlds best talent in their roster. Yonathan Monsalve, a Venezuelan stage racer, who could win one of the big Grand Tours in the future. Jarlinson Pantano Gómez is the other talent, he’s already 24 years old, but he has a lot of potential in his legs. This will be a season where they both will get the opportunity to race as much as possible, work for their leaders, and hope to get in a breakaway or two. Speaking of leaders, this team lacks a great leader. They’ve got a lot of great helpers, but the lack of clear leaders might put the leader role in the hands of Yasmani Martinez and Richard Ochoa Quintero in some races, as Kiserlovski can’t cover all mountainous races. Ltt has to hope that Martinez and Ochoa Quintero can step up and act like leaders where it proves necessary.
Robert Kiserlovski is a Croatian climber, who also can time trial. That should be a great combination for the Continental Tour. Adding his decent secondary stats to it, makes him a threat for a top 5 in mountainous stage races. Hollister Pro Cycling has big hopes for him, as their goals in San Luis, Tachira and Guatemala suits him better than anyone else in the team. He will have great support from Ochoa Quintero, Szmyd, and maybe even Martinez. No excuse there for Kiserlovski!
Alessandro Proni is the obvious leader in Hollister Pro Cycling’s hilly campaign. Again, the team depth is great, but again, they lack a superb leader. A great thing about Proni is his great sprint, meaning he should be able to get good results from hilly races, as he’s superb sprinter to any other puncheur on the Continental Tour. That may give him them lot of points, but I doubt it will give them a lot of wins, as I suspect he will sprint for 8th place instead of wins in the hilly classic. That said, this man may become very dangerous next season, if he trains hard for the hills. But that’s a long way ahead of us.
For the sprints, Davis has the potential to win every sprint he is in. This year, he also got a great leadout, possibly from Scheirlinckx and Serebriakov or Murphy. There’s no doubt he will look the get both his and Hollister’s season off to a kick start, in Down Under Classic. Serebriakov is also a great sprinter himself, though, not of Davis’ class, mainly due to his lack of handling hills. But still, a very gifted sprinter, who should be able to pick up several stage wins through the season. It will be interesting to see whether they race together, or they split up, giving both a better chance to win more, but it also gives both a weaker leadout.
Summary of the team: This team has great depth for both mountains and hills. Their concern should be whether their leader can live up to the expectations. Kiserlovski definitely has the potential to do podiums in stage races, but it will all come down to who participates, as he isn’t an obvious contender for the podium if all stars in the Continental Team starts the same race. Luckily for Hollister, that is very unlikely to happen. Monsalve and Pantano Gómez are great riders for their team, and they has every opportunity to dominate the mountains in the 2014 season. For now though, they lack the leader who can “guarantee” wins, but their depth might cover that in an excellent way.
Jayco – Red Bull Team manager: Smowz
Nationality: An Australian team
Last season: 15th
Leaders: John Gadret and Kim Kirchen Sprinters: 1/3 of the team knows how to do a bunch sprint, Impey might be the Ace.
Probably the team of the Continental Tour with most solid domestiques. Looking at their team in the database, it simply screams green, what probably will make their promotions dreams be just a dream, is that there is absolutely no red there. On the other hand, especially the sprinters in total could rack up an unbelieveable amount of points, through top 5 placings on pretty much every flat stage or race there is. The depth of their sprinters is just amazing, and could make their dream of promotion more than a dream, in this very close division. But in the end, I think the lack of one or two rider who actually can win races, will make them suffer, and place around 10th at the end of the season. But again, that depth might prove gold, they picked up a good amount of points in MTN Cycling Classic, will be very interesting to see how their season progresses. They have every chance of doing better than last year’s 15th overall.
John Gadret, the best French climber out there, that doesn’t say a lot though, but his performance in 2009 did. Back then he ended 14th on the individual Pro Tour ranking, and really showed his climbing skills. He can rely on great support from his team mates, mainly Moreno will be important. Moreno is also strong enough to race as leader, will be interesting to see how Smowz solves that one. He will be allowed to ride the biggest cycling event there is, le Tour de France, where he hopes to bring a brave top 10 overall back to the Australian team. He will surely have a whole nation behind him.
Kim Kirchen showed his greatness last season, riding for the promoting team, Bacardi – Colt. He ended the overall standings in 6th, only 150 points behind the podium. He’s aging, and he’s not what he was last year. Still, he’s a very competitive rider, and he should be able to bring a couple of good results in the hilly classics. He might be the man to watch out for in stage races with weaker line ups as well, he hasn’t forgotten how to climb and time trial!
For their sprinters, where to start? Daryl Impey is a true bargain, at only 146 000€ he’s a great sprinter, who can survive hills in a perfect way. On the top of that, he isn’t maxed out! Will be a force next season, luckily for many other sprinters, he’s not that good this year. Still, perfectly capable to win the tougher sprint classics. For all the other sprints the’ve got, Giaux, Sutton, Sonnery, Brown and Manarelli, together they have every chance to win more than the 12 wins the team had last season.
Summary of the team: As already mentioned, they’ve got an amazing depth in their roster. If they had one outstanding puncheur, there would be no doubt on them promoting. They still got a slight chance at a promotion spot, and judging from MTN Cycling Classic, they will be right up there, fighting for promotion. It will most likely be a very close fight for the promotion spots, all luck they could have will be greatly appreciated by Smowz. What might turn Smowz’ promotion hopes down, is that they won’t score any points on the cobbles, and they will have to make up for the points other contenders for promotion scores there, in other races. That could prove difficult without a clear leader for both hilly classics and sprints. But still, it would be extremely foolish to count this team out of the fight for promotion. We can only wish them good luck!
1/3 sprinting and Gadret climbing, what else do we need to promote?
Koppert Cycling Team Team manager: BoogieBoogie
Nationality: A team from Holland
Last season: -
Leaders: Tom Veelers, Fabien Taillefour Sprinters: Hans Dekkers and Bobbie Traksel
Their two leaders are cobblers. That says it all, and with Veelers, Taillefour and Langeveld, they have every chance of doing very well on cobbles. But the team is more than cobbles. They’ve got 4 great time trialists in Rick Flens, Ronan van Zandbeek, Lieuwe Westra and Pim Ligthart. Ligthart even got some potential left. Whoever BoogieBoogie picks for Duo Normand, they will challenge for the win. The other time trial race of the season, Isle of Man ITT, is also a natural target for those four riders. Their main goals are nicely orientated around cobbles, where Veelers most likely will lead the team. It’s also worth mentioning that the great talent of Tom Jelte Slagter in their roster. In three seasons time, he will be up there, challenging Gesink to be the best stage racer from Holland. A great prospect for Koppert Cycling Team and BoogieBoogie! Another interesting thing is that this team, with a successive season, will have a lot of money to use on riders ahead of next season, as they’ve only used about 2 000 000€ in wages this year, they might have some space for taking a star to their roster next year.
Tom Veelers is likely to be their leader on the cobbles, due to his abilities to finish the race in a great way. If he’s there when the race will be decided, he will trouble anyone. Also, he has won a stage at Tour de France, that should give him a certain amount of respect in the peloton. That will probably to the leadouts and sprints easier? What might be the torn in Veelers plans for a great season, is his relatively bad stamina. He will be more vulnerable than others to late attacks from other riders. No doubt a valuable leader of the team.
Fabien Taillefour is a classic Paris – Roubaix rider. He handles the cobbles just as good as Veelers, and he’s also a real powerhorse on the flats. His opponents will have to be aware of him all the time, he can suddenly attack out of nowhere. But just like Veelers, he lacks endurance, but that doesn’t matter if he’s on his own, at the front? At least, BoogieBoogie hopes so!
Their sprinters are good, their train might prove even better. Imagine Taillefour/Langeveld as the pilot, then Traksel does the last leadout for Veelers or Dekkers. To me, that smells winning. Dekkers could hand the team a couple of wins, and at a wage of 60 000€, he might prove to be one of the best points/wage riders in the Continental Tour. I’m sure their sprinters will produce a nice amount of wins for Koppert, the question is how high it will bring them on the ranking.
Summary of the team: A very interesting team. With four great time trialists, and two sprinters of high quality, they will surely fight for a lot of stage wins. And with Jelte Slagter, they are ensured a world class stage racer in three seasons time. Their main focus is no doubt on the cobbles, where they got Veelers, Taillefour and Langeveld to lead the team. They are good, but are they good enough to win one of the bigger Continental classics? They will definitely put up a tough fight for it. They completely lack a rider for both mountains and hills. That makes their possibility of scoring many points small, then they have to overperform on cobbles and sprints, which is unlikely, but not impossible.
We go all in on cobbles, resting on mountain stages!
Meiji – Fuji Team manager: valverde321
Nationality: A Japanese team
Last season: -
Leaders: Jack Bauer and Matthew Lloyd Sprinters: Yukiya Arashiro, Anuar Manar and Sung Baek Park
This is probably my favourite team of this year’s Continental Tour. Valverde321 has bravely decided to give Asian cycling talents a unique opportunity to shine in a sport mainly dominated by Europeans. It’s a risky move, but there’s no doubt he has succeeded in gathering most Asian stars in his team. It should certainly give Asian Cycling a huge boost, when Arashiro, Doi, Manan and Sano are all in the same team. As a natural consequence of going as good as all Asian, the team doesn’t have the biggest stars. They will put a lot of pressure on their riders from Oceania. Jack Bauer and Matthew Lloyd have to perform if the season can be called a success.
Jack Bauer is a fine rider. The Kiwi’s main thing is time trials. But he’s also more than capable on the hills, which make him a perfect rider for races like Tour de Limousin. He’s also a good finisher, he could bring a surprising victory or two to Meiji – Fuji. And at a wage of 200 000 €, it doesn’t feel like they’ve paid too much. His flat and sprinter stats may also be used as a perfect leadout man for a serious sprinter. It won’t be a surprise if Bauer is instrumental in Meiji – Fuji’s setup for Tour of Taihu, where their goal is to win.
Matthew Lloyd is an Aussie puncheur, and I’m sure he’s very determined to bring glory to Meiji – Fuji in his home race, Tour Down Under. He also got a decent kick for the finish line, which could give him a lot of nice placings in the hilly classics. He will for sure be the man Meiji Fuji in Japan Cup and Tour of Taiwan. Lloyd is my outside bet for the overall win in Tour of Taiwan, the lineup will probably not be the strongest, and with a mix of hilly and mountainous stages, most hills, it suits Lloyd perfect.
Their sprinters could do very well in Asian stage races. They are all fast men, and will certainly look for stage wins. Manan hopes to win at his home race, Tour de Langkawi, while Arashiro has the endurance and climbing abilities to challenge in the tougher sprint classics. Park will most likely hunt stage wins in different stage races, and it would be great for Korean cycling if he could grab a couple of them.
Summary of the team: A nicely formed team, with goals that suits their geographical placing perfect. And with Lloyd and Bauer, they will challenge for top 10 in several races, then their sprinters can go stage hunting over the whole Asia. I doubt them to be very successive, but I’m sure valverde321 has had a lot of fun setting his team up, and with the two Idols of Japanese cycling, Arashiro and Doi, they will be cheered for whenever needed in Japan Cup, Tour of Japan, and all other Asian races. Will be nice to follow this team, hopefully they can grab some nice wins. And with less than 2 000 000€ used in wages, they might turn out very competitive next season, if valverde321 wants to give his team a new dimension.
Arashiro and Doi, Nuff said!Edited by ember on 31-07-2011 22:05
Oz Cycling Project Team manager: tsmoha
Nationality: An Australian team
Last season: -
Leaders: Shaun Lewis Sprinters: Baden Cooke, Ahmad Haidar Anuawar and Simon Clarke
Another new team, and another interesting team. On paper, they should be one of the weaker teams in the Continental Tour, but there might be hidden resources there. It’s a team filled of talents, not for this season though. George Bennett and Jack Bobridge is probably the most exciting prospects.Bennett could be the rider who gives his nation a huge boost for cycling. The Kiwi has every possibility to become a great stage racer, and he might be seen in Tour de France in a few years time. Bobridge is already a good time trialist, and he isn’t anywhere closed to being maxed out. Could be the next Michael Rogers. Speaking of the next Michael Rogers, Luke Durbridge is also a strong contender for that. His natural talent for time trials could prove really useful in a couple of seasons.
Shaun Lewis is the main climber of the team, and seeing the team has Colorado and Taiwan as targeted races, they need him to perform. He will be supported Khalmuratov and Thuaux, which are good support for the mountains. Lewis should be able to challenge for a top 15 in different stage races. He also got a high amount of race days, that should be useful, as he can gather points in several races. Same goes for his domestiques, Khalmuratov and Thuaux, they will be able to support him in whatever stage race he participates in.
Seriously though, speaking of mountains, hills and cobbles, there isn’t much to talk about for Oz and tsmoha. But sprinting, that’s something the Aussies are familiar with! Baden Cooke is without doubt their main man, and his great secondary stats should give him an edge when the sprint starts. There might be problems when the routes get tougher, but an Aussie never gives up. He should be Oz’ best point scorer, he’s also got 50 race days, that gives him every opportunity to score more than his 99 points in the Pro Tour last season. It will be a huge disappointment if he doesn’t score more than 99 points. He might very well open the season with a win in Down Under Classic! Ahmad Haidar Anuawar and Simon Clarke looks perfect for stage hunting. They are very fast, and should be able to have fresh legs in the final kilometers of flat stages in mountainous stage races. For their win goal in Tour Down Under, they have to hope that Renshaw or Cooke don’t loose much time on Willunga, and then they can bounce back on the flat stages.
Summary of the team: This is a weak team for the upcoming season, but they’ve got riders with great potential for the future. The future indeed looks bright, with Bennett for stage races, Durbridge and Bobridge for the time trials. In the wait for them to reach their potential, they will have to fight for whatever they can get. And that might not be much, fingers are crossed for Cooke having a brilliant season.
With a 34 years old, who’s way over the top, we win!
Pirelli – Alfa Romeo Team manager: rycadinho
Nationality: An Italian team
Last season: 20th
Leaders: Jurgen van den Broeck, Nicolas Roche and Carlos Castaño Sprinters: Asan Bazajev and Daniele Di Nucci
A three-headed beast to lead the team in whatever mountainous stage race there is. All three of them almost guarantees a top 5, at the very least. They will be supported by Saldarriaga, Montaña and Dupont. A great team for the mountains.The team is listed as Italian, but there’s not many Italians in it, they are clearly racing for promotion, and they have a good shot of making it. Roche is the obvious captains for the hills, but there’s not much behind him, assuming van den Broeck and Castaño has other races than the hilly classics in their minds. What should be the torn in their hopes for promotion, is their lack of sprinters, cobblers and puncheurs behind Roche. I don’t think Roche, with limited race days, can do all hilly classics + a couple of stage races, then the question of who’s leading the team on the rest of the hills comes to mind.
Jurgen van den Broeck was cleverly trained by rycadinho in the preseason, and he has turned out be an outstanding leader for stage races. With 3 100 000€ invested in his climbing abilities, he has become a contender for the individual win on the rankings. The team will also hope for van den Broeck to accomplish all their goals, and he has every chance of doing just that. Top 5’s in Corsica, Brixia and Trentino should be peanuts for him. Winning Transfagarasan GP might prove harder, he will most likely be challenged by Rujano and Alarcon, but his decent sprint might turn decisive, as there’s a long downhill to the finish.
Nicolas Roche will be a very important man for Pirelli – Alfa Romeo this season. He’s the only one who can ride for the wins in the hilly classics, and just like van den Broeck, he’s got a good finish, which will make him hard to break. He won’t have many race days though, rycadinho has to pick his races carefully, as he has great chances of doing well in both hilly classics and stage races. He climbs the longer climbs just as good as the hills, and with great secondary stats, he will be perfectly suited to the longer classics. Maybe a dark horse for Transfagarasan GP?
Carlos Castaño came to the team through a deal which made their former star, Jose Serpa, go to Festina – Conec. With a smaller wage, it might turn out to be a good deal. He has, just like van den Broeck, 46 race days. It will be interesting to see what races he takes on. He’s not at the same level as van den Broeck, but he still managed a top 10 in last year’s Giro. Nothing wrong with his capabilities!
For their sprinters, I suspect they will mainly be stage hunters in mountainous stage races. And they could do that very well, giving them much needed points. They will be on their own, and they will need to pick the right wheel. But both Bazajev and Di Nucci are fast, especially the first one. So they should be up in the mix, giving the team several stage wins.
Summary of the team: At first look, I would immediately say promotion. But looking a little bit more into it, that might prove difficult. Fair enough, van den Broeck, Roche and Castaño are great riders. The question is how many points their 130ish race days in total gives, they simply don’t have very many other point pickers. And only 130 race days with serious leaders, is quite a low number. But still, their three-headed beast will pick up lots of points in stage races, but will it be enough for promotion? A top 10 should be doable, then promotion might follow.
Three men should do promotion, the others will watch it happen
Pokerstars.com Team manager: beagle
Nationality: A Belgian team, with a touch from Germany
Last season: 11th
Leaders: Jose Rujano and Frederik Nolf Sprinters: Erik Mohs, Samuel Dumoulin, John Degenkolb and Marco Guillén
They had a very successful first season, they took the Continental Division by storm, and ended 11th, less than 100 points behind UBS – Anne Chun’s who promoted. Last year, it was one of their sprinters, Erik Mohs, who was of best use, ending the individual ranking in 22nd place. Beagle has to hope for Mohs to copy that, but it will be hard, seeing Vantomme, Bennati, van Avermaet and a couple of others will give him great competition. They’ve brought Rujano from Pearl Adidas to strengthen the team even more, but in the same deal, they wished their former talent, Guarnieri goodbye. They might regret that, as they season progresses, and Guarnieri turns into a world class sprinter. Though, they still have Degenkolb in their team, a great prospect for sprints, and he’s also very capable of surviving the hills. He has the chance to shine already this year, but he will be a real force when he reaches his maximum potential. Then he becomes a real contender for Milan – Sanremo. This team lacks the dept that Jayco – Redbull and Hollister has, but they’ve got the leaders to score them points. I fancy their chances, but having no puncheur will hurt them, as there’s a lot of points up for grab in the hilly classics, and Pokerstars.com won’t be able to grab many of them.
Jose Rujano is a Venezuelan climber with great secondary stats. He had a great season in the ProTour last year, taking home a podium in the Vuelta, 9th place overall in Suisse and a top 10 in The Classic of the Fallen Leaves, Giro di Lombardia. Now racing in the Continental Tour should give him more wins than last year. But it will also give him less race days. No doubt he will be in contention for the win in whatever race he enters, but his hopes for glory might suffer from participation from Alarcon, van den Broeck and Valverde in every race he wants to win. They will definitely put up a great challenge for Rujano, and we can expect a lot of thrilling racing in the mountains. But still, he will be one of the dominant climbers of the Continental Tour, and that will score him and the team a lot of points. If it will be enough for promotion, which is their goal, is hard to tell.
Frederik Nolf is their other leader. He will lead the team in pretty much every cobbled classic there is, which is kind of a gamble. He doesn’t have the greatest secondary stats, nor the most gifted finish, that might cause him trouble racing against Veelers, Eisel, to not mention Team Bpost with Vanspeybrouck, Albert and Maes. And Nolf will be the season maker or breaker for Pokerstars.com. Rujano guarantees a lot of points, Nolf is not that safe. There’s great competition for him on the cobbles, and he will have to do well, if Pokerstars.com is going to promote. Their goals are heavily orientated around cobbled races, so there’s no doubt Nolf will be instrumental to this team. Luckily, Geslin and Kluge can give him good support, but will it be enough against Team Bpost, Koppert Cycling Team and a couple of other cobblers, like Blyth?
For the sprints, they are well covered. Mohs is their obvious Ace, he produced a great season last year. And with a leadout from Boucher, van Impe and Dumoulin, there shouldn’t be any doubt he can produce the results in sprint classics, he’s also likely to be their captain in Tour de Faso. The sprinters behind Mohs will likely be stage hunters. Their goal of 15 stage wins through the season is definitely within reach, Dumoulin, Degenkolb and Guillén should all get their chances in stage races, and they should all be able to deliver a couple of wins.
Summary of the team: After their success last year, they are looking for promotion this season. That might prove hard, Rujano is their obvious point scorer, but they really need Nolf to perform. Both for their goals and total amount of points. If he doesn’t perform, they can forget about promotion. They also need their sprinters to take home a couple of the sprint classics, but just like Nolf, they will have great competition. Where Rujano will lack support, as their obvious star, both Nolf and Mohs can rely on solid support, but in the end, I’ll think they will end, like last season, just outside the promotion spots. But with success for both Nolf and Mohs, they will most likely get one of the much wanted promotion spots.
We think highly of cobbles and sprints, with Rujano as the Ace!
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Proximus – Trek Team manager: Waghlon
Nationality: A Belgian team, with an American touch
Last season: 21st
Leaders: Alejandro Valverde and Hassen Ben Nasser Sprinters: Mark Cavendish, Ismaël Kip and Maciej Ulanowski
Ending 21st last season, signing Valverde, last season winner of the Vuelta, no doubt means they have high ambitions for this season. And they have every chance to improve, with Valverde as their obvious man for the individual ranking. But Valverde isn’t the only one racing for this team. They’ve got a lot of young riders, who without training, never will be great. A strange decision, but afterall, Valverde should be good on his own, meaning the youngsters could develop into solid domestiques without too much pressure.
Alejandro Valverde is no doubt the biggest star of this year’s Continental Division. His, nor the team goals for the 2012 season are published, but it seems obvious that he will use his few race days mostly in Spain, and I’ll expect him to win pretty much every race he races there. Clasica San Sebastian is probably a targeted race for him, and there’s no doubt he has the abilities to win it. He’s paid a high wage for his few race days, Proximus – Trek stunned everyone, using 1 150 000€ on Valverde’s wage. It might not turn out bad, if he can accomplish most of their goals, it will turn out to a successive season. And Valverde should have every chance to accomplish their goals, as long as it contains hills or mountains.
Hassen Ben Nasser is an interesting rider. He’s a puncheur with lots of race days. Also, he knows how to finish the hilly classics, which makes him the perfect leader for their hilly campaign. The only problem is that Valverde is even stronger than Ben Nasser there, which might mean he will be used as Valverde’s super domestique. But there should be enough help for Valverde in De Maar and Coenen, meaning Ben Nasser will get the chance to shine, and score a lot of points for them. And with a wage of only 103 500€, he’s definitely good value. I expect his breakthrough this season; Valverde can’t race in all Ben Nasser’s races!
Their sprinters are strong, but only Cavendish has what it takes to win a sprint classic. He will have great support, De Maar, Kopp and Ma are all great domestiques for the flats. Waghlon can only hope they are able to guide Cavendish to the big wins. Kip and Ulanowski should mainly be stage hunters. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pick up a couple of nice wins. Especially Kip has the acceleration to win. The question is which stage races they will participate in. They have no real leader for the mountainous stage races, assuming Valverde finds better chances for scoring points in several one day classics, which means there will be a lot of wasted race days if Kip and Ulanowski are allowed to go stage hunting there. And that’s probably their only chance to shine this year, no doubt the race planning has generated headache for Waghlon!
Summary of the team: Valverde will obviously score a lot of points for them, but the team also heavily relies on him for their goals. He’s a great rider, no doubt about that, but a team isn’t great with only one leader. Ben Nasser will surely challenge for top 5s in the classics he is allowed to lead, but how many will that be, considering he might be a super domestique for Valverde? Cavendish also needs a successive season, then Proximus – Trek can make their mark on the flatter classics too. But in the end, it comes down to how many points Valverde can give them, it should be 1000 and something, but it’s unlikely to be much above 1000, as he won’t be able to race many races.
Rapha Condor – Qhubeka Team manager: SportingNonsense
Nationality: British, but now also South African
Last season: 3rd, didn’t promote due to the rules of the ManGame
Leaders: Adam Blythe, Jonathan Bellis, Chris Froome and Alex Dowsett Sprinters: Peter Kennaugh and Cherif Abdallah
They did the podium last season, made a huge change in the preseason, getting an South African sponsor, and there’s no doubt they have weakened their team. That might just be for a couple of seasons though, as there’s a lot of African talent in this roster. Will they be the team who really gives cycling a boost in Africa? They did several interesting moves in the transfer season. They got rid of both Cavendish and Swift, and used the cash they got from it mainly on training for their hilly campaign. And what a team they’ve got for the hills! Belis should be their best, with his great secondary stats and also a great sprint. Froome and Dowsett knows just as good as Bellis how to handle the hills though, and they should pick up a lot points on their own. And with support from Sulzberger, Jiriakov and Appleby, this is a team who very well can repeat their success at MTN Cycling Classic, having 3 riders in the top 10. On top of that, the team probably has the best cobbler of the Division. Blythe handles the cobbles great, but he also knows how to sprint for the line.
Adam Blythe is, as previous mentioned, probably the best cobbler in the Division. But where Bellish, Froome and Dowsett have great support, he’s pretty much on his own, against the well trained machines at Team Bpost and Koppert Cycling Team. Will be interesting to see if he can sneak away a big win or two from the cobbles. He’s also a good enough sprinter for top 10s in several sprint classics, but it’s doubtful SportingNonsense will use him much there, seeing his great talent on cobbles!
Jonathan Bellis looks to be Rapha Condor – Qubeka’s main man on hills. And he’s got it all, he easily takes on whatever hill, and knows how to finish the job when the finish line is coming. But he won’t have too many race days, but 46 race days should still be enough to pick up a lot of points.
Chris Froome and Alex Dowsett lack the stamina for the longest hilly classics, and they also miss the ability to decide hilly races in a sprint. Having said that, Froome came very close to prove the opposite in the season opener, MTN Cycling Classic. But they have every chance of attacking away from the bunch before the sprint, and in that way bring glory to the team. If MTN Cycling Classic showed how the season will unfolds, it will be a very successive season for both of them, Froome made the podium, Dowsett hang on for 6th.
Peter Kennaugh and Cherif Abdallah are most likely meant to be their main sprinters. SportingNonsense has already stated that Kennaugh won’t participate in any flat classic, which is pretty surprising, as he could have brought a couple of podiums to the team. On the other hand, that means he will most likely be a stage hunter, and he could very well grab several stage wins to the team. Same goes for Abdallah, he has every chance to shine in stage races, where the competition most likely is weaker than in the flat classics, and he might pick up a couple of wins.
Summary of the team: They will most likely do worse than last year, though, judging from their season opener in South Africa, that might be wrong. Having said that, this team lacks in both mountains and most stage races, which limits their chances of scoring points. Though, Bellis, Froome and Dowsett should be able to compensate for most of that. But in the end, They should end outside the top 5, but they will surely be challenging for a top 10.
As long as Great Britain and Africa care, we don’t!
Saab – Scania Team manager: viking90
Nationality: A Swedish team
Last season: 28th
Leaders: Thomas Lövkvist and Matti Breschel Sprinters: Thor Hushovd, Kenny van Hummel and Mattias Westling
Last season where mostly a learning season for Saab – Scania. They had a decent team, but really lacked leaders, which resulted in their best rider on the individual ranking, was Theo Eltink, down on 75th. Ahead of this season, they have invested heavily in more Scandinavians leaders (or failures?). They bought Lövkvist from Spyker Cars, and he will finally get the chance to shine. Last year he was limited to ride as a domestique to Dekker, this year he will no doubt be Saab – Scania’s man in the stage races. But again, just like last year, the question will be if there leaders are good enough. I doubt they are good enough to bring the team lots of points, but they are definitely good enough to have a realistic chance at most of their team goals. And if they can succeed their team goals, the season will no doubt be a success.
Thomas Lövkvist was a rider viking90 really wanted in Saab – Scania. As a Swedish team, a Swedish leader was a must. And Lövkvist is no doubt a strong leader for their Continental team. Though, it’s unlikely he will win a lot of races, but his consistency in stage races should give the team a lot of points. He’s a good climber with a solid time trial, should be much appreciated in stage races containing both mountains and time trials. He’s most likely, together with Wyss, the man they will ride for in Vuelta a Mallorca, where they have a goal of a top 5. It will indeed be very hard, Lövkvist has to pick the rigt moment to attack, and then be strong enough to hold off the chasing puncheurs.
Matti Breschel is a great rider to have in a team. He knows how to handle cobbles, and if he’s in winning position at the end of a cobbled classic, be sure he won’t let the opportunity slip away! He will for sure be the rider viking90 hopes manage a top 5 in Circuit Franco Belge. Breschel is also handed a fair amount of race days, 46 to be exact. And with his abilities to ride cobbles, hills and bunch sprints, may make him their most valuable rider, and probably their best point scorer too. But that requires him to step up to the challenge, if he doesn’t he will only challenge for top 10 and top 15’s in a lot of races. And there’s not many who will remember him then.
The Norwegian Viking, Thor Hushovd, looks to be their main sprinter, and is no doubt the man who will try to take home their goal of winning Rogaland GP. He will have great support there; imagine a leadout from Breschel and van Hummel. That should put him in pole position ahead of the final kilometer, and then it all comes down to whether he’s still fast enough or not. If he proves fast enough, he should have a great season. He’s capable of surviving most hills, and he also got a decent prologue, meaning he can challenge for the leader jersey in a couple of stage races.
Kenny van Hummel and Mattias Westling will be their stage hunters, where Lövkvist most likely will fail to deliver stage wins in the mountains, there’s a better chance that van Hummel and Westling can produce them on the flat stages. They both got the speed needed; the question is there ability to position themselves. Hopefully the God of Thunder can teach them a trick or two on that.
Summary of the team: To be fair, an average team, with average leaders, but with every possibility to improve on their 28th place from last year. The Scandinavian trio of Lövkvist, Breschel and Hushovd should make the team hunt a top 20 in the overall standings. But if they fail, there won’t be many points on this team. Viking90 can only cross his fingers, but this team should be in the mix for a top 20 in the overall rankings.
The God of Thunder will strike, be warned!Edited by ember on 01-08-2011 11:40
T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft Team manager: OlegTinkov
Nationality: A Russian team
Last season: 14th
Leaders: Mikhail Ignatiev, Vladimir Efimkin and Aleksandr Kolobnev Sprinters: Too many to mention, Aleksei Markov might get his breakthrough this season
For a long period of the transfer season, they looked like a team fighting for a top 20 overall. The last days changed that though. They got Vladimir Efimkin from the free agent pool, and Mikhail Ignatiev from a complicated loan deal with Wiggle – San Pellegrino. The will both be a huge challenge for everyone in stage races, Efimking in the mountainous’, Ignatiev in those containing a long time trial. Time will tell whether it’s good enough for promotion or not, but you can’t count them out!
Mikhail Ignatiev was outstanding on last year’s Continental Tour, then representing Wiggle – San Pellegrino, where he was instrumental in their bid for promotion. There’s no reason he should do worse this year, and no doubt OlegTinkov has a bargain in his team. He will be the favourite for Isle of Man TT, Bayern Rundfahrt and Tour of Limousin.Should be no problems achieving their goal of a top 5 in Bayern. And together with Kiryenka, they will be a serious threat for Volkswagen – Siemens in Duo Normand. A true bargain for any Continental team!
Vladimir Efimkin will most likely be T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft’s main man for stage races. Though, Kolesnikov might prove better, as he has the best time trial of them. They will both be consistent pointpickers, challenging for top 5 in all stage races they enter the season through. What might be the downside for both of them, is that the team has no goals which suits them, and that probably means they will have few chances as race leaders, and might have to work their asses of for Kolobnev on the hills, and for Ignatiev in stage races containing that long time trial.
Aleksandr Kolobnev will be their obvious leader on the hills. At the season opener, MTN Cycling Classic, he showed he will be right up there, ending 8th. He lacks that last kick though, which could give him a couple of wins this season, but he will no doubt be a consistent performer, giving T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft a top 10 in most of the hilly classics they enter. Last season was great for him, winning Giro di Sardegna and the one day classic Ljublana – Zagreb from a small group sprint. OlegTinkov has to hope he can deliver such results this season too, if he can, they will be right up there, fighting for promotion.
Aleksei Markov may be their main sprinter, but they’ve got great backup in Trusov, Galimzyanov, Timofeev and Korzh. They certainly hope one of them can give them the win in the sprint classic in Moscow, GP of Moscow. Markov might be the man to do just that, but he has to rely on great support from their train, which should contain two more sprinters. As none of the has the kick Bennati, Vantomme and Mohs have, they need a good train. And with Galimzyanov leading out Trusov, leading out Markov, they got just that. And nothing will be bigger than winning a race in the capitol of Russia for this team!
Summary of the team: A very strong allround team, rock solid, with Ignatiev as their ace, who might bring promotion to them. Though, that will be up for Kolobnev, Kolesnikov and Efimkin to decide. If they can perform consistent at their maximum level, there’s no doubt T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft will challenge for a top 5, even the overall win is a possibility then. Their team looks very much like Jayco – Redbull, but where Jayco – Redbull lacks a true leader, who can gather lots of points, T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft got Ignatiev, that gives promotion, doesn’t it?
With the Russian Mafia on our side, we’ll promote!
Team Bianchi Team manager: Rin
Nationality: A German team, with an Italian touch
Last season: 10th
Leaders: Juan José Cobo, Maxime Monfort, Manuel Lloret and Dimitri Claeys. Sprinter: Gerald Ciolek and Jiri Hochmann
Last season they just missed promotion, being 56 points behind UBS – Anne Chun’s’ in 9th, which ended up being the last promoted team. Though, judging by their goals, it doesn’t look like the transfer season went as planned for Rin. Winning Giro dell’Appellenio, finishing top 5 in Tour de Pologne and Strade Bianche isn’t the most obvious goals they could have picked. With those goals, they have definitely put a lot of pressure on Monfort and Claeys, and they have to hope they can pull it off. Claeys showed in MTN Cycling Classic that he’s more than capable of top 5s, being a few meters away from winning it. But in general, this is an extremely strong team, having great backup for the greater backup, for both hills and mountains.
Juan José Cobo is a great stage racer, being just as good on mountains as hills. The problem might be that he lacks the killer climbing legs, which might result in him coleading the team on the hills, together with Monfort and Claeys. However, that seems like an overkill for the hills, where will Cobo be used? And where will he shine?
Maxime Monfort is their obvious leader for Tour de Pologne. Claeys lacks the secondary stats to perform well in a one week race, Monfort doesn’t. He has every chance of making the podium in Poland. He will also, most likely, lead the team in a couple of hilly classics, where he has to attack before the finish line, as he lacks the last punch, which can win the race from a small group sprint. He had an amazing season last year, bringing 834 points to Rin and his Team LEGO (changed to Team Bianchi this year). And he definitely has the chance of having a season just as successful as last year, however, how many race days will he do as superdomestique to Claeys?
Manuel Lloret is probably their best stage racer, he’s a solid climber, and he has great time trial abilities considering he’s a stage racer. Unlike Cobo though, he has a lot of race days, which might prove crucial in their fight for promotion. He’s already leading the team in Tachira, and I won’t be surprised to see him leading the team in other stage races, containing both mountains and a time trial, where Cobo most likely won’t make it, due to his lack of time trial abilities.
Dimitri Claeys is the last leader of the team. And what a leader he is! He’s got a great amount of race days, add his perfect stats for any hilly classic there is, and Team Bianchi and Rin has a bargain in their team. And at a wage of only 70 000€, he might be THE points/wage rider of this season, I won’t be surprised to see him challenging for a podium in most hilly classics he participates in. And how high will he go on the individual ranking?
Gerald Ciolek looks to be a great stage hunter for Team Bianchi, so does Jiri Hochmann. If Rin decides to try Ciolek’s luck in the big sprint classics, he might turn out to be a flop this year too. Though, he has the abilities to challenge Vantomme, Mohs and Bennati, but has he the mental strength required? Berlin ProRace suits him perfect, but the same goes for Vantomme, Bennati and Mohs. He can only hope he picks the right wheel, and then a powerful kick could see him winning on home soil.
Summary of the team: An extremely strong allround team. They’ve got it all covered, except cobbles. And it should prove enough for promotion. Especially Claeys could prove himself this year, and get his breakthrough in the Continental Divison, last year he ended 50th on the individual ranking, no doubt he’s aiming for more this season. What might bother them through the season is how few wins they actually will get, compared to how many top 5s they likely will have. But a great team, which stands out as favourites for the overall title in many eyes, they should definitely be able to challenge for the overall victory, but they will need luck to end the season as winners.
We prefer top 5s, enough of them leads to ProTour!
Team Bpost Team manager: CountArach
Nationality. A Belgian team
Last season: -
Leaders: Pieter Vanspeybrouck, Nikolas Maes and Jelle Vanendert Spriinters: Jurgen van Loocke and Stéphane Poulhiès
This is the team to beat on cobbles. They’ve got an amazing duo to lead the team there, in Vanspeybrouck and Maes. And when you’ve got Albert as a domestique, you can’t really ask for more. Their goals are perfectly orientated around the cobbled season, and this might prove to be a great season for the new team. They every chance to complete their 4 race goals, and if they do so, they may very well end up in the top 15 of the overall standings too. With a Belgian team, and a lot of Belgian cobbled races to race in, with Belgian stars, there’s no doubt this team will be on fire in the cobble season. The question is how many points they can get there, as there will most likely not be much to cheer for after the cobbled classics. Though, their duo in their hilly campaign, Vanendert and Gautier will ride with a lot of freedom on the hills, as there isn’t much pressure on them. And they may very well produce some great results. They should be consistent in the mix for top 10s, even top 5s, which summed up, should give this team a great season.
Pieter Vanspeybrouck is their best cobbler, and most likely their main leader on the cobbles. Last year he took a couple of wins which were dominant, and together with Blyth, he was by far the best cobbler last season. He ended the season 24th, and he could do even better this year. Last year, he raced for the mythical Team IKEA – Bianchi, and there were basically only him and Albert for the cobbles. This year, he’s got a whole team around him, which should give him even better results. He will also be given the opportunity to race in the ProTour, in Omloop Het Volk, where he hopes to show all Pro Tour teams that he is one of the best cobblers out there. A great rider, who I guess will dominate the cobbles this season.
Nikolas Maes is their other captain for the cobbles. He’s more suited to the flat cobbled classics, where he really gets to use his power. He’s capable of powering away from everyone in the Continental Division on the flats, which makes him a nightmare to watch, suddenly he’s 100 metres ahead of you, having attacked away and decided the race. And paying him a wage of 270 000€ is a very good deal for Team Bpost, with a little bit of training, he might challenge for the win in The Hell of North. What will be interesting to watch this season is how he and Vanspeybrouck deals with the pressure, and will they be able to ride like one force, or ride for themselves and their own pride?
Jelle Vanendert is an underestimated puncheur in this team. The same goes for Cyril Gautier, and they will work as coleaders in most hilly classics. They showed in MTN Cycling Classic that that’s not a problem for any of them, in that race Gautier ended 4th, mainly thanks to Vanendert’s great leadout in the sprint. Vanendert also showed his strength in that race, attacking several times, and he was only unlucky that he couldn’t sneak away from the bunch. There’s no doubt both of them will be right up in the mix, challenging for top 5 in most hilly classics they participates in, a very dangerous duo.
Coming to their sprinters, they haven’t got the greatest. It would be to much to expect Van Loocke and Poulhiès be up there in sprint classics. They are simply not good enough for that. Both lack secondary stats, and they will have problems keeping their legs fresh when the races/stages are longer than 180 kilometers. Also, they aren’t the greatest powerhorses on the flats, meaning they will need a proper leadout to do well in the sprints. They can only hope they manage to place themselves on the right wheels, as it doesn’t look like Team Bpost will serve them the much needed leadout for the sprints.
Summary of the team: An outstanding team for the cobbles. They also have a great duo for their hilly campaign. That will result in suffering in mountains and sprints though. It’s worth mentioning that they’ve got Elijzen for time trials, he could very well bring a win to the team, and also put in consistent performances in any time trial he participates. But in general, looking at their goals for the season, this should be a great season for them, and really give them something to build on for the next season. Top 15 overall is also doable, but it will require domination on cobbles, and Gautier/Vanendert picking up nice placings in the classics. But that’s quite realistic, isn’t it?
Team CSC – Orbea Team manager: Mresuperstar
Nationality: A Spanish team, which a Portuguese touch
Last season: -
Leaders: Igor Anton, Rui Costa Sprinters: Roman Maksimov, Eloy Teruel and Bruno Lima
Climbers! There isn’t much this team can’t handle, as long as the road rises. As a new team, they immediately bidded bravely for Igor Anton, showing their intentions. They followed up with bringing more climbers to their roster. Though, they seem to have been a little unfortunate with their goals, compared to the strength of their riders. They mainly have goals perfectly suited to puncheurs. They’ve got Rui Costa for the hills, but he isn’t an outstanding puncheur. Vuelta a Mallorca though, that’s a race which should suit him perfect, it’s a stage race, and with his decent secondary stats, he should at least be challenging for a top 5 there. I doubt he will make it in Clasica San Sebastian, but never say never. A top 5 I Volta a Portugal is definitely doable for this team, there’s a lot of climbers here, and Igor Anton will most likely lead the team in Portugal. On the other hand, winning Barcelona Classic will be a tough one. Judging from the profile, it looks to hard for Maksimov, and who is then going to lead the team there? Only Mresuperstar knows, and it will be very interesting to see who he picks as leader.
Igor Anton is without doubt there best climber, which naturally makes him the leader of this climbing team. Last year he was a huge disappointment in Youtube – Twitter, but back in a Spanish team, he should be able to do well again. Serving as leader, and not as a helper will also obviously help. He has great support for the mountains, Dueñas, Parra Bustamante and Perez Cuapio are all great helpers. The team also got Mauricio Soler, Julián Rodas and Francisco Colorado for the mountains. They will most likely be Anton’s greatest helpers in some stage races, but they will also be given the chance to shine on their own. Francisco Colorado is probably the strongest of those three, but that’s really hard to tell.
Rui Costa is the clear leader of this team on the hills. He will mainly be supported by Zaballa. Rui Costa doesn’t seem to be more than a challenger for top 10s in different classics. And that may hurt Team CSC – Orbea’s point picking. All their climbers looks like obvious challengers for a top 10 in stage races, except Anton, who should be able for a top 5. But that won’t bring them a lot of points, and I doubt Rui Costa has the ability to do that on the hills too. But again, he will probably race most races on the Iberian Peninsula, and who knows what power that will give?
Coming to their sprinters, they have one clear leader. Roman Maksimov is one of the fastest men on the whole Continental Tour, and with an outstanding acceleration, he should be able to pick up a nice amount of stage wins. The big questions is what he will be capable to do in sprint classics. He lacks endurance, nor is he a great climber, he has to hope he will get great help from his team mates to get over speed bumps. Then he should be able to fight for the wins, at least top 5s in sprint classics too. Teruel and Lima are great as stage hunters, in tougher stage races, like Volta a Portugal they should be in contention for stage wins on the flatter stages. They will most likely not affect the sprint classic, so they really has to take their opportunities in the stage races.
Summary of the team: A great amount of good climbers. But they might lack the big star, who could have guaranteed them podium spots. They’ve got Anton, but he won’t be the obvious winner in any race he participates in. The same goes for their hilly campaign. Only difference, is that their helpers here, naturally, won’t be as good as in the mountains. Rui Costa needs to have the season of his life, making Team CSC – Orbea succeed in their goals. I see this team making a lot of top 10s through the season, and they will be very close to a lots of wins, but most likely, they won’t get too many wins to cheer for in the end. But still, a lot of top 10 placings will give them a nice amount of points in the end, and they’ve got the climbers who can do top 10 on every single mountainstage there is.
The higher the better!
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Team Puma – SAP Team manager: cio93
Nationality: A German team, with a touch from France
Last season: -
Leaders: Pierre Rolland, Daniele Bennati Sprinters: Lars Crocket, Enrico Gasparotto, Thomas Vedel Kvist and Sébastien Minard
What a transfer season this team had! They started signing a couple of sprinters and a couple of youngsters. But then, out of nowhere, it was announced that Bennati, one of the world’s best sprinter, will ride for Team Puma – SAP the coming season. And their team looks very cleverly built around Bennati. They’ve got a lot of lead out men for him, and their abilities on the flats are nothing to question. They’ve also got a couple of great talents in their roster. Keldermann, Le Gac and Vogt are all great prospects, but patience is needed. But in two seasons time, there’s no doubt they will put their name on everyone’s lips. In the meantime, they have Bennati, who should be able to pull of big wins for Team Puma – SAP, already this season. On a last note, it’s interesting to see that this European team has top 5 in the American standings as a goal. Will that be possible?
Daniele Bennati, he won’t have too many race days, but he will have more than enough. He will most likely take on every sprint classic out there, and he should definitely do their top 5 goal in Berlin ProRace. He also stands every chance in the world to dominate all sprint classics he participates in, they’re having an amazing leadout for him, and he will in most races only need to get the job done. And being one of the very best sprinters in the world, which should be a task that suits him perfect. He can rely on great support from Gasparotto and Vedel Kvist for the big classics, they both now how to sprint and position themselves in a bunch, they should be able to give Bennati pole position ahead of the final kilometers.
Pierre Rolland is an interesting rider. He’s mainly a time trialist, but also knows how to handle mountains. He’s by far the best time trialist in their roster, so he should lead the team in Isle of Man TT, but also Bayern Rundfahrt and Tour de Limousin looks to be great races for him. A wage of 160 000€ seems perfect for him, and with lots of race days, we better expect to see him up there in a lot of prologues and time trials! He’s also the team’s best climber, which says a lot. It’s pretty obvious they have focused elsewhere than mountains and hills. Rolland is unlikely to ride many of the pure mountain races, but include a time trial, and he might be there!
Bennati has already been mentioned, but there’s a lot sprint quality behind him. Thomas Vedel Kvist, Sebastién Minard and Enrico Gasparotto all have the abilities to win a lot of stages this season, and don’t be surprised if this is the team winning most flat stages through the season. Especially Gasparotto has every chance to shine this season, as he has the ability to follow most sprinters on the hills too. Watch out for him, when he launches his sprint, from the rear wheel of Minard! Then there won’t be much stopping them.
Summary of the team: A great sprinting team for this season. Their goals might prove hard though, but with Bennati, the top 5 in Berlin ProRace should be no problem. For their hillier goals though, they really need a long shot from Gasparotto or Delage, it will be very hard for them, but never say never. Bennati, Gasparotto and Vedel Kvist should also do great in bringing wins to the team. For the future though, they have a lot of talent, especially on the hills. Keldermann, Le Gac and Vogt could all be contenders for a future win in the Ardennes. Keldermann might also target the biggest race of them all in the future, the Tour de France. Will be really interesting to see how fast and good those 3 guys develops.
Team Rothaus - Aegon Team manager: roturn
Nationality: A German team, with a touch from Holland
Last season: -
Leaders: Lars Boom, Ben Hermans and Ryder Hesjedal Sprinters: Maxime Vantomme, Eric Baumann, Artur Gajek and Claudio Cucinotta
Another new team, and another German team. In their transfer season, they immediately got involved in a heavily contested bidding war for Maxime Vantomme’s signature. They actually pay 150 000€ more than Team Puma – SAP pays for Bennati, on the other han, Vantomme has more race days than him. With 700 000€ used on Vantomme, there wasn’t much money left for other riders, and that might turn out bad for Team Rothaus – Aegon. Their goals don’t suit Vantomme, actually, no one of them does! They will have to hope for something special from Boom, both in Hainleite and Profonde van Drenthe. It will be very hard for him though, but I’ll give him a fair shot at especially Hainleite, as the cobbled sections aren’t too long there. Actually, it might be too hard on Vantomme, to say that no goals suits him. He might stand a chance at Profonde van Drenthe, but he needs the peloton to go slow over the cobbles. That is unlikely though, I won’t be surprised to see Team Bpost and Koppert Cycling Team go flat out on the cobbles. For Frankfurt, they will have a strong duo in Boom and Hermans. If they can co-operate well, they should have a shot at a top 5 there.
Lars Boom, by far their best time trialist. He can also handle hills in a very good way, makes him the perfect leader for races like Tour de Limousin and Bayern Rundfahrt. His time trial abilities is also good enough to challenge for a podium in The Isle of Man TT. It will be very interesting to see where he will be used, there’s no doubt he has good chances to shine in a lot of races. Last year he placed 59th in the individual ProTour ranking. A very good effort, and taking a step down, to the Continental Division, should give him hopes for an even better season, in terms of results.
Ben Hermans comes on loan from Wiggle – San Pellegrino. It’s a good deal for Team Rothaus – Aegon and roturn, they’ve got a solid leader for their hilly campaign. He’s not likely to win a lot of races, but he should be a good pointpicker, being consistent in top 20, at least, in all hilly classics he enters. Hermans could also be used as a great leadout for Vantomme, he is a powerhorse on the flats, so he should have no problems with positioning Vantomme.
Ryder Hesjedal is their last leader, he should lead the team in tougher stage races. They hope to do well in Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt, which is a race that suits Hesjedal well. He can count on strong support from Ruijgh, and if they manage to work well together, they could challenge for a top 10 in Austria. Especially Ruijgh will have lots of race days, and I think roturn hopes to see him in a lot of breakaways, riding away from his breakaway companions when they hit the last mountain of the stage. Will definitely be interesting to see how Hesjedal and Ruijgh handle the stage races, will they hope to take time from breakaways, or will they try to keep up with the best?
Speaking of their sprinters, it’s Vantomme who is their big star. 700 000€ is a lot to use on a rider ending last season in 76th on the individual ranking. But this year he is the man the team will ride for in every bunch sprint he is in, that should give him a more successful season, and it should also give him his big breakthrough. They also got a lot of decent sprinters. Baumann, Gajek and Cucinotta should all be able to challenge for stage wins in several stage races. They also have an outsider in Valentin Iglinski who’s a decent sprinter, but also capable of riding the hills. That makes him a perfect rider for breakaways, or in a bunch sprint, after a tough stage.
Summary of the team: 700 000€ used on Vantomme limited their options for the rest of the transfer season. They managed to bring in Boom, who could prove extremely useful for the team. Together with Hermans, he will also make decent duo for the hilly classics. But most of their eggs are put in the basket of Vantomme. He is the team’s superstar, and there’s a lot of pressure on him, he has to perform. Simple as that. But he’s great possibilities of having a good season this year. The team is built around him for flatter races, and he should be ensured a good leadout, then there’s not many who can follow him on the last meters. They’ve also taken in a lot of talented riders, the problem is that the biggest talents are not their own, they are only at loan, and they will eat many race days, close to 85 race days for each talent. That might cost their leaders a bit, as a youngster naturally isn’t as strong as a rider who has reached his potential.
All in all, I have to say that this is one of the weaker teams in the Continental Tour, they need Vantomme to do very well in the sprint classics, and the combination of Boom/Hermans to do well on the hills. Boom should also be able to score a lot of points on his own, races like Tour de Limousin are simply perfect for him. So in the end, they might end up with more points than I expect.
BOOOOM, Vantomme wins!Edited by ember on 01-08-2011 19:07
Team Trilux – Falke Team manager: felix_29
Nationality: A German team
Last season: -
Leaders: Fabian Wegmann, Matthias Kessler and Arnaud Coyot Sprinters: Heinrich Haussler
Another new, German team. They have managed to put together a team with very interesting leaders, mainly German. They look strong on hills, with Wegmann and Kessler, they should be able to fight for wins in a couple of hilly classics. With around 90 race days in total for them, they have every possibility to challenge strong on every hilly race there is out there. Kessler and Wegmann will have excellent support from the rest of the team, Rast and Smukulis should be important riders there. In general, this team is very cleverly built around their leaders. They’ve got good support for Wegmann and Kessler on the hills, same goes for Coyot on the cobbles. That may very well result in some surprises from Team Trilux – Falke.
Fabian Wegmann looks to be Team Trilux – Falke most important leader this season. He’s got a great punch, and can follow most hilly leaders on the hills this year. Then every other puncheur should struggle with following his wheel in the sprint for the win. He’s got a great finish, and that should come very handy for felix_29.the upcoming season. A great rider to have in the team. He is one of the prerace favorites to Rund um den Eschborn Frankfurt, and together with Kessler, they have great chances on making their win goal successive. Same goas for Deutschland Tour, where Wegmann might be their leader, though he need to gain time on other favourites on the hillier stages, and clinb on to the climbers on the last, decisive stage. Eventhough it’s listed as mountainous, there’s a chance for Wegmann to cling on, it demands solid team work though! It was quite a surprise to not see him in MTN Cycling Classic though, as it should have suited him perfect, there won’t be many beating Wegmann in an uphill sprint. And at only 260 000€, he’s without any doubt a great leader for Team Trilux – Falke, no doubt we have to ask every other new team how they managed to sneak him away at such low wage.
Matthias Kessler is their second leader, and just like Wegmann, he’s got great secondary stat, combined with great abilities to handle hills, he should be up there in the tough hilly classics. Tour of Pologne as a race day immediately comes to mind too, and seeing his secondary stats, both he and Wegmann should be able to put up a very strong fight to Team Bianchi there, despite Team Bianchi going all in for that race. Will, with no doubt, be an amazing race to watch. If Wegmann/Kessler can follow Cobo/Monfort on stage 5 and stage 6, they are no doubt just as big favourites for the overall win as Cobo is.Be prepared for a great fight between those two teams!
Arnaud Coyot, a Frenchman who knows how to ride cobbles. Last year he rode in the ProTour, and he could have done better, he scored 181 points, which didn’t give him much on the individual ranking. He was mostly used as a domestique, this year that will change. He has taken a step down, now he will race as absolute leader for Team Trilux – Falke. He’s got a decent team around him. Rast, Eichler and Krauss should all be able to do a lot of work for him. Coyot isn’t among the best cobblers in the Continental Tour, at least not on paper. He also lacks a great sprint, meaning he will have to attack a long way from the finish line, and only hope he is strong enough to hold on for some big wins.
Heinrich Haussler is their obvious leader in bunch sprints. And Tour de Faso might be the perfect race for him. It’s all flat stages, and with only one cobbled section on what should be the decisive stage, Haussler might be able to take the overall win in Faso, as he knows how to handle cobbles, and with 9 flat stages without cobbles, he could be able to pick up a lot of bonifications before the cobbles. Haussler’s problem is that he isn’t the fastest man around, meaning he most likely will struggle to deliver podiums and wins in the sprint classics. On the other hand, he’s great overall stats, and abilities to climb hills, could make him a very successive rider this season, with lots of stage wins. Saramotins, Keisse and Tronet are most likely stage hunters. They should be intstrumental in the leadout for Haussler, but when they’re not racing together with Haussler, they have every chance to shine. Felix_29 can only hope they will add stage wins to their records.
Summary of the team: A very cleverly built team. They’ve got solid leaders in Wegmann and Kessler for the hills, Coyot for the cobbles. They can rely on good support from the team, and especially Wegmann should be able to challenge for a couple of wins through the season. Also, they’ve got Haussler, a great sprinter, who can take a lot of wins this season. I doubt he can do podiums in the sprint classics, but in stage races, like Tour de Faso, he could prove himself outstanding.
Team Venchi ProCycling Team manager: Sykkel_Freak
Nationality: An Italian team
Last season: -
Leaders: Fabio Duarte, Franco Pellizotti and Cesare Di Maggio Sprinters: Claudio Corioni and Sergio Marinangeli
A very interesting team. As a new team, they took the transfer season by surprise. They started buying Corioni from Cerne, for 365 000€, then they continued strong, being able to sign Duarte and Pellizotti from the free agents pool. And then they ended the transfer season on a high, buying Di Maggio from Webeffect. No doubt this team is very strong, and even as a new team, they look to have their eyes on a top 10 in the overall rankings. But they will heavily rely on their leaders, there isn’t much more than Di Maggio to cheer for on the hills, and that might make Team Venchi ProCycling suffer, as there’s no guarantee Di Maggio will be a consistent performer in the hilly classics, seeing his secondary stats.
Fabio Duarte is their best climber, and should be team leader in the most important stage races, like Brixia Tour and Giro del Trentino. Last year, he rode in the ProTour, and he didn’t quite live up to the expectations. However, for the Continental Division, he looks like a great stage racer. Question is whether he can be up with the very best or not. In addition to being a great climber, he is also a very good time trialist. That will probably give him the edge in a lot of stage races, where he’s racing against pure climbers, like Alarcon, Gadret and Anton. Will definitely be interesting to see.
Franco Pellizotti is the second leader for mountainous stage races in this team. He was the dominant winner of last years Tour of America, picking up a nice amount of stage wins and the overall, which meant his season became a success. Team Venchi Procyling has a goal of doing a top 5 in Giro dell’Emilia, that might be a goal suited to Pellizotti. Giro dell’Emilia is a very tough hily classic, and climbing abilities may be more important than the punch of each rider, making Pellizotti a good bet for the win. Other than that, he will most likely lead the team in mountainous stage races, where Duarte is not participating. He has got relatively few race days; it wouldn’t be a smart choice to use him as a domestique to Duarte then.
Cesare Di Maggio is their last leader, and he will most likely lead the team on the hills. He’s a great puncheur, but he might lack the secondary stats to take the big wins this season. There’s no doubt about his abilities, but will he have the stamina required? He’s got an incredible amount of race days, 82 to be exact, and if he can perform, he will be an absolute bargain for Team Venchi Procycling, he covers almost every hilly classic, and can also participate in the hillier stage races. At a wage of only 50 000€, it’s hard to name him a flop if he doesn’t succeed, but there’s no doubt that Sykkel_Freak needs Di Maggio in top shape the whole season through if they are going to break into the top 10.
Claudio Corioni will be their main sprinter. He showed his sprinting abilities in last year’s Tour of Northern Europe, where he challenged Boonen for stage wins. Though, he couldn’t quite succeed, and that pretty much summed his season last year, ending the season with 154 points. This year the chance of doing better is bigger, much bigger. If he proves to be a man who can challenge for the big sprint wins, this is a great rider for Team Venchi Procycling. But if can’t follow Bennati, Vantomme and Mohs in the sprint classics, he’s an expensive sprinter to have in the team, then he will have to win a lot of stages to prove his wage of 205 000€. The other sprinter in the roster, Marinangeli, is a typical stage hunter. No points in questioning his top speed, and he’s also quite good challenging hills, meaning he will have fresh legs in most bunch sprints he participates in.
Summary of the team: It’s not a team with the greatest domestiques, but it’s a team with strong leaders. Pellizotti and Duarte should be able to score a lot of points, Di Maggio is the big questionmark for Team Venchi Procycling, if he succeeds, they could battle their way into the top 10, even promotion is possible then. Though, it is unlikely that Di Maggio will be at the same level as Bellis, Wegmann and others through a whole season, but if he is, he will be a nightmare to face for any other team.
Di Maggio will shine, we will promote, and everyone will be stunned!
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Team WWE Team manager: Christer
Nationality: USA, with a Canadian touch
Last season: 27th
Leaders: Fredrik Kessiakoff, Sérgio Paulinho and Jérôme Pineau Sprinters: Andre Greipel and Michael Vingerling
A team who definitely knows how to fight for whatever they can take! With Txurruka, Voeckler and Tankink, they are guaranteed a lot of TVtime, through breakaways. They ended last season third from bottom, and obviously hopes to do better this season. They have improved their roster slightly, Kessiakoff were bought from Volkswagen – Siemens, while Sørensen came as a free agent. They should be able to improve from last season, though, I’m not sure how much they will improve, in my eyes, they are likely to challenge for a top 20 on the overall team ranking, but not much more than that. It’s a brave thing Christer has done with this team, not allowing wages higher than 500 000€ for a single rider, which means Kessiakoff is their best paid rider, with “only” 240 000€. Chapeau!
Fredrik Kessiakoff, rode for Team Telenor – SAS last year, and he had quite a successful season, ending the season with 610 points, in 26th place. Both him and Team WWE hopes he can improve this year, and he surely has good domestiques for the mountains. Both Txurruka and Astarloza may act like superdomestiques, so could Sørensen do. The main problem for this team is their lack of a big leader for stage races. That’s quite natural though, seeing their maximum wage of 500 000€ to a rider. But that results in the fact it’s pretty hard to pick their leader(s) for stage races. Kessiakoff might be the strongest on paper, but Sørensen, Astarloza and Txurruka won’t be far behind him, and especially Txurruka has every chance to win races from a breakaway. Will be interesting to see how Team WWE and Christer solve this.
Sérgio Paulinho is their other main man for stage races. Mainly a climber, but his abilities on shorter and steeper climbs, and also in time trials, makes him a solid leader for this team. Just like Kessiakoff, he can count on great support from the team, as long as he’s strong enough himself! He’s aging, and this season will probably be his last season at top level. He should get the chance to race as leader in a couple of races, but together with Kessiakoff, he will most likely be a domestique.
Jérôme Pineau should be the team’s leader on the hills. He will have great support from fellow Frenchman, Voeckler, but also Bauke Mollema will be valuable to him. He started the season strong, with a top 10 in MTN Cycling Classic, and there are hopes he can continue being a challenger for top 10 in most hilly classics he races. Should be an important point picker for the team. Question is how many points he will gather.
Andre Greipel, the Hulk, is their obvious leader for bunch sprints. His raw power should show off in a couple of sprint classics. He will also have quite a lot of race days, meaning he should be able to fight for several stage wins through the season. He won’t have much support from the team coming to the last kilometers though, so he will most likely need to place himself on the right wheel, and then taking everyone by surprise with a powerful sprint to the line. Their other sprinter is Dutch, Michael Vingerling has every chance to get his breakthrough this season. Either by leading out Greipel to famous wins, or win a couple of stages himself. Maybe both?
Summary of the team: An attacking team, who won’t compete for promotion, nor a top 10 placing. They will have a lot of fun though, and we can expect to see them in almost all breakaways. They can only hope they will be in the right breakaways, being able to fight for stage and race wins. For stage races, they’ve got great domestiques, main problem is that they don’t have an outstanding leader to lead the team. They hope Kessiakoff can prove himself, but that is doubtful, and the team will mostly look at top 10 overall placings there.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
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Vespa - Aprilia - De Rosa Team manager: fenian_1234
Nationality: An Italian team
Last season: 19th
Leaders: Domenico Pozzovivo and Francesco Ginanni Sprinters: Isaac Speirs, Oscar Gatto and Mattia Gavazzi
A stunning transfer move saw Pozzovivo join forces with fellow Italians at Vespa – Aprilia – De Rosa. He was a much needed rider for the team, as they didn’t have a great leader for the mountains before they landed Pozzovivo, only great domestiques. They should have a good chance on improving from last year. But they are one of very many teams who can end the season in top 10, but also barely inside the top 20. They have taken in a couple of great talents, only on loans though, but Cattaneo has already shown in Vuelta al Tachira that he will be of great value to the team. A very interesting team, built around two superstars.
Domenico Pozzovivo, 4th at last year’s Giro d’Italia takes a the step down to the Continental Division, to make sure he will have a successful season, one of his last at top level. Though, with only 32 race days, he has to pick his races cleverly, and hope he can fight down Alarcon, Rujano, van den Broeck and others in the races he decides to aim. Fenian_1234 has proved in earlier season that he knows how to plan race days, and by the look of it, it looks like Pozzovivo will have most of his race days in H.C races, as they give most points. A very strong stage racer, who should, considering he’s a clear leader of the team, have a successful season. He can expect great help from Bosisio and Carrara, both of them are strong enough to race for top 10s on their own, they will be great domestiques for Pozzovivo.
Francesco Ginanni is their second leader. He had a disappointing season last year, ending 33th on the individual ranking. This year, he aims higher. He’s one of the very best puncheurs in the Continental Division, and he should be able to bring podium placings to the team in a lot of hilly classics. He started the season the best possible way, winning MTN Cycling Classic, after determined work from his whole team. Ginanni will for sure be a very interesting rider in the 2012 season, could he challenge for the individual crown?
Their sprinters aren’t of same class as Pozzovivo and Ginanni. But still, they should be able to deliver good results. Gatto, Gavazzi and Speirs should not be able to compete for wins in sprint classics. They lack the top speed that Bennati and Mohs got. But they should be more than capable of challenging for a lot of stage wins through the season. I expect to see one of them in whatever stage race containing flat stages, Vespa - Aprilia - De Rosa participates in.
Summary of the team: Two big superstars in the team, they will bring them a huge amount of points. But due to their limited race days, Bosisio and Carrara will be forced to lead the team in several stage races. That’s what probably will make or break their season. If they can perform well, they should be up there, challenging for a top 5, at least be comfortable in the top 10. A lot of future talent in their 2012 roster, a shame most of them are on loans, but they will be instrumental as helpers for the big stars.
Volkswagen – Siemens Team manager: Heine
Nationality: A German team
Last season: 18th
Leaders: Kai Reus, Marco Marzano, Vadim Ratiy and Aleksandar Flügel Sprinters: Alberto Loddo, Fabio Sabatini and Robert Förster
Last year, they ended 18th, as the Norwegian team; Team Telenor – SAS. This year, Heine decided to change focus to middle Europe and Germany. They’ve got a strong set of leaders; most pressure will be on Kai Reus, as their 4 race goals will all include him. The goals are all orientated very nicely around time trial abilities, in Bayern and the Czech Republic handling hills will also be required. But Reus should have what it takes, this looks to be a very successive season for him, Volkswagen – Siemens and Heine. There’s no doubt they at the very least should be able to do both their goals in time trial races, and for Bayern Rundfahrt and Tour of the Czech Republic, they’ve got Reus, one of the very best time trialist in the Continental Division. Their other leaders, Marzano, Ratiy and Flügel are also very strong, meaning promotion should be more than a dream for this team. They’ve also got the sprinters who can hunt stage wins in whatever stage race they participate in, meaning they will score a nice amount of points from flat stages too.
Kai Reus, a Dutch time trialist. He will have a lot of pressure on him ahead of this season. He came as a free agent, and is no doubt a great rider for Volkswagen – Siemens. He should be able to deliver podium placings in stage races which suits him; like Bayern Rundfahrt, Tour de Limousin and Tour of Czech Republic. Together with Schädlich, they will most likely be favourites for Duo Normand. I predict Reus to have an outstanding season, achieving 4 of Volkswagen – Siemens’ 5 team goals.
Marco Marzano came to the team in the final days of the transfer season. A Spanish climber who could see this season being his last at top notch. He will surely be on fire, no rider wants to end their career bad. And he has every chance to shine in mountainous stage races. Though, he might suffer from the strong competition it looks to be in the mountains in this year’s Continental Division. He won’t have too many race days neither, so he has to perform in the races he is picked for, if he doesn’t, it may be a major blow to Volkswagen – Siemens promotion hopes.
Vadim Ratiy has all the skills to be a dominant stage racer in the Continental Division. He’s a great climber, but he also has a decent time trial, meaning he has to be dropped by other climbers in the high mountains, and that will be easier said than done! He also has decent secondary stats, and with 50 race days, he will be a pain in the ass for many through the season. At a wage of only 114 500€, he’s certainly good value.
Aleksandar Flügel is their last leader, and he will lead their hilly campaign. He won’t have much support though, but judging from MTN Cycling Classic, that suits him perfectly well. A very attacking puncheur, who also will get his chance in Giro d’Italia this year, to be reach his full potential, which should mean he would be a great threat to anyone in the Pro Tour next season, if everything goes as planned. He had a good season last year, ending 34th on the rankings, he should be able to do even better this year.
Their sprinters will mostly be stage hunters. Ratiy and Marzano will be in a lot of stage races in total, and Heine should hope that Loddo, Sabatini or Förster can pick up the flatter stages there. They definitely have the abilities needed, the positioning is the only thing which might give them problems.
Summary of the team: Definitely a team that will challenge for promotion. Many clever signings in the transfer season gave the team 4 new leaders, and they should all be better than last year’s leader. Marzano might turn out to be the make or break man. Ratiy with his many race days should be safe of bringing a decent amount of points to the team. I’m more unsure about Marzano though, he will need to race the races where the biggest stars for mountains don’t participate, if he’s going to be of real value for the team. But all in all, definitely heading for promotion, I’ll think they will end up on the podium at the end of the season.
We have leaders, what do you have? Edited by ember on 02-08-2011 13:48
Final predictions for the Continental Division, 2012
1. Team Bianchi
2. Volkswagen – Siemens
3. T.CS Bank – OJSC Rosneft
4. Vespa – Aprilia – De Rosa
5. Pokerstars.com
6. Rapha Condor - Qhubeka
7. Jayco - Redbull
8. Team Venchi Procycling
9. Pirelli – Alfa Romeo
10. Proximus - Trek
11. Aker Solutions - Bergans
12. Emu – Export
13. California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized
14. Bimbo Nutella
15. Team Bpost
16. Unicredit
17. Team Puma - SAP
18. Team Trilux - Falke
19. Saab - Scania
20. Team CSC - Orbea
21. Team WWE
22. Hollister Pro Cycling
23. Cerne
24. Cyclevox
25. Ferrari - ERG
26. Team Rothaus - Aegon
27. Koppert Cycling Team
28. Focused Cycling
29. Meiji - Fuji
30. Oz Cycling Project
I expect the top 3 teams to go really close. I’ve listed Team Bianchi as favourites, but they can’t have much bad luck before Volkswagen – Siemens and Tinkoff are all over them. Behind those three teams, I think 4 teams will go even closer for the next 4 spots. I’ve ranked Vespa first of them, I believe Carrara and Bosisio could go well this season, and Ginanni will be the dominating man on hills, except for Valverde. Pokerstars.com as 5th is probably a surprise to most of you. But if they can sprint just as good as last year, I think they stand a good chance, mainly due to Rujano, though, that’s one of my many long shots. Rapha Condor should pick up lots of points on the hills, adding Blythe to the mix gives them a 6th place in the end. Again, that might be a surprise, especially because I’ve ranked them ahead of Jayco – Redbull. They have lots of possible point scorers, but there’s none who could really stand up and bring them lots of points.
Team Venchi Procycling will be the surprise this year, thanks to Di Maggio’s breakthrough. I could actually see them go really close to Jayco – Redbull, but they will probably end just behind. Pirelli – Alfa Romeo will take lots of points in stage races, and Roche should also grab a good amount on the hills. They could go on and promote, but I’ve put them in 9th, mainly because they are missing good sprinters, and Roche can’t cover all hilly classics. I think Proximus – Trek will be the last team inside top 10. Valverde, Cavendish and Ben Nasser should ensure that, I can’t see them go any higher though, due to Valverde’s limited race days.
It’s a nightmare to predict places from 11th to 18th. It feels like it is a lottery between those teams. I’ve ranked my own team as 11th, I have to thrust Alarcon, Roux and the other climbers, as I’ve truly screwed up Larsson’s race plan. He isn’t in a single race which suits him. So, 11 th might be overoptimistic, just like 8th for Team Venchi Procycling might be. 12th, 13th and 14th goes to Emu – Export, California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized and Bimbo Nutella. They are all similar to each other. Great depth in certain terrains, Emu – Export and California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized for the mountains, Bimbo Nutella the same. Team Bpost, the team for cobbles, rounds of top 15. Thanks to the cobbled classics and the combination of Vanendert and Gautier for the hills.
UniCredit mainly needs to thrust their sprinters for points, but they could also grab a decent amount of them on hills and time trials. I’ve guessed them to end 16th. Team Puma – SAP is my prediction for 17th, they could both go higher and lower, much is up to Bennati and his performances. 18th goes to Team Trilux – Falke, they should get a lot of points from the hills, but not much more than that. Saab – Scania ends in 19th, thanks to their Scandinavian trio, who will bring in most of their points. Team WWE and Team CSC – Orbea are very similar teams. Built for mountains and attacking there. I think Team CSC – Orbea will edge out the wrestlers, thanks to Anton, who should prove useful. For Team WWE, they could potentially get a lot of points from breakaways, but that’s always hard to predict.
For the bottom third, I have Hollister Pro Cycling in 22nd. Definitely a surprise, but I somehow think Davis will fall through this season, which leaves them with relatively few points. Cerne (or should I say Luis Leon?) grabs 23rd. Most of their points will come from Luis Leon, but their Brazilian should also be able to grab a couple of them. Cyclevox will avoid bottom 5 thanks to Casar, Van der Velde, Konovalovas and one of their sprinters, ending 24th. 25th, and just avoiding bottom 5 will be Ferrari – ERG. They lack point scorers behind Caruso, which should mean problems through the season.
Team Rothaus – Aegon will end 26th, but I might be very wrong on this one. They “only” need Boom and Vantomme to be successive, and suddenly they will fight for top 15. Koppert Cycling Team has a great team for the cobbles, but not much more, giving them 27th in the end. Focused Cycling’s points will heavily rely on Roy. They have to hope he can get them higher than 28th. Meiji – Fuji and Oz Cycling Project will fight to avoid last place, and I think Meiji – Fuji gets away from it, thanks to their many sprinters, who should bring them a fair amount of points. Someone has to be predicted last, and I guess Oz Cycling Project will end last this season. They have to hope Cooke proves me wrong.
Random thoughts at the end (without further explanation):
Winner of the individual ranking: Alejandro Valverde Team with most wins: Team Puma – SAP Rider with most wins: Peter Kennaugh Most valuable rider (points/wage): Dimitri Claeys The most expensive rider (points/wage): George Bennett Surprise of the year (rider): Cesare Di Maggio Biggest disappointment of the season (rider): Gustav Larsson Most attacking rider: Thomas Voeckler, Team WWE The rider getting most attention from PT teams ahead of next season: Daniele Bennati
Edited by ember on 02-08-2011 16:00
A good read. I like the one-liners at the end. "As long as the road rises, we don’t care!" - Pretty much nails my philosophy of selecting races this season
6 new teams has been written about, they are Ferrari – ERG, Focused Cycling, Hollister Pro Cycling, Jayco – Red Bull, Koppert Cycling Team and Meiji – Fuji. Hope you can enjoy what's written on them.
Loved the preview. Its nice to hear we have another fan, although you probably wont have too much to cheer about, atleast this season anyway, but I already have plans for next season (Oh and dont worry its staying Asian)
Keep up the good work I'm loving these.
Edited by valverde321 on 31-07-2011 22:25
So you rate Caruso higher than Cunego, who was also a free agent . Though of course Caruso is the Italian champion.
Already after two sprints I am pleased with my decision to back the sprinters to come back to form, though I don't think my roster is the only one with lots of sprinters. I was surprised in transfer season truth be told at some of the relatively cheap prices that decent punchaers went for. I got a bit sidetracked going barmy about snapping up one or two Frenchies and allowed my focus to slip away from two or three riders I had in mind.
Not sure I see any advantage whatsoever in not spending as close to your 2,500,000 wage as you can get!
Keep up the good work
