Hello everyone and welcome to the annual team presentation here in the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. We will be presenting our team's new jerseys, new goals and, of course, our riders.
First of all let me thank the sponsors and the team director for thinking about me to lead the team once he heard that Orbea wanted to take this team once step further than being the feeder team for the Euskaltel-Euskadi ProTeam. I am truly honoured, and hope to fulfil your goals as much as possible.
...
But now, on to the real deal, let me introduce you our riders for the 2012 season.
Hector Guerra, returning from a doping suspension after a postive CERA test during the Volta a Portugal back in 2009, has changed his thoughts about how cycling would be, and would like to prove that he can also be successful without performance enhancing drugs. His qualities as mountain goat, puncheur and time trialler will surely assure him of the lead role in any race he rides. He also hopes to be a good example to our young riders.
Jesus del Nero returns to Orbea Continental after his fairly successful season there back in 2005, when came 6th in the Tour de l'Avenir. Like Guerra, he can also come up with some results on all kinds of terrain. He can even sprint if needed. After a rather lacklustre year at NetApp in 2012, he hopes to improve this year and maybe even win a stage race.
Diego Milan and Joaquin Sobrino will be looking for wins in the flatter races this season. Both are quite fast in a sprint and could win a few stages.
All the other riders will mainly support our leaders and learn what riding in the pro peleton is all about, hoping to eventually get picked up by one of the ProConti or even World Tour teams. Surely they will get a lot of freedom to go in breaks etc. too.
As for the sponsor goals, Orbea hasn't been very generous, they're expecting quite a lot from us in 2012, but I'm positive the riders will be able to achieve them.
Top 10 in Vuelta a Mallorca (06/02) Stage win(s) in Tour of Qatar (06/02) Top 10 in Vuelta ao Algarve (16/02) Top 10 in Vuelta a Andalucia (20/02) Top 10 in Criterium International (25/03)
Interestingly all these goals are quite early on in the season, so we'll have to make sure everyone is in tip top condition very early.
The most important race is, of course, the Vuelta al Pais Vaco (or Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia if you prefer) but unfortunately the UCI has decided not to let Continental teams ride WorldTour events, so our chances of participation there are quite small; and likewise for riding in La Vuelta, one of the most prestigious races in Europe. Still, we're hoping for a miracle...
In the long term however, Orbea has much bigger goals for us. As Euskaltel will stop sponsoring their cycling team after this season, they are looking at us to replace them as World Tour team by 2015..
Technical Details:
Database: PCMdaily DB 2012 Public Beta (PCMdaily's DBs are the best after all..)
Evolution of attributes: 0.7 (just cuz' I can, and because I like quick progress)
Random potential: YES (Bernie Sulzberger with 83 Sprint in 2014, anyone? It's fun!)
Difficulty level (Career): EASY
Difficulty level (Gameplay): NORMAL (you don't really expect me to go HARD or EXTREME with this team, do you?)
I hope you'll enjoy reading the reports.. they'll come soon.
For many Australian riders the Nationals are a good way to test their legs before the Tour Down Under, but still, many will be hoping to take a win or a podium.
Results:
Road Race: 1. Cadel Evans (BMC), 2. Heinrich Haussler (Garmin), 3. Simon Gerrans (Sky)
ITT: Rory Sutherland (UHC), 2., Richie Porte (Sky) 3. Michael Rogers (Sky)
Nice result here for the aging but still very successful Evans in the RoadRace, and also a great result for UHC and Sutherland in the ITT. He will be happy for sure! Is Evans not being in the Top 3 in the ITT a sign of less concentration on timetrialling? Who knows..
Overview
Well, as a Spanish team we couldn't refuse the offer to start our season in the fifth Tour de San Luis in Argentina, especially as many of our riders will have to be in good form very early.
It's a decent field this year, but perhaps not as good as one might expect. Contenders for the overall crown should be Brajkovic (Astana), Vicioso or Florencio (Katusha), Rory Sutherland (UHC), the new Aussie TT champion and even Serpa from Androni and Duarte of Colombia-Coldeportes. Nevertheless, it could go to someone completely unknown too, as there are usually a lot of strong winds and early form is something strange..
Our team
Jose del Nero will lead our team here, he should be able to achieve a Top 10 overall, with his decent climbing and TT'ing skills. As for the others, they're all free to go in breakaways, but their best chance of media attention is going for the lanterne rouge, I think..
Stages 1 and 2 will be up soon!
Edited by CasperVg on 07-02-2012 15:21
A stage for the sprinters to start the season for most riders. That KOM sprint won't really bother the fast men, as it's still far from the finish. Wind, however, might be a factor.
Starting the season in style in Argentina!
Two of our riders immediately come to the front, proud to show of their jersey's and equipment for this season.
A break was formed, with Aberasturi in it for us. They got a decent gap of 5 minutes, but were eventually reeled in by the pack, led by 1t4i and UHC. The fast pace produced a lot of splits, and only Del Nero managed to stay in the front group until the end.. A sprint is imminent.
And so it happens, it's Kevin Lacombe (Spidertech) who takes it, ahead of Vicioso (Katusha) and Gatto (Farnese). Bit of fail from 1t4i, who left Degenkolb alone in the wind way to early and he thus finished 8th. The again, he still finished way better than Del Nero, who was completely exhausted and finished in 44th position.
Stage 2: La Punta - El Trapiche
The hilltop finish should seperate the in-form riders from the rest for the first time. A puncheur or even a climber should win this..
After a chaotic start a BOTD of 11 riders finally forms, with two of our riders in it. Neither can really challenge the first sprint point though (they are at the back of the picture). Johan Coenen (Differdange) wins it.
Bagües was unlucky in the first KOM sprint, getting 4th, which means no points for him. Strongman Coenen also wins this.
Frustrated, he decides to go for it on his own with 40 kilometers remaining. The breakaway reels him in with 20 km to go, unfortunately.
The pack, led by Spidertech and UHC, is in full chase mode now. Del Nero still feeling well.
As we hit El Mirador, the MTF, the breakaway is reeled in. Del Nero in a perfect position, behind two Orbea riders, right now. Florencio of Katusha is also feeling good apparently.
As Florencio attacks, Del Nero tries to counter but fails to catch up. He did gap the other favourites tho. Florencio is riding away quickly tho, can anyone still catch him with roughly 2km to go?
No, they can't. A very nice solo win for Florencio. He will also take over the general classification from Lacombe.
Only Kessiakoff (Astana) manages to catch up with Del Nero, a few meters before the line. Still, a very nice and well deserved 3rd place for Del Nero in this hard race. He's in a good position for the overall now!
Results:
Spoiler
Stage 1:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Keven Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
3h31'50
2
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
s.t.
3
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
4
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
s.t.
5
Mauro Abel Richeze
Team Nippo
s.t.
6
Russell Downing
Endura Racing
s.t.
7
Jure Kocjan
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
8
John Degenkolb
Project 1t4i
s.t.
9
Alexei Markov
RusVelo
s.t.
10
Roberto Ferrari
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
Stage 2:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
4h21'29
2
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'56
3
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
s.t.
4
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 2'19
5
Karsten Kroon
Team Saxo Bank
+ 2'26
6
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'35
7
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'41
8
Keven Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
s.t.
9
Robinson Chalapud
Colombia - Coldeportes
+ 3'02
10
Bartosz Huzarski
Team NetApp
s.t.
General Classification (after 2 stages):
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
7h52'59
2
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'04
3
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 2'08
4
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 2'39
5
Keven Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
+ 2'41
6
Karsten Kroon
Team Saxo Bank
+ 2'46
7
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'55
8
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 3'01
9
Johan Coenen
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
+ 3'16
10
Bartosz Huzarski
Team NetApp
+ 3'18
Minor Classifications: Points: Florencio at 39 points.
KOM: Florencio at 16 points.
Young: Ilnur Zakarin of Itera-Katusha (15th in all GC)
Thank you everyone for the nice comments. Dienblad: Thanks for that suggestion, I'll keep it in mind
Stage 3: Buena Esperanza - Villa Mercedes
This one is clearly a stage for the sprinters again. No real difficulties ahead, except perhaps the wind?
The peleton is admiring the view in Argentina. Some riders try to break away from the start.
1t4i and Endura Racing keep the advantage of the break in check. We didn't bother to go in the break, saving energy for later on.
British hopeful Ian Bibby of Endura leads the peleton over the sprint prime, won by Sergey Rudaskov of Itera-Katusha from the break.
Once the break was reeled in again, 1t4i formed their train; hoping that their sprinter, Degenkolb, will do better this time..
Del Nero decided to hang on to the wheel of Florencio, who was following Downing himself. Two big trains remain, one for Lacombe of Spidertech and one by Endura by Downing.
It's an exciting sprint, and Downing wins it, edging out Lacombe. Del Nero did well, but got boxed in by Florencio, so he couldn't finish better than 8th. Still, a decent result again. Florencio keeps the lead, and gains a few bonus seconds with his 3rd place as well.
Stage 4: San Luis - San Luis I.T.T.
Today's ITT is an interesting one; the cyclists will ride up and back an avenue in central San Luis. At just 11km, the time differences shouldn't be too big, but still this ITT might decide who'll win the 2012 Tour de San Luis.
A few early starters, who have lost time in the earlier stages. Kai Reus, the Dutch hope who had to leave cycling for awhile due to a major injury, does a decent time, coming in as 30th at +36s. Duarte already failed in the MTF and he disappoints again today. He becomes 67th at +57s. Clearly he doesn't have any early season form. Danish trackie Michael Morkov does well on this fast parcours, coming in as 10th at +16th to the winner.
Ilnur Zakarin hopes to defend his Young Riders jersey, and does so succesfully (50th at +48s). Fresh Aussie ITT champion is keen to show his new jersey and he seems to be in great form, as he slots in as preliminary second place, 3s behind Franco-Hungarian ITT-specialist Lazlo Bodrogi. But Bodrogi is quickly pushed out of the top spot by Janez Brajkovic of Astana, coming in at a new best time of 25'39. Maybe he can finally deliver his potential this season?
Stage 1 winner Kevin Lacombe is still quite close in the GC, but he'll need a very good TT to keep that. He does pretty well, coming 12th at +18s. As for the top 3, our own Del Nero (on an Euskaltel TT bike, we're too poor for own TT bikes ) does a decent job in this ITT, but we secretly expected more perhaps. He comes in as 6th in +8s to Brajkovic, losing 2s to GC's 2nd, Kessiakoff, who is 5th. And, last but not least, Xavier Florencio, the MTF winner. He isn't really known for his time trialling, but manages to limit his losses, coming in 23th at +30s to the winner, Brajkovic. He manages to defend his position nicely!
Results:
Spoiler
Stage 3:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Downing
Endura
2h33'12
2
Lacombe
Spidertech
s.t.
3
Florencio
Katusha
s.t.
Sorry, game crashed, couldn't export.
Stage 4:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
25'39
2
Laszló Bodrogi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 3
3
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Mads Christensen
Team Saxo Bank
+ 5
5
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 6
6
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 8
7
Tom Stamsnijder
Project 1t4i
+ 9
8
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 10
9
Gustavo César Veloso
Andalucía
+ 12
10
Michael Mørkøv
Team Saxo Bank
+ 16
General Classification (after 2 stages):
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
12h02'56
2
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'48
3
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 1'54
4
Keven Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
+ 2'25
5
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'33
6
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'42
7
Karsten Kroon
Team Saxo Bank
+ 3'03
8
Russell Downing
Endura Racing
+ 3'08
9
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 3'32
10
Marc De Maar
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 3'41
Minor Classifications: Points: Lacombe at 57 points.
KOM: Florencio at 16 points.
Young: Ilnur Zakarin of Itera-Katusha (16th in all GC)
Hope you're looking forward to the next update Edited by CasperVg on 07-02-2012 19:58
Stage 5: Capital del Marmol Onix - Merlo/El Mirador (MTF)
A stage for the puncheurs, with a nasty finish on top of a climb. Should be one for the overall contenders.
A break is allowed to go from the start; representing Orbea is Igor Merino. Other known riders are Rubens Bertogliati of TeamType1 and Anders Lund of SaxoBank.
Fast forwarding a little, it's Koen de Kort of 1t4i who gives it a go, attacking from ~30km out.
He was reeled back in pretty quickly, but it seems as if the breakaway will make it! As Florencio attacks to make sure Anders Lund will not overtake him in the GC, Jesus Del Nero jumps onto his wheel immediately. Unfortunately he doesn't have a good day, and has to let go of Florencio's wheel soon after that effort.
Unfortunately Igor Merino had to let go of his breakaway companions, but still managed to finish ahead of Del Nero, just behind Koen de Kort. Today's winner is Bertogliati though (no picture, woops!) Anders Lund is second, 24s behind Bertogliati and jumps to 3rd overall. As you can see Del Nero was completely exhausted and finished as 15th, 4'37" behind Bertogliati. He therefore slips back to 6th overall. Still, it's a respectable position.
Stage6: La Heurtita - La Carolina
With two big climbs ahead this is certainly the "queen" stage of this TdSL. Still, a good breakaway might just win it again, like yesterday.
Break of the day; we sent Carlos Barbero in it. He's having great legs today, so..
First sign of the great legs, Barbero wins the first, minor, KOM sprint.
Barbero isn't as lucky on the second, much more important (16 points), KOM-sprint however, he gets second place, behind Robert Partridge of Endura.
As race radio's were not allowed, our team-mates in the pack did initially not know Barbero was in the break.. so they tried hard to reel it back in. Woops!
As the pack approaches the final climb, Jesus Del Nero knows he'll have to go early to make up yesterday's lost time. He looks good at first..
But he simply isn't good enough, the Katusha/Astana train easily catch up with him and leave him behind, struggling.
Therefore Carlos Barbero, still feeling quite well, tries everything to help his leader, dragging him up the mountain. To no avail, as they will never get back..
With just a few kilometers to go, German Reto Hollenstein of NetApp, who was already in the BOTD, attacks out of the Florencio/Kessiakoff group.
To no avail, they easily overtake Hollenstein and in the sprint Florencio shows why he is leading the GC here, by easily taking his second stage win; ahead of Kessiakoff and Moreno.
Del Nero once again loses time to Florencio, finishing as 13th, 3'03" behind the GC leader. He manages to keep 6th in GC though.
Results:
Spoiler
Stage 5:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
4h16'29
2
Anders Lund
Team Saxo Bank
+ 24
3
Sergey Rudaskov
Itera - Katusha
+ 1'24
4
Diego Tamayo
Team WIT
+ 1'32
5
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
+ 2'02
6
Karsten Kroon
Team Saxo Bank
+ 3'25
7
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
s.t.
8
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
9
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
10
Koen De Kort
Project 1t4i
+ 3'44
11
Igor Merino
Orbea Continental
+ 3'58
...
15
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 4'37
Stage 6:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
25'39
2
Laszló Bodrogi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 3
3
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Mads Christensen
Team Saxo Bank
+ 5
5
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 6
6
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 8
7
Tom Stamsnijder
Project 1t4i
+ 9
8
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 10
9
Gustavo César Veloso
Andalucía
+ 12
10
Michael Mørkøv
Team Saxo Bank
+ 16
General Classification (after 6 stages):
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
21h59'41
2
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 3'46
3
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 7'38
4
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
+ 7'40
5
Anders Lund
Team Saxo Bank
+ 7'50
6
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 7'52
7
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 8'18
8
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 8'59
9
José Serpa
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 9'32
10
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
+ 10'00
Minor Classifications: Points: Florencio at 92 points (33 points ahead of Kessiakoff)
KOM: Florencio at 34 points
Young: Fabio Felline (GC 31st)
A sprinters stage to round up this year's Tour de San Luis. Still, there's a lot left to go for, as the two intermediate sprints and finish bonifications could mean anyone in the Top 6 could crawl onto the podium, as it's very close there. Jesus knows this and would certainly want a Podium here..
Everyone is ready for the start..
A BOTD quickly forms - we didn't bother sending someone in it, as we'll need everyone we can to help defend/improve Jesus' GC position.
For some reason Katusha really does not like this strong breakaway (Duarte, Serpa in it, for example) and reel it back in a few kilometers before the second sprint prime. Sensing his opportunity, Del Nero goes all out for this sprint, and takes 1st place, 6 bonus seconds and 6 sprint points. This already puts him in 5th position, relegating Lund (SaxoBank) to 6th. Strangely no-one else really seemed to bother, perhaps they are exhausted or just dumb?
We're getting closer to the finish now, and it appears we'll get a very disorganised sprint, as many GC people also want a good finish. Jesus tries his best to stay in the front rows, he needs to win this to get onto the podium..
One kilometre to go, Jesus in a decent position after sucking Florencio's wheel, as we didn't have the manpower to set up our own train. Is Jesus the new Leipheimer?
He is surely trying to win this stage, an incredible burst of speed here. Stage 1 winner Keven Lacombe of Spidertech is close tho.
But no, a truly wonderful result for Jesus Del Nero as he wins this stage, gets 20 bonus seconds and therefore jumps to 3rd in the GC! What a day for Orbea Continental! The unlucky fellows that lose a place are Vicioso (Katusha), Brajkovic (Astana) and Lund (Saxobank). Second goes to Lacombe, who doesn't take over the points jersey from Florencio tho, and third goes to Aussie ITT Champ Rory Sutherland of UHC.
Results:
Spoiler
Stage 7:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
4h33'14
2
Keven Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
s.t.
3
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Cristiano Benenati
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
5
Mauro Abel Richeze
Team Nippo
s.t.
6
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
s.t.
7
José Serpa
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
8
Michael Mørkøv
Team Saxo Bank
s.t.
9
René Mandri
Endura Racing
s.t.
10
Roger Kluge
Project 1t4i
s.t.
General Classification (after 7 stages, final):
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
26h32'55
2
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 3'46
3
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
+ 7'26
4
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 7'38
5
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
+ 7'40
6
Anders Lund
Team Saxo Bank
+ 7'50
7
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 8'18
8
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 8'51
9
José Serpa
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 9'32
10
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
+ 10'00
Points/Sprint Jersey:
Rank
Name
Team
General
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
102
2
Keven Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
77
3
Jesús Del Nero
Orbea Continental
70
4
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
63
5
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
51
Mountain Jersey:
Rank
Name
Team
General
1
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
34
2
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
22
3
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
20
4
Robert Partridge
Endura Racing
20
5
Carlos Barbero
Orbea Continental
18
Team Classification
Rank
Team
General Time
1
Katusha Team
79h54'10 (1)
2
Astana Pro Team
+ 6'52 (2)
3
Team Saxo Bank
+ 15'15 (3)
Young Riders
1
Fabio Felline
26h48'41 (1)
2
Troels R. Vinther
+ 1'22 (2)
3
David Boily
+ 2'53 (3)
The Tour Down Under is the first WorldTour event of the year, and there are complaints about the ease of the parcours every year, but it's a good way for sprinters to test their legs ahead of the 2012 season.
Results: Stage 1: 1. T. Farrar (Garmin) - 2. A. Greipel (Lotto) - 3. T. Bos (Rabo) > Overall: T. Farrar Stage 2: 1. G. Ciolek (OmegaQuickstep) - 2. T. Farrar (Garmin) - 3. H. Haussler (Garmin) > Overall: T. Farrar Stage 3: 1. 1. T. Farrar (Garmin) - 2. A. Greipel (Lotto) - 3. T. Bos (Rabo) (again) > Overall: T. Farrar Stage 4: 1. B. Lancaster (Garmin) - 2. M. Kohler (BMC) - 3. N. Roche (AG2R) > Overall: T. Farrar Stage 5: 1. J. Roy (FDJ) - 2. I. Gutierrez (Euskaltel) +50s - 3. J. Vansummeren (Garmin) s.t. > Overall: J. Roy Stage 6: ? ? ?
Overall it looks like a good TdU for Garmin, too bad they couldn't grab the orange jersey in Stage 5 with Vansummren tho. Great start of the season for Farrar!
Next up is the Tour de Langkawi! Hope you're looking forward to it.
Layout and pictures are great, I don´t just understand why you have chosen this really cool small CT team and then made an immediate boost by signing of strong free agents. I´m afraid this story is going to be about successes of Guerra, Del Nerro, ocasionally Milan and Sobrino and that´s it. Nothing about real Orbea Anyway, good luck.
beagle wrote:
Layout and pictures are great, I don´t just understand why you have chosen this really cool small CT team and then made an immediate boost by signing of strong free agents. I´m afraid this story is going to be about successes of Guerra, Del Nerro, ocasionally Milan and Sobrino and that´s it. Nothing about real Orbea Anyway, good luck.
Heya, I see what you mean and I have to say I really wondered what to do after I set up the team. The sponsor goals seemed impossible to achieve without some sort of new signings, and I thought the story might be very boring to follow with the best rider AVG 66, which would mean he could at max go for 30th overall and, on a good day, perhaps finish in top 15 in a bunch sprint.
Personally, I don't really have a problem with that, and I personally find Del Nero's results a bit over the top right now myself, but like I said I'm not sure whether it would be really interesting to follow.
One option is to keep only Del Nero in the team, in a sort of McEwen-like "trainer" role inside the team (he had a good result, and just him in it will mean there'll be plenty of races where only the youngsters will ride), and find some sort of 'elegant' exit for Sobrino, Guerra (a known dopeur on a development/feeder team isn't the best idea anyhow) and Milan.
I played once with small German CT, all the time trying to sneak to the right breakaway and steal victory (only possible way how to take some). I didn´t succeed in 1st season (extreme difficulty), taking few podium places, but it was really challenging and fun to play I don´t know, if this stuff is interesting enough for story though...I believe it is and you´ll prove I´m right in this story
Anyway, good luck.
