Compal Merida have risen from the ashes of the PFG Armavia team that for two years have been bringing up the rear. Though I am not sure all lessons have been learned with some high wages paid for riders who really don't look worth the mustard. Nelson for 225K is surprising and so it 400K for Hong Kong climber Choi. You just want to scream to be more selective but Bjartne seems hell bent on gathering as many cyclists as he can. I think they will avoid the bottom rung for once - but only just!

Team Kenya Airways look a bit stronger than Project:Africa but I think they have placed a little too much faith in Ben Nasser who is undoubtably the star of the team with Samwel, Gasparotto and Wegmann all risky investments. In short I don't really fancy either of those three to do that well which adds up to a pretty miserable season. Of course much like the other two African based teams the team is built with one eye on the future and with Kudos they certainly have that.

Boeing-Bulgaria likewise seemed pretty set before transfer season on what their end outcome was likely to be. They feel lightweight as well with really just Panayotov abnd Thomas at the head - neither really feel as if they can win things. Thomas just maybe could land a classic or two but that is about it. The likes of Lloyd and Izagirre are okay riders, but as you might expect the rest of the Bulgarians are not reallu up to it. Caleb Ewan will take a few years to get to any decent level, certainly this year the team look weak.

Aiden seemed to spend a lot of time in his team HQ talking of his plans for this season, I'll admit that I threw a monkey wrench in there by selling a certain South African to the highest bidder. But therein lies the problem it seems that Project:Africa really are hell bent on being a fully African squad. This fell away however with Maksimov rushed in to match up alongside A number of other sprinters and low level climbers. Augustyn captains the team, it seems some time ago now that Augustyn lined up in the Red Bull 2011 team. He has improved since then but still is not the best rider to lead the line.

Belarusbank are my tip for the bottom rung, of course they were a pretty weak CTour team so asking them to make the grade was very difficult. Hutarovich and Kiryenka were drafted in to the pleasing of the sponsers but Napolitano and Ignatiev they are not. The big star of this outfit is Cavendish, a curious fit perhaps and Cav has a strange mercenery like nature in the Mangame his previous two teams have disbanded I really hope that doesn't happen here. Not quite sure what he has done in the last three seasons in PCT to deserve the whopping 650K salary but I am sure the big ego'd Manxman will not complain. Thorsen and Kankovsky are Bos like duds by the way.

Hornbach as UPC did have a few more stage racer types, but they seem to have abandoned that now in favour of a fully blown flat-cobbled squad. Franzoi is possibly the best cobblestone man in the PCT so that should reap dividends but I am unconvinced about any of their fast men. Much like last year I think they will be staring at faster sprinters butts most of the time. Still they could very well dominate on the cobbles so there is that.

Mobil fall into that CT category of half decent climbing squad from there into low level climbing squad in PCT. They have bought in Granjel Cabrera who is a nice sprinter, and Pedraza comes in with a fairly reasonable wage. I think better riders could have come in however and ultimately I think this team will not win too many races. Rather like Repsol they found it tough to get much value from the free agency and subsequently have a below par squad.

Kappa have paid a huge PCT 940K for Pozzovivo who with just 36 race days is admittedly no stranger to ploughing the Continental tour. 34 year old veteran Marzano has seen better days and the ludicrous 300K Gatto is a very average punchy sprinter who will need the right races to get something happening. I rather fancy he will usually lose out to faster guys. This Italian side has got stuck in the nationality bubble I fear and as a result has lost out to some of their other promoting CT rivals and could slip dangerously close to the dreaded relagation battle.

Repsol once again make no bones about their attraction to stage racing, despite having a very low points yield in 2013 with this strategy. Kiserlowski joins Kashechkin and the army of south Americans as this former CDiv2 team continue to work on their South American dynasty. A little like Kappa in that they really have attempted to keep their geography of squad in tact at the expense of getting a decent all round team. They were hardly helped by a huge dose of CT Americas teams joining in 2014. I think it is going to be slightly improved in 2014, but they really need to become a little less one dimensional in my opinion.

Privatbank have a few more sprinting heavy hitters but do not have a lot else and I do think their sprinters Vaitkus, Greipel, Vanoverschelde and Ulanowski could struggle to win that often. Greipel was always okay at WWE but could not lift a middling team, and this is what Privatbank are at the moment. When a team talks a fair bit about how good their C2 team is you realise their ambitions for where it really counts in PCT is a bit low.

The Nepomnyachsniy twins dominate the team formerly known as Cisco who have undergone radical change from 2013 and 2014. This Italian/Kazach based squad have a decent all round depth and could do better than I am predicting. I look at this team though I don't really see much other than Yevgeni Nepomnyachsniy to get excited about. Shushemoin is their best punchaer and he is second rate and sprinter Mezgec gets lost in the pack of hilly sprinters somewhat. I do think this a team one season away from having a really strong PCT squad and this year will be all about steady upward progress.

It is a similar story for AMEX, who at times skirted dangerously near the lower reaches of the team standings last year. This time out Kump and Mehr-Wenige have been worthwhile acquisition with versitile cobblers Breschel and Eisel kept. I think this team will focus on classics and hilly stage races, this team have also built up a decent array of German talents with VW and Rothaus going up to the Protour this is a welcome development. I think AMEX may still find it tough though to score well throughout the season, their main sprint Grillo is certainly not a guaranteed winner neither is Mehr-Wenige really.

Karcher Adira have done okay in transfers too, though I think Karpets and Davis have seen better days. Gerdemann and McEvoy should be decent value if spread around, I have this feeling this team will find the right races this year to sneak into this category from lower down which I was tempted to stick them. Team have retained a fair few of their Portuguese imports, but you still feel this team is a little old age.

Bellis and Vanderbiest are two top quality ManGame names who are probably expected to bring the house down. I don't quite see things going that way - Bellis seemed somehow marked out of races last year and Vanderbiest could suffer from the sprinter fest in PCT. Marc Machado is a bit of a punt who knows this team could go well and I'll be honest I am finding them difficult to place. For now I think like AMEX and Kazzinc this team look a year away from challenging for promotion spots.

Allianz are yet another team to go for that top punchaer, top sprinter combo and another who I am finding difficult to place. Roy, Maes, Kangert, Richeze and Castaneda are all good riders who are capable of decent placings the team though feels like it is just slightly soft in comparison to those I expect to place in the top 15. The two sprinters I just don't feel are quite there, Kangert definately is just a tad overwaged. This leaves Roy and Maes who both flatter to decieve in their terrains. I think Allianz have done a good job in transfers but are just below that top 15 range.

CSC are vastly improved their squad after a piss poor 2013 in which it was pointed out to me how limited their climbing sqaud was. Joining their expensive and strange punchaer Barrio and star rider Abal is some great experience in Cobo, Abal, Ventoso, Lloret, Serpa, J Rod, Plaza and De La Fuente. A number of these riders come from formerly promoting teams and with the right luck CSC could be up there with the contenders. I'll be a little more circumspect the old legs will not quite do it but should be an exciting year from them.

La Vie Claire came into the transfer season loooking to completely revamp their team and quite frustratingly elevated the price I had to pay for Coppel to large levels. In a way I think it was good for them that they were able to spread the money on two great riders in Gautier and Ellisonde instead. Reus is a very decent TT/stage racer with the likes of Haussler and Maillet decent grabs from the free agency also. I think the manager can plan a good season, so this team should stick out of the pack a bit.

Magna may be the quiet achievers of 2014, on twittersphere Count is calling for surprise promotion and this is not totally out of the question. This is a nice deep team with plenty of solid riders, some will bemoan lack of leaders but leaders have a tendency to lack the race days and go for ridiculous wages. Magna meanwhile have accumulated a massive bunch of secondary riders that could really keep the points flowing. I don't quite have the full faith in this team I just feel that PCT is just that bit stronger then it has been in the past.

Swedbank have been around for a while and I am happy to see that they have got a nice squad for 2014, after a pretty low key campaign in 2013. Loaning in Skujins adds to a very exciting climbing squad with Hoogerland, Hermans and Lovkvist this team have kept their best riders and improved their squad around the fringes. I think they are a year off promotion but they really are going to get closer.

FCB Polska are a bit of a wildcard pick from me for a top 15 place, I think Nazaret and Betancourt were pretty decent signings though. If you are going to splash out it is best to try and get a guy who will be good for 3 - 4 years and both these two should be that. They are pretty limited I will admit but I just see Nazaret and Betancourt nabbing some really good results and the climbers filling in a bit more gaps then people think they will.

When it comes to race planning who knows better than SN himself and with Jaguar 2014 I think this team will be in and around the top 10 - even if promotion for this African bunch is a remote possibility (Vesuvio would have to either relegate or disband). Dowsett should have a fun year fully let loose as the hilly leader alongside stage racer Bibby and exciting Eritrean climber Berhane - a great bargain free agent buy. Things will depend on who turns up at what race but SN's teams always seem to come out of it well.

Team Puma SAP have gone full developmental with Silvio Herklotz and Gerald Ciolek joining the squad. Two years ago they very successfully used Daniele Benneti to catapult themselves into the Protour, now they are looking cheifly to support Ciolek as their main source of points. For me Ciolek is the best sprinter in the PCT and will score well this year. This could well lead to a surprise promotion challenge by the team for the future. Nerz, Kelderman and Vogt areready to fight for decent placings - of course this team is not as strong as some of the other relegated teams but cio has proven race planning skills that will come into play.

The two bottom teams of 2012 were Meiji and Oz Cycling and both have come on leaps and bounds. This is a great lesson for all team managers - if at first you don't succeed you can climb the ranks. I think Lo Cicero can be successful this year, certainly Meiji are well equipped to support the much maligned Italian sprinter and with Napolitano still very fast this team have a real outlet. Another well knowmn Continental scorer is Alex Efimkin who has some excellent hilly support in Zaini, Hatanaka and Salerno. I do think with the right luck Meiji's upward trajectory will continue.

Metinvest certainly had a great 2013, in adding Ignatiev and Rabon, Avin has improved his sqaud nicely whilts retaining some of success stories from last year. Ignatiev could well be back to his dominent 2011 best - here he was a key compenent to Wiggles promotion push and will send Ukrainian hearts fluttering. Hoffman will surely struggle to match his amazing year last time out but remains a well rounded sprinter and Popovich still has nice stage race skills. Avin is a highly active member of the ManGame community, these guys do tend to get it right tightly observing the racing and reading all the tidbits and advice from other managers.

Oz Cycling have also an ace sprinter card in Matty Goss, who didn't exactly come cheap, but similar to rivals Meiji this team also have an ace punchaer in Bobridge who could battle Ignatiev in thos punchy stage races with a TT. TTing has become this teams forte with Rogers, Ford, Olman, Bobridge and another decent new man Koren. It should be fascinating to see which former bottom rung team Meiji or Oz Cycling comes out top the winner may just squeeze into a promotion place which would be quite a journey.

It will be no suprise I am including Quickstep - this team I think will win the division, Alakagom is going to complete his journey from CDiv2 to the big time I think. Froome and Vantomme were very useful investments and with Bpost going up they will fill that cobbled hole. Marquez will continue to score decently in the mountains and the team has great back up with developing talent. I think they have the edge on Bacardi and Venchi for the fight for the title- mainly because Alak has a great eye for getting the absolute best out of his riders. He has three winners in Baugnies, Froome and Vantomme he will be all over the classics like a rash which is the way to accumulate heavy points.

Venchi's stars are perhaps slightly more under the radar than Bacardi but I expect them to be no less impressive than those of Bacardi. Di Maggio has proven scoring potential, he and Duarte were excellent two years ago and I think will once again score well. Van Stayen had a fantastic year at Red Bull and has been scarily improved, with Craven, Corioni and Van Avermart also very solid riders - I can even see Venchi outscoring Bacardi on their way back to the Protour.

Bacardi have two superb stage races in Uran and Intxausti, both have gone very well in Grand Tours in the past and it will be very interesting to see how the two former Vesuvio teammates do this year in the PCT ranks they are good enough to dominate. Ullisi is another strong Protour style of rider who could well land some of the hilly classics, this team really do have star quality with some more than capable back up riders. The only question is the lack of race days which may see 40 to 50 race days reliant on lesser riders.

Heineken's two stage racers Brajkovic and Eastman may not quite have the punch of Bacardi's duo but still could be big stars - I am intrigued to see of levi goes for the Tour of America with Eastman, if he does he could score heavily there. Dan Holloway is similar to Van Stayen but has not been improved he still should be thereabouts in sprints. This teams manager knows how to manage his resources well - no-one gave his team a hope of promoting two years ago and they did so comfortably, there were written off as complete no-hopers last year in the protour and yet they nearly dodged relegation. I think this team will promote and they still have that strong US core.

The final one of the five is a team I am picking to surprise despite what appears to be a limited squad in Gazelle. I see the sea of green in the hills column and I think Lotto/Red Bull 2012, no I don't think they will win the division but they will continue to clutter up the top 20's of those hilly classic and stage races. Last year was just ridiculously impressive and this year I think they can continue to overachieve. With three of my other top five big stage racers I think there is a place for a team renowned for solid consistency and Gazelle for me fit that bill.