Only post in this thread HQ like posts. You can make a main post about your team, I will link it in the second post. If you want to post an update or whatever, you can do that in a seperate post and link it in your main post.
As one of two spanish World Tour teams, Liberty Seguros – Würth stands for the outmost quality in competitive cycling. Its class is recognized in Grand Tour as much as in Classics. Though apparently cursed with a natural weakness for the pavé, the team intents to diminish their only weakness over the coming years with foreign talent such as Tony Gallopin.
For the first year of the International Cycling League, Liberty Seguros – Würth targets Grand Tours, mountaineous stage races and hilly classics such as Il Lombardia, Liège – Bastogne – Liège and of course the Bucaramanga Classic.
History
A legendary team already in its first existence but with a dark past...
This should neither be forgotten nor denied.
Liberty Seguros – Würth was already the sponsor combination of earlier years, when both sponsors took over the famous ONCE cycling team and supported its cause. However, due to doping scandals, Liberty Seguros drew back, but the sponsor has never given up on cycling to date.
The subsidiary of the international Liberty Mutual Group has now decided to reinvest in cycling. The passion for cycling should be heralded as a great investment for the company, while the quality of coverage provided by the International Cycling League grants a new marketing value to the world of cycling. Add to that the immense quality of the team’s roster, and you can be sure that both sponsors, Liberty Seguros and Würth, will be happy to cause great headlines throughout the season.
Liberty Seguros - Würth is all about the freedom you experience on the bike. Our riders are here to share with you the liberty of cycling. Either in explosive acceleration or danseus-pedaling. We have been described as "The Climbing Kings". Truth is, we are first and foremost, unbound spirits, who value gutsy racing and daring moves as much as the wins themselves.
Initial Team, as of the first season
Hardly any team has had so much quality under its wings after the initial transfer bids, except for the german teams of The Rider's ProRace and knockout's Carbonsports. In fact, teammanager Shonak even worried that he had too much quality. As a result of the limited race numbers, Alejandro Valverde was upset to not be leading a Grand Tour and only appear in smaller races. Even leadership in the Ardennes was all but secure for the Spaniard, and thus Valverde decided, in mutual agreement with the team, to leave Liberty Seguros – Würth and join Avia - Orlen Oil. In return, Liberty Seguros – Würth obtained in this fair deal the talents Tangel Kangert and Ramunas Navadauskas. Valverde’s chances certainly will be higher this way and we wish him all the best.
Contador and Purito: Their acceleration is rightly feared in the peloton.
In the first year of ICL, the team roster is built around the two superstars Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez. With Valverde’s departure, the hopes and attention will certainly shine on those two riders extraordinaire. We are targeting the Grand Tours and Classics, with support of an exquisite squad of lieutenants, that are each capable of winning stages too. To keep a high value of satisfaction and guarantee a nice development, our riders have of course the chance to go for their own results at times.
Name
Type
Wage
Contador
Alberto
Stage Racer
850
Rodríguez
Joaquím
Climber
690
Intxausti
Beñat
Stage Racer
605
Nieve
Mikel
Climber
450
Sánchez
Samuel
Climber
420
Izagirre
Ion
Puncheur
380
Gallopin
Tony
Puncheur
350
Kangert
Tanel
Stage Racer
350
Castroviejo
Jonathan
Time Trialist
350
Bakelants
Jan
Fighter
270
Navardauskas
Ramunas
Time Trialist
270
Cobo
Juan José
Stage Racer
260
Herrada
José
Climber
240
Verona
Carlos
Stage Racer
240
Arroyo
David
Climber
230
Plaza
Rubén
Stage Racer
220
Izagirre
Gorka
Stage Racer
190
Cordeel
Sander
Northern Specialist
160
Declercq
Tim
Fighter
160
Durán
Arkaitz
Fighter
150
Erviti
Imanol
Stage Racer
150
Oroz
Juan José
Fighter
130
Reza
Kevin
Fighter
90
No matter where you’re from, Liberty Seguros – Würth is a reason to cheer for.
Right now, the team consists of 23 riders. In the first season, there isn’t a development team yet, however there are talks amongst the team management of founding one for the coming years. Stand out names of the team are: Multiple Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador, former two times World Tour Number One Joaquim Rodriguez, Olympic Gold Medalist Samuel Sanchez, Basque climbing talent Mikel Nieve and the last winner in history of the famous, super prestigious, legendary, but now defunct Tour of Beijing, Benat Intxausti. Talents include Tony Gallopin, Carlos Verona and Tanel Kangert, whilst the quality of domestiques is staggering impressive with the likes of Castroviejo, the Izagirre brothers and quality support such as Herrada, Arroyo or Plaza.
Transfers
Year
Out
In
I
Valverde
Kangert
Navaudaskas
Season History (A place for the seasons as they go by…)
Of course, for a team with such rich history, its important to look and collect the memories. Here will be the place where we summarize each season as they pass, and it'll be a place, where we can hopefully reminisce about the many victories of our riders.
Results
Determination, training, talent and more training are the foundations of Liberty Seguros - Würth success:
This is lived everyday on the countless training rides and sessions of the team.
And it will show in our results!
ICL YEAR I:
Victories
Tour of Toowoomba, Stage 3, Team Time Trial: Gallopin, Intxausti, Bakelants, Plaza, Herrada, Navadauskas, Durán Vuelta a Mallorca, Stage 3, Beñat Intxausti Vuelta a Mallorca, GC, Beñat Intxausti Paris - Nice, Stage 2, Tony Gallopin Paris - Nice, Stage 4, Gorka Izagirre Vuelta a Tachira, Stage 3, 5, 8, 9, Joaquím Rodríguez Vuelta a Tachira, GC, Points & KoM, Joaquím Rodríguez Amstel Gold Race, Joaquím Rodríguez La Fleche Wallone, Joaquím Rodríguez Liege - Bastogne - Liege, Alberto Contador Giro d'Italia, Stage 1, Team Time Trial Giro d'Italia, Stage 7, 13, 16, 19, Alberto Contador Giro d'Italia, GC & Points, Alberto Contador Tour de France, Stage 8 & 10, 3rd GC Alberto Contador Vuelta a Espana, Stage 4, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 2nd GC & Points, Joaquím Rodríguez Bucaramanga Classic, Joaquím Rodríguez Milano - Torino, Alberto Contador National Championship Spain TT, Benat Intxausti National Championship Spain RR, Joaquím Rodríguez
Rainbow Medals
*Year 1, World Championships TTT Silver: Contador, Kangert, Castroviejo, Navardauskas, Sánchez, Intxausti *Year 1, World Championships U23 Road Race Silver: Carlos Verona
Other Noteworthy Results
Milano San Remo, 2nd Place, Joaquím Rodríguez Il Lombardia, 3rd Place, Joaquím Rodríguez
All Your Picture Belongs To Us A collage of Liberty Seguros moments
Spoiler
Tour of Toowoomba, Stage 3 Team Time Trial victory (Gallopin, Intxausti, Bakelants, Plaza, Herrada, Navadauskas, Durán)
Intxausti winning in Mallorca and thus also the GC!
Purito winning Stage 3 at Vuelta a Tachira.
And taking another stage in the leader's jersey
Gorka Izagirre celebrating his stage win on the fourth day of Paris-Nice from the breakaway.
As one of three German based WT teams, Celesio Pro Cycling stands for youth and development of the riders. Our focus is mainly aimed at German and surrounding countries, but we are also looking at talents from all over the world.
The Team
Name
Age
Wage
Daniel Schorn
26
280
Björn Thurau
26
120
Tony Martin
29
1000
John Degenkolb
25
1250
Fabian Wegmann
34
300
Dominik Nerz
25
400
Andrea Zordan
22
70
Bob Jungels
22
400
Fabian Lienhard
21
50
Jempy Drucker
28
275
Nikias Arndt
23
475
Fabio Aru
24
550
Marcel Aregger
24
130
Rick Zabel
21
350
Caleb Ewan
20
300
Fabian Schnaidt
24
230
Davide Villella
23
350
Julian Braun
19
80
Jonas Rapp
20
60
Sondre Holst Enger
21
250
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
23
170
Development Team
Celesio also gave us an option to increase the budget for a development team, so we could further develop some of our talents. It is a good chance for some of our riders to show us what they are capable of against riders their own age.
Name
Age
Wage
Jasha Sütterlin
22
350
Michael Valgren Andersen
22
250
Matthias Plarre
22
70
Valerio Conti
21
150
Felix Schönbach
19
60
Silvio Herklotz
20
350
Fredrik Ludvigsson
20
250
Benedikt Kendler
22
70
Matej Mohoric
20
300
Victories
Spoiler
Bob Jungels beats the sprinters on stage 2 in Vuelta a Tachira
Jasha Sütterlin (DT) wins on stage 4 of the Istrian Spring Trophy
John Degenkolb with a solo victory in the København Byrundtur
The only British World Tour team in the new International Cycling League have one key aim: to develop British talent and give them a platform to perform at the top level. With a secondary aim of uniting the English-speaking world, taking a particularly keen interest in North America.
The Squad
With these key philosophies in mind, the management built a young, ambitious squad built around the talents of former World Champion Mark Cavendish, double Olympic Gold Medallist Geraint Thomas and American star Taylor Phinney. Talented youngsters like Peter Kennaugh, Rohan Dennis, Alex Dowsett and Simon Yates give the team a very low average age without completely destroying the depth.
Mark Cavendish
29
Sprinter
Geraint Thomas
28
Northern Classics/TT
Taylor Phinney
24
TT/Northern Classics/Sprinter
Ben Swift
27
Sprinter
Ian Stannard
27
Northern Classics/Fighter
Alex Dowsett
26
TT
Peter Kennaugh
25
Climber
Rohan Dennis
24
TT/Stage Racer
Stephen Cummings
33
All Rounder
Peter Stetina
27
Climber
Jonathan McEvoy
25
Sprinter
Simon Yates
22
Puncher
Philip Lavery
24
Sprinter/Northern Classics
Joshua Edmondson
23
Climber
Ian Bibby
28
Puncher
Lawson Craddock
22
TT/Stage Racer
Gavin Mannion
23
Climber
Liam Holohan
26
Fighter
Andrew Tennant
27
TT
Thomas Faiers
27
Puncher
Matthew Holmes
21
Puncher
Sam Spokes
22
Puncher/Northern Classics
Mark Christian
24
All Rounder
Erick Rowsell
24
Puncher
The Goals
With such a young squad, the management have set very modest targets for this first season. Naturally, with the riders we have, flat races will be key to determining how successful our season will be. Our chances of survival will be greatly increased if The Manx Missile performs in the limited number of sprint stages in the World Tour. A solid Classics campaign is also needed from Thomas, Phinney and Stannard.
The Grand Tours will be about breakaways for us and giving our youngsters the experience, although we hope Kennaugh and Stetina can at least do something in the mountains with this fantastic opportunity they have been given to lead a WT team.
Come October, we simply want to be safe and secure in the World Tour for next season, ready to develop our young talents.
The Races
Victories
#1 Liam Holohan - Stage 5, Amgen Tour of California
#2 Simon Yates - Stage 4, Deutschland Tour
#3 Mark Cavendish - Stage 13, Tour de France
#4 Mark Cavendish - Stage 19, Tour de France
#5 Mark Cavendish - Stage 21, Tour de France
#6 Mark Cavendish - Stage 1, Post Danmark Rundt
#7 Mark Cavendish - Stage 2, Post Danmark Rundt
#8 Taylor Phinney - Stage 5, Post Danmark Rundt
#9 Mark Cavendish - Stage 6, Post Danmark Rundt
#10 Simon Yates - Stage 14, Vuelta a España
#11 Mark Cavendish - Stage 3, Course de la Paix
#12 Philip Lavery - GC, Course de la Paix
Spoiler
The Future
We are also proud to announce our Development Team, sponsored this year by Endura Racing, with eight young British talents hoping to progress and become a part of the main team in the years to come. With such fierce competition in the U25 Division, results will be hard to come by, but that's not the main concern for these youngsters.
emre99's stages Thread of the Week : Tour of California 2014 -Official PCM World Cup 2016, 10th best keirin player in the world PCM.daily Awards : 2 Nominee 0 Award
Daily Song Contest WINNER! With Foals - Mountain at my Gates with Greece! 1 like 1 girlfriend ''I call you the stage god. You are the stage god.'' -baseballover312, 15.07.2016
Santaromita Ivan
Vandewalle Kristof
Reimer Martin
Selvaggi Mirko
Visconti Giovanni
Modolo Sacha
Battaglin Enrico
Boem Nicola
Benedetti Cesare
Schwarzmann Michael
Seubert Timon
Boaro Manuele
Bertazzo Omar
Pelucchi Matteo
Canola Marco
Di Corrado Andrea
Sbaragli Kristian
Van Zyl Johann
Ruffoni Nicola
Bonifazio Niccolo
Formolo Davide
Testi Nicola
Kessler Robert
Goals
Spoiler
Stage win Giro
Stage win Tour of Britain Top 5 Strade Bianche
Gilbert Philippe Jacobs Pieter Sijmens Nico Devolder Stijn (NC:RR) De Gendt Thomas Seeldraeyers Kevin Maes Nikolas Vantomme Maxime Van den Broeck Jurgen Boeckmans Kris Vangenechten Jonas Bille Gaetan Robert Frederique Van Asbroeck Tom Zubeldia Haimar Chavanel Sylvain(NC:TT) Elissonde Kenny Wiggins Bradley Tamouridis Ioannis (NC:RR&TT) Veelers Tom Elmiger Martin
We did not go out all guns blazing in the inaugural transfer market, but that was never our intention. We have assembled a strong squad but most importantly, we have assembled a squad where everyone knows their role and will contribute best to the team's needs. The team's main focus is Belgium, however, we will look to expand our areas of interest to the following countries the further ICL develops: Botswana, West Africa and the UK.
Season 1 goals:
----- Liege Bastogne Liege --- Win
--- Tour of Northern Europe --- Top3 GC
- Deutschland Tour --- Top5 GC
Jysk is one of Denmarks biggest companies and the name is taken from the mainground of Denmark: Jylland. Today there exist a little over 2000 stores in 35 countries and each week about 3 stores opens. Jysk is know for their low prices and effectivety and with a huge payload of money in their back, they're read to storm the cycling world!
Their goal is to dominate as much as possible and to hold their own monopoly in Denmark , and that means the roster is only allowed to be danish citizens. Hopefully good results will show the way toward a tea, that will focus on new talents and to give Denmark an second era.
1st Season
The team has used most of the transfer window to complete the signings of most of the biggest and most promising danish riders. Our main goal will of course be Post Danmark Rundt. The team will also focus on Tour of Britain and Tour de Suisse as the routes fits our strongest sides and here is the roster that will show danish prowess the coming years :
Captains :
Chris Anker Sörensen
Matti Breschel
Michael Mørkøv
Roster :
Lasse Norman Hansen
Alex Rasmussen
Marc Hester
Michael Berling
Kasper Klostergaard
Phillip Nielsen
Sebastian Lander
Rasmus Quaade
Glenn Bak
Michael Smith Larsen
Magnus Cort
Lasse Bøchmann
Kasper Jebjerg
Jimmi Sörensen
As you can see we managed to get a lot of talent for a little amount of money (3200 credits ) and with a all-around team that can dominate the Classics, Sprints an TT's and with a bright future ahead , you shall only wait a little while to see our full potential.
The team is the only Portuguese one in the ICL Cycling Organisation. As the only team from Portugal the main goal of the team was to sign World Champion Rui Costa who is by far the best rider in the nation. As well as him we also signed other strong Portuguese riders like Tiago Machado and Manuel Cardoso. We also signed Slovakian Peter Velits, sprinters Felline and Ponzi and experienced climber Pellizotti, all from Italy.
The team's strengths are in the Mountains and Mountainous Stage Races. World RR Champion Rui Costa is the main team leader and will lead the team in the biggest CT stage races. His very good TT ability should help to win quite a few races this season. The same can be said for Peter Velits, the Slovakian is a very good stage racer at CT level and has one of the best sprints amongst the climbers, we have high expectations of him. Italian Franco Pellizotti is one of the veterans and is also expected to do quite well in the Mountains when he is not helping Costa, his good ACC and FIG should mean we see him winning from attacks on steep sections. Tiago Machado is the last of the Stage Racing Elite in the team, he is a very strong all round rider and when not helping Costa and Velits is expected to bring in some good results.
The other decently strong part of the team is the sprinting area. Although we do not possess riders like Kittel or Sagan we do have hilly sprinters like Ponzi and Cardoso who should be able to mix it up with the best of them. Stage wins, podiums and top 5s are expected from our sprinting department.
Target Races:
-Colombia Team GP: Won
-Tour de Pologne: 1st and 3rd GC, 2 Stage Wins, 1 Podium, 3 Top 5's
-Tour de Romandie: 5 Top 5's, 4th GC, 3rd KOM, 4th Points
The youth team is also Portuguese and some may recognise the jersey as it belongs to the Porto Football Club. Ruben Fernandez is one of the better climbers in the division so should show himself in whatever Mountains are tossed at him. In terms of Sprinters some teams like Nike were dumb enough to have top sprinters in their teams and even though they should dominate the division it is unlikely they will develop much. 22 year old Nowak leads our sprint department and will surely end up being a great sprinter, his two main lead-out men will be Silvestre (24) and Bauhaus (20). Bauhaus should also be a great sprinter in a few seasons time and, like Nowak, is a great talent. I have good expectations of the team this coming season and hopefully we can develop our great young talents.
Target Races:
-Tour de Berlin
-Tour de l'Avenir
-National Capital Tour
Jersey
Team
First Name
Last Name
Age
Wage
Top Stats
Potential
Mateusz
Nowak
22
250
70TT, 72SPR, 71ACC
5
Rubén
Fernández
23
180
71MO, 70HIL
6
Bakhtiyar
Kozhatayev
22
160
69MO, 70HIL
6
Phil
Bauhaus
20
160
69SPR, 69ACC
6
Fabio
Silvestre
24
145
69SPR, 68ACC
6
Asbjørn
Kragh
22
130
66HIL, 68SPR, 69ACC
6
Frederico
Figueiredo
23
100
66MO, 66HIL, 70FIG
5
Domingos
Gonçalves
25
90
73DH, 72FIG
4
Results
Wins: 1 Stage
1st
Stage 1
Tour de Berlin
Mateusz Nowak
Other Results:
Spoiler
Placing
Race
Rider
3rd
Stage 3
National Capital Tour
Phil Bauhaus
3rd
KOM
National Capital Tour
Ruben Fernandez
4th
Ronde van Vlaanderen Espoirs
Bakhityar Kozhatayev
2nd
Stage 2
Carpathian Couriers Race U25
Ruben Fernandez
4th
Stage 3
Course de La Paix
Mateusz Nowak
5th
Stage 5
Course de La Paix
Mateusz Nowak
2nd
Stage 3
Tour de Berlin
Mateusz Nowak
4th
Stage 4
Tour de Berlin
Mateusz Nowak
5th
GC
Tour de Berlin
Mateusz Nowak
2nd
Stage 2
Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt
Mateusz Nowak
3rd
Stage 3
Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt
Mateusz Nowak
2nd
Stage 8
Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt
Bakhityar Kozhatayev
2nd
Stage 6
Tour de l'Avenir
Ruben Fernandez
5th
Stage 8
Tour de l'Avenir
Ruben Fernandez
The Greatest Moments of the Season
Spoiler
Rui Costa wins the final stage TT in Algarve and with it the GC.
Manuel Cardoso (Orange Middle) wins the Clasica di Tirreno-Adriatico.
Mikel Landa takes a breakaway win on Stage 7 of Paris-Nice.
Franco Pellizotti wins stage 3 of Pais Vasco which moves him into the GC lead.
Franco Pellizotti makes it two in a row as he wins stage 4 of Pais-Vasco, he won the GC in the race as well.
Velits, Costa, Machado, Ovechkin, Pellizotti, Mestre and Paulinho win the Colombia Team GP.
Rui Costa gets his first win in the RR World Champion Jersey on Stage 7 in ATOC.
Ponzi wins Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse
Mikel Landa wins Stage 8 of the Tour de Suisse
Yaroslav Popoych takes a win in the Osterich Race
The 1-2 for La-Antarte on Stage 2 in Vancouver
Good win on Stage 2 of the Tour de Pologne for Velits.
Another TT victory for Rui Costa.
Team TT Victory on Stage 1 of the Tour of Colombia
Pellizotti wins Stage 4 in Colombia
Pellizotti with his second stage win in Colombia
Fabio Felline wins the first stage in Indonesia while 3 others top 10
Peter Velits wins the stage 3 TT in Indonesia
Mateusz Nowak wins stage 1 of the Tour de Berlin for the FC Porto Youth Team
Welcome to the home of Norway's new and only cycling team. Our staff aim to provide riders with as good a platform as possible to allow for their path to victory to be as easy as possible.
History.
Team CSC has a long and illustrious history, with hundreds of victories as well as developing many a young talent, including Andy Schleck and our stage race leader for this year Jakob Fuglsang. As well as featuring some very special riders, such as Fabian Cancellara and Carlos Sastre. As a team we have won races of all types, be it Grand Tours like the Tour De France, or cobbled classics like Paris - Roubaix, therefore with this new incarnation of the team we aim to keep with our traditions of success across all areas meaning that we have taken this into account, when choosing the roster for our first season back after a four year break.
Team Roster.
Last Name
First Name
Nationality
AVG
FL
MO
HIL
TT
PRL
COB
SP
Basso
Ivan
ITA
75.9
67
77
75
73
72
62
55
Bell
Zachary
CAN
64.4
61
52
52
67
65
55
60
Bellis
Jonathan
GBR
69.6
68
57
65
66
63
65
70
Boasson Hagen
Edvald
NOR
76.2
76
71
76
75
78
73
75
Boswell
Ian
USA
71.8
68
73
72
67
65
60
61
Brammeier
Matthew
IRL
71.7
72
55
66
67
66
56
72
Fuglsang
Jakob
DEN
75.7
71
77
77
73
73
63
61
Gárate
Juan Manuel
ESP
71.7
67
72
72
68
68
57
63
Hushovd
Thor
NOR
75.2
73
65
73
70
74
76
74
Lloyd
Daniel
GBR
72.2
71
65
69
61
62
68
69
Meyer
Cameron
AUS
74.0
73
74
72
75
75
54
67
Mullen
Ryan
IRL
69.9
70
62
67
71
71
62
62
Nordhaug
Lars Petter
NOR
75.3
68
71
76
70
70
67
69
Simunek
Radomír
CZE
65.3
61
56
60
60
58
57
62
Slik
Ivar
NED
69.8
69
60
68
69
70
55
70
Tarvis
Peter
EST
67.7
60
70
67
61
58
55
56
Our Calendar.
Spoiler
Tour of Toowoomba
National Capital Tour
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Strade Bianche
Vuelta a Tachira
Paris - Nice
Milano - Sanremo
København Byrundtur
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke
Gent - Wevelgem
Ronde van Vlaanderen
Paris - Roubaix
Ster ZLM Tour
Colombia Team GP
Tour d'Andorra
Tour des Fjords
La Descente Pavée
Tour de France
Tour of Vancouver
Volta a Portugal
Tour of Utah
Vuelta a Colombia
RideLondon–Surrey Classic
Tour of Norhtern Europe
Post Danmark Rundt
Quebec Sprint Challenge
Tour of Britain
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
Tour d'Indonesia
Target Races.
- Tour des Fjords
- Post Danmark Rundt
- Tour of Britain
Notable Results.
Victories
Jakob Fuglsang, Volta a Portugal, Overall
Jakob Fuglsang, Volta a Portugal, Points
Podiums
Spoiler
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vuelta a Mallorca Stage 1, 3rd
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vuelta a Mallorca Points, 3rd
Ian Boswell, Vuelta a Mallorca Young Riders, 3rd
Edvald Boasson Hagen, National Capital Tour Stage 1, 3rd
Edvald Boasson Hagen, National Capital Tour GC, 3rd
Edvald Boasson Hagen, National Capital Tour Points, 2nd
Jakob Fuglsang, Paris Nice Stage 5 2nd
Dan Lloyd Paris Nice Stage 7 2nd
Jakob Fuglsang Paris Nice Points 3rd
Thor Hushovd Ster ZLM Tour Stage 2 3rd
Thor Hushovd Ster ZLM Tour Stage 5 2nd
Thor Hushovd Ster ZLM Tour GC 2nd
Thor Hushovd Ster ZLM Tour Points 2nd
Thor Hushovd Tour des Fjords Stage 1 3rd
Team CSC Orbea Tour des Fjords Stage 3 3rd
Edvald Boasson Hagen Tour des Fjords Points 3rd
Team CSC Orbea Tour des Fjords Team Overall 3rd
Top 10s
Spoiler
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vuelta a Mallorca Stage 2, 4th
Lars Petter Nordhaug, Vuelta a Mallorca Stage 2, 8th
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vuelta a Mallorca Stage 3, 4th
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vuelta a Mallorca Stage 4, 4th
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vuelta a Mallorca GC, 4th
Cameron Meyer, National Capital Tour Stage 1, 10th
Edvald Boasson Hagen, National Capital Tour Stage 2, 6th
Edvald Boasson Hagen, National Capital Tour Stage 2, 9th
Edvald Boasson Hagen, National Capital Tour Stage 2, 8th
Jakob Fuglsang,Paris Nice Stage 1, 6th
Cameron Meyer, Paris Nice Stage 2, 9th
Jakob Fuglsang, Paris Nice Stage 3, 10th
Lars Petter Nordhaug, Paris Nice Stage 5 8th
Jakob Fuglsang, Paris Nice Stage 6 6th
Jakob Fuglsang Paris Nice Stage 8 5th
Jakob Fuglsang Paris Nice GC 4th
Ian Boswell Vuelta a Tachira Stage 5 6th
Ivan Basso Vuelta a Tachira Stage 9 9th
Ryan Mullen København Byrundtur 9th
Thor Hushovd Ster ZLM Tour Stage 1 6th
Thor Hushovd Ster ZLM Tour Stage 4 4th
Team CSC Orbea Colombia Team GP 6th
Matt Brammeier Tour d'Andorra Stage 1 9th
Ivan Basso Tour d'Andorra Stage 2 7th
Edvald Boasson Hagen Tour des Fjords Stage 1 6th
Edvald Boasson Hagen Tour des Fjords Stage 2 4th
Thor Hushovd Tour des Fjords Stage 2 7th
Lars Petter Nordhaug Tour des Fjords Stage 2 6th
Edvald Boasson Hagen Tour des Fjords Stage 4 4th
Lars Petter Nordhaug La Jurassaine 8th
Liberty Seguros’ Manager confident for Ardennes classics
Following the great early start to the season, Liberty Seguros – Würth looks forward to continue its recent story of success in Belgium and the Netherlands. The team ranked up two stage races (Vuelta a Tachira, Vuelta a Mallorca) and several stage wins along the way.
“Our team is all about attacking and smooth riding, and we try to ride like artists but remain efficient like clockwork engineers”, stated the team’s manager and further elaborated: “We had a great season start. Some wins we didn’t expect, like Gorka’s at Paris-Nice, and those are particularly sweet. But of course, Joaquim Rodriguez has been our man so far, he has been fantastic in the two races he participated in and he’s only getting’ started. J-Rod’s engine will be full-going once we reach the Ardennes”, promised the manager.
“We were unsure if Milano – Sanremo would suit Purito, but the added climb of Pompeina came in handy. On that day, on that route, Gilbert was unbeatable. It was almost perfection. But Ardennes will be much different, we will be stronger. It’s the most important week for us aside of the Grand Tours, we want to impress the whole world.”
Man of the early season for Liberty Seguros - Würth: Joaquim Rodriguez
“Purito knows that he is not the youngest anymore. The teeth of time are biting and grinding, but he remains in top shape, gets better year for year. We are riding and operating within a limited time window, but we at Liberty Seguros – Würth know that this will be the year, where his wishes come true.”
When asked about Purito’s toughest rivals, the manager evades, since he does not want to talk up the competition. For him, Purito will be the man to beat for everybody else. “We have the rider, we have the team... Our true strength still lies in the dark, hasn’t even begun to reveal itself. Come Ardennes, I hope you will all get a glimpse of it. But, yes, Gilbert has been certainly the man of every hill classic from Belgium to Italy, he has been riding exceptional well – scary good in fact. However, the Ardennes will be different. They will feature many twists and turns throughout the week, and there’s a strong field of competitors, who are all capable of winning several races in a week. Sagan, Betancur, Nibali, who has been an excellent rival in Venezuela… they all won races so far, I will not dare to ever underestimate anyone of them.”
One of Liberty Seguros most exceptional strengths: The depth of its squad;
the riders are see here winning the TTT of Tour of Toowoomba
La Flèche Wallone, recently downgraded to CT, will be the only continental race for Purito this season. Team manager explains the reasoning behind it: “After Vuelta a Tachira, we are confident that Purito can finish within Top 3 of World Tour Rankings. He is currently 2nd, close to Sagan. He needs every race day for that to happen though. He rides Flèche for the climb, because the Muur is the perfect climb-equivalent to him. Muur de Huy is Purito.”
One other rider will also ride at least L-B-L for prestige. Multiple Grand Tour champion Alberto Contador will make a cameo appearance. Certainly a dark horse, Contador will look to assist J-Rod but also keep his eye open for a chance of his own. “Contador does not ride many one-day races but he’s a fighter of true class who can excel on any terrain, any day.”
Before the Ardennes show happens though, Liberty Seguros – Würth would like to snatch some unlikely outsider points at the pave classics of spring. It already worked with Tim Declerq at E3 Prijs Harelbeke and Gent – Wevelgem. Those results were well-received in the Spanish HQ of Liberty Seguros – Würth since the manager did not expect it. “These are the perfomances I expect of my guys when they get the chance to ride for their own gain.”
With several basque riders featured in the team, the motivation will also be high for Vuelta Ciclista a Paìs Vasco in the coming week.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Team Talk #1: A small monologue from the Prorace manager.
Out of the blocks:
"Well, what a start to the season it has been. We were a bit sceptical about what Prorace would achieve this season, at the back of our minds we thought relegation may be on cards. However, fulfilling knockout's prophecies, we have started like a house on fire and long may it continue. It would be fair to say the team is built for Phillipe Gilbert at the moment, and rightfully so, as he has already picked up 4 big one day race victories this season."
Gilbert victories from left to right: Top: Omloop het Nieuwsblad - Roma Maxima. Bottom: Strade Bianchi - Milan San Remo.
"At the moment we near the top of the WT rankings along with Liberty Seguros and CarbonSports. We feel it is just that these teams are at the top of the rankings as they are manned by the most active managers in the ICL. Throughout the ICL we hope to forge a good competitive rivalry with said teams."
*The Ardennes, the most important part of the season for the team, are coming up and we have lofty goals there. Winning L-B-L would be a huge moment for our team, that is the race we want to win more than any other. Soon after that V-D-B, who says he wants to win a GT in 2015, has ambitions of riding a good GC at the Giro."
"Though we are thrilled with the start we have made, we realize we can't rely on Gilbert as a one man team forever. Unlike the majority of the teams, we have invested a fair amount into research so the team can diversify and morph into a more well rounded team with more riders producing more results."
"Finally, we wish the ICL organiser, Bikex, the best of luck and hope the ICL long continues under his control."
Sepulveda
Philip Lavery
Tamouridis Ioannis (NC:RR&TT)
