Formed three years ago as a continental team, Kenya Airways - Dimension Data saw a successful 2015 season where we finished 5th and therefore secured a surprise promotion to cycling's premier division, the ProTour.
This has meant the team now is now in a great position within the world of cycling to help further develop the sport on the continent of Africa and in the process continue the team's progression.
This year the team's main objective will undoubtedly be survival, as we try to solidify our position among cycling's elite teams. However, we will also look to give our African core of riders experience at this high level and try to grow this aspect of the team further.
Sponsors
The 2016 season sees Dimension Data join as a second title sponsor to provide the team with the extra funding needed at PT level. Our full list of sponsors is as follows:
Our first win of the season came at stage 4 of the Tour of South Africa - marquee signing Ben Nasser sprinting to victory, putting him into the GC lead.
He then held on to take the race overall, our first ever stage-race win. He also managed to grab the points jersey, making it a great race for us.
The Tunisian also finished 2nd at Strade Bianche, jumping away from the field in Siena to secure a podium finish.
At our home race, the Kenya Mountain Classic, home favourite Mwangi Samwel climbed to 7th place against what was a stacked field.
In the race that gave us a huge C1 podium in 2013, a year later the Tropicale Amissa Bongo was also great for us. On stage 5 Suleiman Kangangi took his second stage of this race in two years...
The only major result from our three non-African riders came at Race Horizon Park, where Enrico Gasparotto sprinted to third place in Kiev.
We rode our first ever GT this year, fielding an all-African line up in the Giro d'Italia. Ben Nasser was once again our standout rider, spending time in the king of the mountains jersey and finishing 2nd on two different occasions.
At GP Onda-Boavista, Ben Nasser was edged out of a win by Chris Froome in the final few metres, on his way to finishing a very creditable 2nd.
Our final win of the season came at the Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt, with a breakaway win coming from Kenyan Simon Kimeli on the mountainous stage 4.
Day one of our season and we already had our first win, with new signing Impey taking stage 1 of the Tour Down Under to get our season off to the best possible start.
There was another win in our second race as well, with Impey again winning a sprint in the Barcelona Classic to take the race and continue our brilliant start.
Our winning streak continued at our third race, the Tour of Eritrea, with Kwiatkowski winning in his first race for the team and putting us in a commanding rankings position even at such an early stage.
The next race was the Volta a Catalunya, where unfortunately we couldn't win but Kudus managed a stage win on the final day and Kwiatkowski managed 5th to make it a successful race for us.
It was April for our next good result, with Ben Nasser finishing 2nd in the Tour of South Africa, maintaining his good record there after winning in 2014.
The Tour of Japan was also a success for the team with stage 3 seeing Kwiatkowski attacking in the last few kilometres as part of a trio and was the strongest in the sprint, claiming the stage and the GC lead. He eventually finished a close 2nd in the GC.
As July rolled around we had a great time at the Post Danmark Rundt, with Impey grabbing two stages and Brent Bookwalter finishing 2nd in the TT to take 2nd overall.
The promotion battle was tight as we entered August, where Ben Nasser struck a crucial blow for our promotion challenge as he took the overall in the Tour of Britain after a massive attack on stage 5. Impey also took a stage to put us in the driving seat in the promotion battle.
In Ben Nasser's next race he continued his rich vein of form, coming 2nd on the final day of the GP Cyclistes to give us another big points boost.
It was then Impey's turn to get in on the act, winning the GP Plouay to add more momentum to our unexpected promotion challenge and effectively seal our spot in the PT!
So will be very interesting to see how your 2016 squad will be, the step into the PT highlight has been quite efficient for recent new promoters and maybe, just maybe you will create a strong ever lasting PT team!
A quick overview of where our riders' futures lie from our perspective currently, although this could of course change in future if new riders are spotted or during renewals.
sgdanny & the_hoyle - Thanks guys. I really like the jersey, bwiggins has done a great job. Thanks for the good luck wishes as well, I think we will need it as staying up will be a tough task. With a good transfers though anything is possible.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 08-06-2016 19:01
alexkr00 - Thanks, taken straight from your spreadsheet
trekbmc - It's unfortunate that Kwiatek has turned out to be our only non-African unavailable, especially since you've now got into the PCT and the increased funds that brings. Maybe in a couple of years
Marcovdw - Thanks, good luck to the minions too. I kept an eye out for you last year as you have our ex-captain Martinez as a leader, hopefully he can help you up this year.
With the off-season now hurtling towards the transfer period, and renewals under way there is now a clearer picture in our minds of who might be leaving the team ahead of transfers.
Hassen Ben Nasser
The Tunisian puncheur was signed as in our first PCT season, and was our talisman, his points almost single-handedly helping us avoid the drop. A win at the Tour of South Africa was his highlight, and this form continued into our promotion season as he won the Tour of Britain in stunning fashion to help us secure promotion. But now it seems his role may be diminished in the PT, and a move back down the divisions may suit him more.
Daryl Impey
Only signed one season ago, the South African was on our radar for a couple of years before we finally got our man from PT squad Aker. Impey immediately took the PCT by storm, taking classics such as the Barcelona Classic and GP Plouay in his 8 wins and also playing a vital role in our promotion. However, it is no secret that he is getting on and there may only be one season left at the top and therefore he may want one final season of dominance in a lower division. One thing to consider, however - it is likely only one of Impey and Ben Nasser will leave.
Brent Bookwalter
Another signing that is only a year old, Brent was seen as mainly a bonus for us and was an unplanned purchase as a result of funds being made available. The Amerian TT-specialist was another rider who had a strong year, helping our leaders in TTT races and his personal highlight being a 2nd place at the HC Post Danmark Rundt along with the USA TT title. However, with Kenyan rider Hussein returning to the team an improved rider after a loan away, Bookwalter is no longer needed at the team and will most likely leave Kenya in the window.
Interesting to see Impey leave. But I guess he isn't really good enough on his own to be leading a PT team. He should have been trained +2SPR a season ago (if that was possible), and then he would have been really good.
SotD + the_hoyle - 'it is likely only one of Impey and Ben Nasser will leave.' Will mostly depend on transfers and who's available for us, but nonetheless happy to talk for either.
Mresuperstar - Good to see some early interest. Had forgotten he was the USA champ, must remember to use that as an extra selling point
That's some very strong riders leaving!
But understandable decision; they are way more valuable to a PCT team than to a PT team, so you'll get a nice fee for them.
With renewals complete, it's time to reveal the look of our squad going into transfers. We are happy with the results of our negotiations, with many riders taking a decrease in wages despite our great season last year.
Of the 19 riders who renewed, Impey was the only rider to really negotiate up our opening offer, with us eventually reaching a deal with a reasonable increase. This was balanced though by riders like Kwiatkowski and Ben Nasser accepting large decreases in their contracts to ensure we have plenty of cap space remaining ahead of transfers.
Rider
Wage
Old Wage
Change
Available?
Daryl Impey
€ 310,000
€ 240,000
€ 70,000
Yes
Merhawi Kudus
€ 300,000
€ 389,000
€ -89,000
No
Hassen Ben Nasser
€ 280,000
€ 350,000
€ -70,000
Yes
Michal Kwiatkowski
€ 260,000
€ 300,000
€ -40,000
No
Mwangi Samwel
€ 120,000
€ 200,000
€ -80,000
No
Brent Bookwalter
€ 120,000
€ 150,000
€ -30,000
Yes
Tsgabu Grmay
€ 70,000
€ 50,000
€ 20,000
No
Maciej Bodnar
€ 55,000
€ 50,000
€ 5,000
No
Estifanos Kebede
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Marco Marcato
€ 50,000
€ 80,000
€ -30,000
No
Mujtaba Hussein
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Bassirou Konte
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Simon Kimeli
€ 50,000
€ 58,000
€ -8,000
No
Tarik Chaoufi
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Clovis Kamzong
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Yes
Lotto Petrus
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Yes
Bonaventure Uwizeyimana
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Hillary Kiprotich
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Hussein Manfred
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
No
Released
There were also four riders who were not offered new deals by the team, who we thank for their services over the time they've been here. We would like to give a special mention to Njoroge who has been with the team since its inception but unfortunately we don't feel he is up to the standard of the PT. We wish all four the best of luck in finding a new team.
