Transfer season is still a bit ahead of us, but that doesn't mean there's no work being done behind the scenes. One of the things being worked on is the scouting and rating of new talents, which is currently being done by Ezeefreak and myself. As usual I will also make sure to bother Ulrich for the same checks as last year. I can already say that there will be at least one rider among the talents from everybody's primary and/or secondary nation.
In this thread you can suggest new riders and/or stat adjusting of certain riders. Some things to keep in mind:
Young Riders
2002 is the main year of interest, with some 'forgotten' talents of 2001 also to be added to the game.
Riders from 2003 could be added too in some individual cases, but it is highly possible be that they are held off for another season. There would need to be a very good reason for a 2003 rider to already be accepted. These will also be limited to progressing only to Level 2 in the 2024 season.
Older Riders
Riders who are free agents, or part of disbanding teams, can have their stats adjusted - even if sometimes it is just in a minor way.
Examples in the 1999-2000 range are of particular interest, as they can become 'talents' that are not Level 1, which allows more unique stat combinations. Riders of 4.100 could be added or adjusted too.
1991 or older are generally off limits, since these riders have already started decreasing now anyway. However, in special cases an exception may be made - for example, for riders without a Man-Game "history".
Stat Limits
You can suggest riders with any sort of stats you like. However we reserve the right to make whatever changes we see fit to better suit the game. Do not expect any unknown rider to max out above 79/80. Your stat suggestion is very important for us to know what kind of rider you're talking about, but don't be disappointed if a 79 rated mountain-suggested rider turns out to be 75 in the DB.
Realism
MG doesn't need to be 100% realistic on stats of riders. Real life results are a useful indicator, and many (top) riders will tend to be aligned to that, but they are not a constraint.
This also extends to rider Nationalities. If you want a Tibetan or Tuvaluan you can suggest them, and we will see what we can do to accomodate your teams needs.
As mentioned before, at least one rider from every primary and/or secondary teams nationality will be included among the talents.
Format
As usual, please post suggestions in the Table Format, using the template file to help: https://www.dropbox.com/s/twh1qwmhhqh...s.xls?dl=0
(Fill in the file, then copy it to the post, and put within the table tags)
Versions of the rider at 4.100 and 1.0 are preferred.
i.e.
Spoiler
ID
Surname
First name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat.
Cont.
XP Level
XP Points
D
M
Year
Pot
5382
Areruya
Joseph
71
70
71
64
75
73
72
53
70
73
66
57
64
RWA
AF
1
0
15
3
1996
6
5382
Areruya
Joseph
72
79
79
65
78
78
79
53
70
80
75
60
65
RWA
AF
4
100
15
3
1996
6
(4.100 via the Climber v1 training)
Links to PCS, CQ, First Cycling or other Results sites are always welcome too.
As no one else has done it so far I’m about to get this thread started.
Can there be too many French riders? I don’t think so As there are some big names incoming for the 2025 season (Gregoire, Martinez, maybe Gautherat) my suggestions for the 2024 season won’t be the biggest talents in the end.
Enzo Paleni hasn’t the biggest palmares yet (although he finished 4th in a Giro stage recently), but he’s in his second year in the WT and seems to be good in TTs.
Jordan Labrosse has finished in the top 10 of three 1.1 races this season alone. Surely he’s not the biggest talent in any specific terrain, so this should be reflected by giving him some different development paths.
Paul Lapeira should be upgraded as he’s not been under contract in his first two seasons – and given his skillset and lack of a useful development path it’s unlikely that will ever change. Reflecting his real-life successes (ask anyone who missed drafting him in the Classics Fantasy game about them ) that would be a shame. Given his successes were in classics I propose him as a classic classics rider.
I don't think how you could get there, but this guy is a basically Fabian training guy in real life, but Lithuania already has so may pure TTers that another one would be berry cringe rawr. We currently have no punchers, but Mikutis is the first guy in many many years to actually get into a legitimate circuit team and gets to ride with Tudor main team fairly often.
Surname
First name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
/
D
M
Year
Ivanovas
Olegas
77
62
69
65
80
77
70
60
75
79
81
60
62
/
5
7
2002
Just a baroudeur d00d, rides for only Lithuanian team in CT.
Surname
First name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
/
D
M
Year
Matuzevicius
Zygimantas
68
75
75
65
74
75
73
62
63
74
73
70
61
/
24
7
2002
He rides for Tartu/Ampler/Voltas, which is basically a team that picks up all the brightest talents from Baltic states (Mikutis and Mihkels the last two big ones) He is just sort of a climbing/hill dom, not a leader by any means
---
There's basically noone from 2003 and then a big group in 2004 and 2005, so that's why I suggested three guys this year to compensate for lack of new riders next year
I took on the challenge of stating Mikutis because it illustrated a thought I had for creating more balanced riders - which is to add more guys at low potential but with better starting stats (this is similar to why adding 2.x guys is good, you can have decent secondary stats without them becoming main stats). This also make sense since riders seem to be better younger. Here is Mikutis at Potential 1 aiming to get close to Quad's stats:
Surname
First name
Fl
Mo
Hl
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Cb
Sp
Ac
Ft
Dh
Pl
Nat.
Cont.
XP Level
XP Points
D
M
Year
Pot
Mikutis
Aivaras
71
64
73
70
67
71
66
71
60
72
68
60
72
Lit
EU
1
0
16
9
2002
1
Hills
72
66
78
70
71
74
67
71
60
75
71
60
72
Fabian
74
65
73
71
71
74
67
76
60
72
68
60
73
Classics
75
65
76
70
70
72
67
75
60
72
69
60
72
Cobbles
74
65
73
70
71
74
67
76
61
72
68
60
72
TimeTrial
76
65
74
75
70
76
69
71
60
72
71
60
77
Stage Race
71
69
76
75
70
74
71
71
60
72
68
60
77
Fighter
76
64
74
70
70
74
69
71
61
75
73
61
72
The Classics path is pretty close to the Quad's goal. The one stat I have to nerf is MT, otherwise Stage Race becomes way too good. Even with this Stage Race is still pretty good. TT is also pretty attractive.
I think for this approach to work broadly we would need to weaken TT and Stage Race at low potential. They appear much stronger than the others - for example Pot 1 Fabian adds 1 point total to TT while Pot 1 SR adds 5. Not sure why that gap is so big. Overall, I think Nemo and EZ should consider this approach for some riders particularly where MT or TT aren't key stats. And maybe we look at some dev changes for next year.
A related point, Hills, Cobbles and Classics paths get minimal, or no, TT point adds. It would be much easier to make respectable TT guys in these disciplines if you got + 2 or 3 over the full cycle. The problem now is to give them a 69 or 70 TT endpoint it has to start at 69 or 70 which risks turning them into TTers.
I do agree on TT front. My initial idea for him was to be a Bobridge lite, but that is near impossible unless you add restrictions on his level up plan. There is unfortunately a large limitation on what you can actually suggest due to training plans. Its never going to be perfect wothout it becoming overbearing.
Speaking of difficult niches to fill I think of the areas occupied by the likes of Arnaud Démare, Tiesj Benoot and Jack Bobridge. It is very difficult to place riders in positions to fill those niches without them becoming overly threatening in one area or another. This is doubly true when the goal is sub-top cyclists...
In that spirit I'd like to suggest three riders who can slide into those same spaces without overwhelming them. Who already exist in the DB, but evidently not in an attractive enough form to attract attention. Who ride, in real life, at a decently high (WT) level.
I have had the most difficulty with trying to get the Benoot archetype, mostly because of the lack of options to increase both CB and MT. Obviously it is easiest to achieve if you just stick them in at 4.100, then there is no need to worry about how a manager might develop them! Alternatively, there is plenty of control at the 4.X level; here Charmig is at 4.50 to encourage teams at all levels of the pyramid to chase him.
Démare is in his final year at the peak of his powers, and I don't see anybody coming through to replace him. Fortunately, his young countryman Paul Lapeira is having something of a breakout year with AG2R. He won the Classic Loire Atlantique [1.1] and the Cholet Agglo Tour [1.1] as well as a stage of Itzulia Basque Country [2.UWT], before managing a Top 5 at Amstel Gold Race [1.UWT]. His current stats aren't really viable, so he provides an excellent opportunity for providing the next Démare. I found the potential 2 is best for maximising the hybrid nature from 3.00, his HI and SP are intended to be A-Tier compared to others of his generation.
(Hills to 4.00 then Sprinter to 4.100, Sprinter and Climberv1 trainings for comparison)
We all know that the true puncheur is dead and that hilly stage races have been taken over by climbers that can TT can TTers that can climb. Unfortunately, creating a puncheur-TTer is nigh impossible as the stage race training platform always gives preference to the MT stat and time trial gives inferior HL. Thankfully Riley Sheehan is here to avail us of this issue. After spending a year riding in the local American circuit he has burst onto the international stage with a win at Paris - Tours (1.Pro) and then three consecutive Top 5s at Tro-Bro Leon (1.Pro), Eschborn-Frankfurt (1.UWT) and the Famenne Ardenne Classic (1.1). It might not be the most faithful representation of his skillset, but in a few years he should be capable of staving off the complete demise of the puncheur.
The other kind of rider that can be difficult to reproduce is the Antonio Pedrero style breakaway specialist. Somebody who can attack away from the peloton, survive the bumps big and small, before finishing it off at the line (rather than with an attack prior to it. I've included some riders from major cycling nations who could be deserving of being worked into this archetype (even if it doesn't perfectly reflect them in actuality).
Up first is Tobias Bayer [1999]. He was initially added as something of an all-rounder. Somebody who could become a talented puncheur, flandrienne, or stage racer. Having his team go defunct meant that he didn't receive any progress despite leveling up. Given he is the only Austrian talent that year and neither of the lads from 2000 were seen as worthy of a contract, there is a gap available to be filled. He's had a quiet few years at Alpecin-Deceuninck but has shown some glimpses of talent. I've included both a 3.04 and a 4.00 version; the latter more accurately reflects my vision.
Next up is Luca Vergallito [1997], another Alpecin-Deceuninck rider. He is something of a late bloomer, making his debut in the senior circuit last year with Alpecin's dev team. He scored some rather solid results including Oberösterreich Rundfahrt [2.2], the Province Cycling Tour [2.IC] and the KoM classification at the Giro della Regione Friuli [2.2]. His advanced age suggests he ought to be added in as an already maxed rider.
I don't know exactly why Laurens Huys [1998] hasn't been picked up given he already has the potential to become a quite solid rider. I'm assuming he had a single season as a stagiaire but wasn't renewed. He has never managed anything overly impressive at the WT level but had a decent time at last year's Giro, including a Top 10 on Stage 15. I've worked from his original design, trading off some MT for a serious increase in SP.
There are a number of riders from Kazakhstan that could with some revision, given nobody has elected to pick up a rider from the nation since the class of 1998. Daniil Marukhin [1999] is not currently in the database but Gleb Brussenskiy [2000] is an alternative option if restatting is preferable to addition. For his part, Marukhin has been somewhat invisible in his debut season in the WT but managed a decent repertoire of results in a number of .1 and .2 events last year, admittedly not as part of the European circuit.
A very solid 2023 with Equipo Kern Pharma earned Roger Adria [1998] a contract with BORA-hansgrohe. The step up to the World Tour level has limited his opportunities this year, but 14th at Amstel Gold Race (1.UWT) and 5th at Eschborn-Frankfurt (1.UWT) is nothing to sniff at. Originally seen as a climber, it seems that Adrià's finishing has become more prominent with time, making him a perfect candidate for Pedrero's successor.
Just some quick stuff as I’m on holiday: De Lie and Nys, both similar great allround riders with a strong finish and both really big talents. De Lie will probably be better at the cobble classics while I see Nys evolve into more of a puncheur. Boonen and Gilbert come to mind.
Juts signed for a new team. Raced last year in the Italian hills. In his own words:
“I’m kind of figuring it out at the moment, what kind of rider I am,” he admitted.
“But I have a fairly good idea. I’d say I’m a relatively good all-rounder, I have a good punch, so I’m suited to short, steep climbs. And I’d say I’d have a decent enough sprint as well. So, I guess you could call me a “puncher”, though it depends. I think I’ll evolve the more experienced I become.”
I’ve probably over statted him to make him the big Irish star of the year. Next year should bring in quite a lot of real Irish talent (Rafferty, Harvey) so this is kind of a gap year.
Not much data on what type of rider he is but two strong performances very recently in Belgium suggest s a Classics rider to me but a couple of options there. Again slightly older so suggested a lvl 2 start with low potential
Sebastian Kolze Changizi hasn't had the most illustrious career so far, in both reality and the ManGame. His u23 career was disrupted by the pandemic but was highlighted by 2nd in the l'Avenir points classification and 2nd at the U23 Gent - Wevelgem, in addition to a couple of .2 stages. Since then he has ridden for Tudor, working primarily as a leadout for Arvid de Kleijn. His only experience in the MG was as a stagiaire. I've worked from his current form, sacrificing some flat to create the sort of more well-rounded domestique that just isn't possible with a Level 1 rider.
Alexander Salby is another rider who is somewhat under the radar; he is now in his second year with Bingoal WB. Although his 2024 campaign hasn't gone as well as he might have hoped, he has still secured 6th in a stage of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana (2.Pro) and 7th in a stage of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour (2.1). This after he secured his first UCI victory on the final stage of 2023's Tropicale Amissa Bongo (2.1). He won't ever be a world-beater so I suggest he be added as a potential leadout and not much more.
Joshua Gudnitz was somewhat hard done by in his current capabilities. He won the U23 edition of Eschborn-Frankfurt and would've done the same for Liege-Bastogne-Liege if not for some misdirection regarding the route. He was also part of the stage-winning TTT squad at l'Avenir and was brought on as a stagiaire by Cofidis. Despite being offered a pro contract he opted for another year at Coloquick and, although it has not arrived as yet, I am sure success will be in his future. I suggest he be shaped into his self-described mould as an enjoyer of breakaways, sprints and time trials.
The first of the 2002 class is Tobias Lund. The young sprinter has spent his entire senior career in DSM's ranks, initially with their Continental team before moving up to the World Tour in 2023. Success didn't take too long to arrive, as he won a stage of the 2021 Tour de Bretagne (2.2). He made a couple of starts for the main squad in the following year, but couldn't manage to record a second win - narrowly missing out on stage 2 of the Flanders Tomorrow Tour (2.2U). He was in the professional ranks full-time for 2023 but again couldn't quite grab another UCI win despite podiums at the Brussels Classic (1.Pro) and Ronde van Drenthe (1.1) as well as on numerous stages. Everything finally clicked at this year's Tour of Türkiye (2.Pro): three stage wins and the points jersey make for an excellent haul. Doubtless there is a bright future ahead for this sprinter.
The other major talent from Denmark this year is Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen. His pathway has been far less linear than Lund's, with his first year in the u23 ranks spent riding in local races. In 2022 he had the opportunity to show his talent by becoming the Danish u23 RR champion and securing the sprint classification at the Alpes Isère Tour (2.2). A move to France opened up new possibilities. Besides defending is NC jersey, Søjberg also managed Top 10s at Gent - Wevelgem U23 (1.2U), Paris - Camembert (1.1) and a timetrial at Kreiz Breizh Elites (2.2). This attracted the attention of AG2R, who signed him up to a development contract. Their faith seems to have been rewarded with victory at GP Herning (1.2) and two stages of Olympia's Tour (2.2), which was enough to secure 2nd overall. He was also best-of-the-rest at Gent - Wevelgem (1.2U), where a long-range attack took victory. Given Denmark already has William Blume Levy occupying the flandrienne role, I suggest edging Søjberg more towards a puncheur or all-rounder.
(Leveled up to 4.100 using Classics, Fabian, Climberv1 and Stage Race respectively)
Next on the list is Adam Holm Jørgensen. He also started off riding primarily in the Danish circuit, albeit with marginally superior results. He came 6th in the Danish TT champs, 10th in the TT at Danmark Rundt (2.Pro), and made the Top 20 in the TT at both Worlds and Euros u23. The following year saw him secure his first UCI victory at l'Avenir (2.NC) as he powered away form the peloton on the third stage. He very nearly repeated the feat on the following day but couldn't outsprint Thomas Gloag. He was fifth at Eschborn-Frankfurt u23 (1.2U) and part of the TTT winning squad at l'Avenir (2.NC) in 2023, before securing a transfer to Hagens Berman Axeon for 2024. It has been a quiet year so far with Top 10s on stages of the Istrian Spring Trophy (2.2) and Alpes Isère Tour (2.2) the best results so far.
Holm Jørgensen has a fellow classmate riding with him this year: Kasper Andersen. The former Junior European Champ started his senior career with the prestigious Team Coloquick. There he scored a podium at Fyen Rundt (1.2) and 17th at the Europe RR-U23, which was apparently enough for Hagens Berman Axeon to snap him up. Two stage podiums at the Tour of Rhodes (2.2) and one at the Giro Next Gen (2.2U) led to a stagiaire contract with UAE Team Emirates. Another unimpressive year in 2023 was highlighted by 21st at the difficult Maryland Cycling Classic (1.Pro), 23rd at Danmark Rundt (2.Pro) and helping Henrik Pedersen to win the Europe RR-U23. Thus far this year he has scored three stage Top 10s at the Tour of Rhodes (2.2) and another at the Circuit des Ardennes (2.2).
Next up is Tobias Aagaard Hansen, who has thus far placed greater emphasis on the track than on the road but still maintains a dual-discipline presence. He started his senior career with two seasons in Uno-X's continental squad, with his best road result being victory on Stage 3 of the 2022 Baltic Chain Tour (2.2). He was part of the Danish squad that won the Pursuit at the 2021 Euros, as well as securing Top 10s in the scratch and elimination at Worlds. He was dropped by Uno-X, so had to secure a move to Leopard for 2023. With them he won the Omnium at the Jakarta World Cup, but couldn't find any solid results on the road where he was relegated to a domestique role. The collapse of Leopard meant a move to Bornholm, where he has thus far had a very fruitful year riding the domestique calendar. He has added 3rd at Fyen Rundt (1.2), 7th at GP Herning (1.2), and 10th at Paris-Troyes (1.2) to his road palmarès, whilst securing victory in the Elimination and a podium in the Scratch at the Euros.
Last, and also least, is Dennis Lock. Primarily riding in the local scene once he graduated to the senior ranks, Lock had something of a breakout ride when he managed 8th at the 2022 Giro della Regione Friuli (2.2) thanks to a great ride up Monte Zoncolan. This earned him a move to Italy, where some decent riding would be capped off with 15th in the 2023 Giro Next Gen (2.2U). This year he is riding for Zalf Euromobil Fior, with his best effort being 9th in the GP Santa Rita (1.2).
Although there are other Danes from the 2002 class I don't think they should be added in this intake. For the vast majority of them this is because they haven't had an opportunity to really shine, creating difficulties in understanding their profile and potential. For Morten Nørtoft in particular, it is because this is his first year back from a major injury so another season or two is necessary to fully comprehend his performances. This has the added bonus of enabling more diverse development pathways.
Edited by liefwarrior on 25-06-2024 07:18
Stage Racer - similar as Lennert Van Eetvelt (8161)
Best Results 2024: AlUla Tour (2nd), Tour of Rwanda (4th), Itzulia Basque Country (25th) Best Results 2023: Tour of Rwanda (3th), LBL Espoirs (9th), Giro Next Gen (8th), Tour de l'Avenir (5th), Il Lombardia U23 (Win)
The only half-decent Polish rider from 2002 is Radoslaw Fratczak. He wasn't very impressive as a junior and has spent the majority of his u23 career riding in the domestic scene. It is only in the past two years that things have begun to pick up for him. Last year he followed up 4th in the Poland Men's RR and 4th at Dookola Mazowsza (2.2) by just narrowly missing out on victory on the 2nd stage in l'Avenir (2.NC). He finally managed to take his first UCI victory this year with a stage win at Belgrade Banjaluka (2.2).
The other Polish addition I would suggest is Damian Papierski. Papierski had a good time riding with CCC's continental squad prior to its collapse, picking up 5th at Dookola Mazowsza 2019 (2.2) and GP Slovakia 2020 (1.2). Things took a turn for the worse after the professional support was withdrawn, but victories at GP de Gemenc (2.2) and the Poland RR-U23 show that there is still some talent there. Papierski has also been a regular Top 10 fixture of the Poland Men's ITT.
The best of this year's Swedes is probably Lukas Vernersson, although that isn't saying a huge amount. Admittedly, he did secure the KoM at the Tour of Estonia (2.1), which has to count for something. Aside from that he has managed 5th in the U6 Cycling Tour (NE), a Top 10 in the Swedish Men's RR, and some decent cyclocross results.
(Classics to 4.100, Hills is non-viable due to MT)
The other Swede that could be added is Jonathan Ahlsson. He has also managed a Top 5 at the U6 Cycling Tour (NE), as well as some podiums and even a win at other domestic club races. In the Continental Tour he has marked up a 27th in Sundvolden (1.2) and 20th overall at the Baltic Chain Tour (2.2). He also managed a Top 5 in the Swedish Men's ITT back in 2021, which is part of a trend of solid (for the level) TTing.
Finland also has one talent to offer up: Veeti Vainio. He has a cyclocross background and has done decently well in the domestic scene in that regard. He also hasn't done too terribly on the road against Finnish competition, but has struggled with the step up to the Continental Tour. He often DNFs in .2 races, with a best finish of 25th at the Tour of Poyang Lake (2.2). He has been picked up by Voltas-Tartu, so evidently they see something in him. I'm not sure how viable the proposed matrix is, but it would be an interesting experiment for somebody willing to take the plunge.
Last, but not least, of the Nordics is Norway. This year the standout rider has to be Johannes Staune-Mittet. In his first season at the u23 level he won a stage of Ronde de l'Isard (2.2U). He won the whole race outright the very next year, in addition to 2nd place at the Tour de l'Avenir (2.NC). The great results kept coming with victories in the Baby Giro (2.2U), the Giro del Belvedere (1.2U) and Stage 3 of the Czech Tour (2.1). The move to the professional peloton has meant such results are harder to come by, but 20th at the Tour de Romandie (2.UWT) is nothing to sniff at.
A quiet first year for Embret Svestad-Bårdseng at the u23 level ended with a podium at Gylne Gutuer (1.2) and a contract with Team Coop. With them he won the KoM at the Tour of Hellas (2.1), managed a Top 20 overall in Norway (2.Pro), and scored a 4th on the final day in l'Avenir (2.NC). The next season with Human Powered Health saw him riding to 14th at the AlUla Tour (2.1) and 8th overall at l'Avenir (2.NC). This secured him a development ride with Arkea; with whom who he has scored 20th in Oman (2.Pro) and and 5th at the Alpes Isère Tour (2.2).
Despite a slow start to life at the u23 level, Magnus Wæhre has slowly built up a decent résumé. Just last year he managed 8th at the Tour of Qinghai Lake (2.Pro), 5th at the Lillehammer GP (1.2) and 14th at Course de la Paix (2.NC). This year has been much more quiet, without any opportunities to tackle his favourite terrain: the mountains.
Third in the Norwegian Men's TT will hopefully not be a highpoint for the young Truls Nordhagen. He has managed to continue his decent results in the national championships, but despite the hopes that he might develop into a general classification chaser it seems he has plateaued. That being said, Søren Wærenskjold was vastly undersold as the former U23 ITT World Champion is now one of the top rouleurs in the world. Thus, I don't see the harm in pumping Nordhagen slightly above what he ought to be.
After a few years of not very much at all, Erik Nygaard Madsen has finally produced some decent results just last week with 3rd and 7th at GP Herning (1.2) and Fyen Rundt (1.2) respectively. He's been riding for Uno-X's development team for the past two years, having previously been a triathlete. Presumably he's been assigned to domestique duties, hence the lack of any real palmarès. The goods news is that Herning has some cobblestones, which provides the emphasis for this suggested matrix.
Sprint - similar as Casper Van Uden (1280) with better cobbles, less hills
Best Results 2024: Knee injury since UAE Tour Best Results 2023: Paris-Roubaix Espoirs (8th), Dorpenomloop Rucphen (2nd), Youngster Coast Challenge (3th), Omloop Het Nieuwsblad U23 (Win), Memorial Van Coningsloo (Win), GP Rik Van Looy (2nd), Europe RR-U23 (11th), Giro Next Gen (2x 4th and 1x 6th).
Paths as Classics, Cobbles, Hills and Climber v1 respectively
Best Results 2024: Paris-Roubaix U23 (9th), LBL Espoirs (4th), Orlen Nations GP (5th), Tour de Bretagne (10th), World Champs Cyclocross U23 (2nd) Best Results 2023: Valle d'Aosta (10th) Best Results 2022: Giro della Regione Friuli (Win), Valle d'Aosta (11th)
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
In something of a pivot, I'd like to take a look at some of the Turkic nations. First up is Kazakhstan, which looks as though it hasn't received much love since the 2019 season. Fair enough, some of the talents it does possess are quite strong, but perhaps the following could produce some more balance.
Up first is Alexandr Semenov. The promise that was shown at the Tour of Iran '19 (2.1) and Belgrade Banjaluka '20 (2.1) never really went anywhere. It seems Semenov will be forever stuck as a Continental rider, and not a particularly good one at that. Still, he has made the Top 10 in the previous two Kazakh RRs and was 5th at Tour of Van '23 (2.2), so he isn't terrible. With the following matrix he won't be anything particularly dangerous but a capable enough rider for a mountain train.
Next on the list is Iogan Shtein, who is currently in the database as "Logan". While Semenov came firing right out the gates before quickly coming to a plateau, Shtein's path to his current position has been more gradual. He was on the podium at this year's Tour of Sakarya (2.2) and GP Manavgat '22 (1.2). Back in 2022 he also secured Top 10s at GP Mediterrennean (1.2) and GP Gazipasa (1.2), as well as 5th in the Kazakh TT, before having a year away from the sport. I'd suggest a slightly more well rounded domestique, his results show a combination of rouleur and grimpeur.
The most talented rider of the 1999 class, and the only one to score a professional contract, is Igor Chzhan. Winning a stage of the Tour of Iran '19 (2.1) and scoring a podium at the Tour of the Peninsula '19 (2.1) was an excellent start; whilst a Top 20 at Tour de Langkawi '20 (2.Pro) and victory in the Kazakh TT-U23 '21 showed that the pandemic hadn't slowed him down. Winning the Asian RR and GP Velo Alanya (1.2), amidst a score of other solid showings in 2022, was finally enough to secure Chzhan a ride with Astana. There he has mostly been limited to domestique work. He ought to combine the best parts of both Semenov and Shtein.
Yevgeniy Fedorov was always going to be good. He was a very promising junior and managed to win the Asian TT-U23, the KOM at the Tour of Almaty (2.1) and stages at the Tour of Szeklerland (2.2), Tour of Rwanda (2.1) and Tour de Langkawi (2.Pro) in just two years at the U23 level. He very nearly added the Asian RR-U23 and Tour de Langkawi GC to that, finishing 2nd in both. The step up into the professional ranks was always going to be difficult, but Federov has been the Kazakh RR champion, the Asian TT champion (twice), and the World RR-U23 champion. His 14th place at this year's Paris-Roubaix (1.UWT) shows his potential on the cobblestones.
Daniil Pronskiy is (presumably) the younger brother of Vadim Pronskiy. I would say he is a (significant) step below the abilities of his sibling. That said, Daniil is far from a terrible rider. He was one third of the Kazakh trio that dominated the Asian RR-U23 in 2022, finishing more than five minutes up on the rest of the field. He has won the GP Velo Alanya '20 (1.2) and was the Kazakh TT-U23 champion in 2022. He was part of Astana's development programme, but was cut from it at the end of last year having failed to reach the heights necessary to move up to the WorldTour. Instead he's done nicely for himself by scoring a podium at the Tour of Alanya (1.2) and a Top 10 at the Tour of Bostonliq (2.2). Another mountain goat.
Gleb Brussenskiy was another participant in that domination of the Asian RR-U23. Unlike Pronskiy, that wasn't the only highlight of his career. Having already been moved into the WorldTour by 2021, Burssenskiy showed why the Astana team believed in him by managing 13th at that year's Tour de l'Avenir. This was followed by 15th at l'Avenir '22 and securing the Asian-U23 RR. Another year, another step up, with victory this time coming in the senior Asian RR.
The only talent from the year 2001 is Orken Slamzhanov. His emergence has been slow, to put it lightly. Two years on Astana's development squad were met with Top 10s on stages of the Tour of Hellas (2.1) and the Tour of Bulgaria (2.2). Given that isn't exactly inspiring stuff, it can hardly be considered surprising that he was dropped. Now in his final year of U23 racing things have finally come together for Slamzhanov, as he won a the mass sprint on Stage 3 of the Tour of Sakarya (2.2).
Ilkhan Dostiyev and Nicolas Vinokurov are the only two riders from 2002 worth considering. We'll start with the lesser of the pair: Dostiyev. It is only in the past two years that things have begun to come together for Dostiyev, outside of dominating the Kazakh races. It started with 3rd in the uphill finish on the first day of Visit South Aegean Islands Tour '23 (2.2) and was followed by winning Tour of Bostonliq II (1.2) and a Top 10 at Aziz Shusha (2.2). That win must be tempered by the fact that it wasn't against the European peloton. Nobody can take this year's results away from him though. Coming 2nd in the Tour of Rwanda (2.1) and winning a stage on the way to 7th at the Orlen Nations Grand Prix (2.NC) is no mean feat. We'll be watching his attempt at the Baby Giro with much interest.
Similar to Dostiyev, Vinokurov struggled to adapt to the U23 level. Despite being part of the 2022 Asian RR-U23 domination and being back-to-back Kazakh RR-U23 champion his best finish in the premier U23 events was 33rd at l'Avenir (in '23) and 31st at the Baby Giro (in '22). Things began to improve with 2nd at the Tour of Van '23 (2.2), only narrowly losing out to Daniil Marukhin. He followed this up with 3rd at the Tour of Istanbul '23 (2.2) despite the attendance of a number of European squads. This year he has been given a mixture of opportunities: sometimes a domestique for Astana's professional riders, other times a leader for the development squad. A nice ride at the Tour of Japan (2.2) was rewarded with a stage win and 4th overall, whilst he has just won the Asian U23-ITT.
(Hills+Track-Sprinter, Track-Sprinter, Hills+Climberv1 to 4.100)
Uzbekistan actually has a half decent rider coming through this year in the form of Dmitriy Bocharov. In his second year as an U23 rider he was the 2nd best Uzbek TTer and managed to score 8th in the prologue of the Tour of Sharjah '22 (2.2). He followed this up with a quiet start before managing to finish the Asian RR-U23 within a minute of the winning Kazakh. Then things really took off: winner of a stage and the mountains classification at the 100th Anniversary Tour of The Republic '23 (2.2); winner of the Uzbek RR, RR-U23 and TT-U23; winner of a stage and the mountains classification at the Tour of Van '23 (2.2), while managing to hold on to a podium in the general classification. He's only managed to add a 5th in the Tour of Bostonliq '24 (2.2) thus far this year, but I am sure more will come.
For some reason Halil Ibrahim Dogan is two years older in the DB than FirstCycling claims he is. Perhaps it is because he probably had his best season ever as a rookie in the U23 peloton. He sprinted to victory in Turkish RR-U23, got on the podium at the Tour of Mersin '19 (2.2) and rounded it out with a Top 10 in the Bursa Orhangazi Race '19 (1.2). He graduated to the senior Turkish RR the following year and was prevented from winning that as well by only the smallest of margins. Two additional Top 10s were added to his palmarés at the Tour of Alanya '20 (1.2) and the GP World's Best High Altitude '20 (1.2). The COVID years were not kind as Dogan could only scrape Top 10s at GP Develi '21 (1.2) and GP Gündogmus '22 (1.2). A more international calendar meant trips to Mauritius - 4th @ Courts Mammouth Classique de l'Île Maurice '23 (1.2), Morocco - 4th @ GP Boukraa '23 (1.2), and Algeria - 10th @ GP de la Ville d'Alger '23 (1.2). He also scored a podium back home in the GP Kaisareia '23 (1.2).
Samet Bulut was much slower to show his ability than Dogan. He didn't achieve anything of note as a junior, and was something of an also-ran in domestic races during his rookie campaign. As a sophomore he took things up a notch by proving taking up Dogan's mantle as the Turkish U23 RR champion. He combined that with a Top 10 at GP Gündogmus '22 (1.2), as well as 11th at both GP Mediterrennean '22 (1.2) and the Tour of Sakarya '22 (2.2). Things only got better from there. A solid ride through the hills secured 2nd overall at the 100th Anniversary Tour of The Republic '23 (2.2), the GP Syedra Ancient City '23 (1.2) yielded a Top 5, and several other domestic .2 races ended with Top 10s. The biggest scalp so far this year was 3rd in the mountain classification at the Tour of Türkiye (2.Pro).
I've been struggling with stat suggestions myself on a number of riders (trying to be fair and realistic but still with potential), but wanted to put some rider suggestions out there with hopes that it either sparks interest in others. I've focused mostly on South America. Hopefully I'll work on some stats in the future to supplement this.
Vicente Rojas: Chile <a href="https://firstcycling.com/ri...cedata
Rojas is in his first season with VCF Bardiani and is succeeding overall in a number of medium mountain stages across his career. He was 8th overall at 2024 Alpes Isere with a 2nd and 4th on mountain stages as well as 4th place at Eschborn-Frankfurt U23. He had a number of stage victories in his 2023 season as well in the Spanish amateur circuit. Most importantly though, he won the Pan-American RR-U23 on a punchy course.
Jose Manuel Aramego - Bolivia - <a href="https://firstcycling.com/ri...cedata
Jose Manuel Aramego would be the first Bolivian rider to enter the DB since the 1999 cohort and appears to be Bolivia's only UCI registered rider. The current Bolivia U23 RR and TT champion, he has been 7th, 6th, and 5th in the last two Pan-American RR U23. He also has a 2nd and 3rd in two Brazilian 1.2 races, one with a MTF.
Hamza Amari - Algeriahttps://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...5#racedata
Hamza Amari might be the new and upcoming rider for Algeria. He's won 14 races at just 21. He's already been 3rd at the African Continental Road Race and taken 2nd overall at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo. A strong sprinter, Amari should be able to make a strong impact on the continental circuit.
Alex Malacarne - Brazilhttps://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...1#racedata
Malacarne is a Brazilian mountain biker who should also be appearing for Trinity Racing this year. No road results yes, but he's strengthening up his XCO results well. Demon descending isn't always thanked in PCM, but he can find his way off the top of a mountain.
Eric Caiza - Ecuadorhttps://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...p?r=123098
Caiza is one of two Ecuadorian suggestions. He's had some okay U23 national results, but nothing too spectacular - hopefully he shows a bit more at the Vuelta a Columbia next week.
Franklin Revelo - Ecuador <a href="https://firstcycling.com/ri...cedata
Revelo is likely the better Ecuadorian talent although results are slim for the 2002 class. 3rd at the Ecuador RR U23 and 6th overall at the Vuelta a Ecuador 2023 are his best results. Some good mountain finishes at the unbelievably high altitude mean he should be a good mountain domestique.
Thomas Silva - Uruguayhttps://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...1#racedata
Born on 30th December 2001, maybe Silva can join at level 1 or 2 given that Uruguay hasn't found much success with its recent talents. He's been very good for Caja Rural even scoring a 6th place stage result at Itzulia. He's a pretty solid all-around except for the TT and I think could find some great results.
Thomas Silva is in his first full season with Caja Rural and like seancoll said already has some signature results, including 6th place on a Itzulia stage, a stage win at the Volta ao Alentejo, 13th at the GP Criquelion, among others. He often finishes first or near the front of the groups he comes in with and is a solid puncheur. Starting at Lvl 3 and with a lower potential, this can be translated pretty well I think.
Lars Craps rides for Flanders-Baloise after spending last year with the Soudal QS Dev Team. He had an okay cobbles season including 53rd at the Ronde, with the highlight more recently being an 11th place at Dwars door het Hegeland. He's a good alrounder with a quick finish, as indicated among other things by a 5th place on a hilly stage in the Tour of Norway against some pretty strong competition, as well as some good results last year. Again, starting at Lvl 3, this versatility could be modeled nicely.
Now to the 2002 class. Before I get to the African riders, and I'm not sure why exactly, here's a suggestion for Fabio Christen:
Strong puncheur with results such as a 6th place at the GP Kanton Aargau, 10th at Rund um Köln and 11th at Circuit Franco-Belge just in the last few weeks, as well as 14th at Nokere-Koerse earlier in the year. Also is decent on cobbles with a Top 50 finish at the Ronde and 15th at Le Samyn, among others. Last year, he finished 5th at the GP de Wallonie.
The first of my yearly Rwandan suggestions. Has a bunch of Top 10s both in the local Rwandan races as well as .2 races such as the Tour du Cameroun and the Tour d'Algerie, where he won the youth classification last year. Nothing spectacular, but should be a solid domestique level rider.
Rwandan #2 is Eric Muhoza. His highlights also consist of many good local results, as well as 14th overall of last year's Tour du Rwanda, 8th and the young riders classification at the Tour du Maurice, among others. He's started riding gravel races this year so I thought it might be fun to give him some cobble skills, too. Relatively limited main stats, but strong physicals to make him more interesting.
seancoll mentioned Amari already, and he's probably the strongest of my suggestions. A whole bunch of strong results in African CT races, including stage wins and numerous stage and one day Top 5s. He's occasionally shown some ability in TTs, too.
Speaking of TTs, Dillon Geary is the two time South African U23 TT champ, as well as 2nd place in the ITT at the 2024 African Games. He also has a bunch of high finishes in one day races, including 2nd at the road race of the African Games and a win as well as some Top 5s in American NE races, so I figured it might be neat to have him as a potential sprinter/prologue specialist, too.
Nahom Zerai rides for Q36.5. He has shown some promise with 5th and 6th place finishes on tough mountain stages in the Giro della Regione Friuli and Giro Next Gen last year, as well as a 4th place on a long uphill finish in Rwanda this year, beating some pretty solid riders each time. It looks like he's much more suited for longer climbs; potential 3 ensures limited hill skills, with high-ish backup stats to compensate for that.
Petros Mengs is a bit hard to gage because he really doesn't have any standout results. But he regularly rides on the Asian CT circuit so I figured he might have a spot in the MG, and given that he seems to compete a lot for mountain jerseys (even if not super successfully), I thought it might be neat to make him just a breakaway machine. Might need some fine tuning, but could be a cool niche rider in the Yzeiraj mold.
With Ben Nasser long gone, Souheil Khederi about to decline and Aziz Melki, my suggestion from a couple of years ago, not really catching on yet, I thought it could be nice to add another Tunisian rider. Enter Hatem Ben Ameur. There are hardly any results for him, but I figured that could be an advantage and he could simply be taylored by a manager to whatever they need him to be. Potential 7 on the surface is of course a bit ridiculous, but it allows for exactly that. I started with the fighter path and then tried to make sure no other version would be overpowered. I'm open to the idea that he'd still be a bit strong, but I think it would be a really fun opportunity to add someone like him.
The recently finished Asia RR has provided some more candidates. First up is Aiman Rosli. He has won the Malaysia ITT five years in a row from 2020-2024. Success elsewhere has been more difficult to come by, although just this year he won Stage 2 of the Tour of Thailand '24 (2.1) with a solo attack. Given Malaysia has no riders born after '97, I figured he would be a solid addition.
Another rider born in 1999 was Euro Kim, the newly-minted Asian RR Champion. He took the win by out-sprinting a moderately large group. Kim's other decent results, of which there are very few, generally come from being best-of-the-rest - the fastest sprinter in the chasing group. This netted 6th at the Bueng Si Fai International Road Race '24 (1.2) and 5th at the Asia RR '23. Perhaps a sprinter then? I've given him a decent enough CB to make him more attractive as a domestique for both the sprint train and the cobbled classics.
The Asia RR-U23 seems to trend towards dominance by one nation, with it being the turn of the UAE this time round. Although that duo won't arrive in the MG until next year (and you can bet I will be suggesting them) the final rider on the podium, Ali Labib Shotorban, is from the 2002 class. Riding for his university team in the Tour of Iran '22 (2.1), Labib Shotorban scored a 5th on Stage 2 and 3rd on Stage 5 on the way to securing the Youth Classification. With an extended calendar in the following year, he was 5th at the 100th Anniversary Tour of The Republic '23 (2.2), scored another stage podium at the Tour of Iran '23 (2.1), and narrowly lost out to Saeid Safarzadeh in the Iran RR '23. He competed in the China Road Pro Cycling League '24 with Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team, securing 6th on Puyang stage, and subsequently rode to 21st and 20th in the Tour of Sakarya '24 (2.2) and Tour of Bostonliq '24 (2.2) respectively.
(Climberv1 to 4.100 except for Hills at 4.00, Fighter to 4.100)
The two Slovenians suggested by TinxiaS are a touch young to be added just yet (both are born in 2006). Fortunately the nation has at least one talent that could be added this year: Gal Glivar. Luka Ziherl might also be a candidate, but I'd suggest giving him another year to see what develops. Glivar has won the Giro del Belvedere U23 '24 (1.2U), the Tour of Sharjah '24 (2.2), the Orlen Nations Grand Prix '23 (2.NC) and the Carpathian Race U23 '23 (2.2U). This impressive palmarès suggests that Gilvar has a bright future ahead of him. Although his best qualities are shown on the shorter climbs, Gilvar's ability on the TT-bike was shown when he won the 12 kilometre timetrial at the Tour of Sharjah '24 (2.2).
(Stage Race to 4.100 and Climberv1+Hills to 4.100)
I think Mihael Stajnar is also worth a shout. He has been relatively dominant in the local cyclocross scene but has struggled to translate that to the road until rather recently. Top 10s at the GP Slovakia '23 (1.2) and GP Gorenjska '23 (1.2) have evolved into a podium overall at Belgrade Banjaluka '24 (2.2). Not the most prestigious race, but he did very well on the queen stage to Jahorina. Importantly, the combination of cyclocross and climbing mean that he ought to be placed in the MT+CB niche, which starting from 3.00 enables.
Stat gains to 4.100 for Hills, Stage Race, Climberv1, Climberv2, Sprinter, Track-Sprint, Time Trial, Track-TT
Lief already mentioned Glivar and I agree he seems to be the standout Slovenian rider. Even though he has some GC wins on his palmares he is not really the typical stage racer. He's more of a puncheur/sprinter that can time-trial a bit, especially the shorter TTs he seems okay at. He struggles on the longer climbs so I don't really have him maxing out with a great MO stat and I don't see him as a great puncheur or sprinter, but more a mix of both. There are no Slovenian sprinters currently so maybe he could be a sort of lesser MG version of Marko Kump.
Miholjevic looked like he was going to be a pretty good prospect back in 2022, but since he moved to WT he hasn't really shown anything. As a result I don't really see him being anything more than a domestique in MG. He's fairly tall at 189 cm and most of his results are from time trials. I see him as a big diesel engine guy, but with lower main stats. It's rare to find a decent Croatian rider so I think he deserves a shot in MG.
They look promising, but given they were born in 2006 and we're mostly looking at 2002 riders this year, they still have a few more years to fill their palmares before we need to think of stats for them
As there are some big names incoming for the 2025 season (Gregoire, Martinez, maybe Gautherat) my suggestions for the 2024 season won’t be the biggest talents in the end.
Tobias Bayer [1999]. He was initially added as something of an all-rounder. Somebody who could become a talented puncheur, flandrienne, or stage racer. Having his team go defunct meant that he didn't receive any progress despite leveling up. Given he is the only Austrian talent that year and neither of the lads from 2000 were seen as worthy of a contract, there is a gap available to be filled. He's had a quiet few years at Alpecin-Deceuninck but has shown some glimpses of talent. I've included both a 3.04 and a 4.00 version; the latter more accurately reflects my vision.
Luca Vergallito [1997], another Alpecin-Deceuninck rider. He is something of a late bloomer, making his debut in the senior circuit last year with Alpecin's dev team. He scored some rather solid results including Oberösterreich Rundfahrt [2.2], the Province Cycling Tour [2.IC] and the KoM classification at the Giro della Regione Friuli [2.2]. His advanced age suggests he ought to be added in as an already maxed rider.
Laurens Huys [1998] hasn't been picked up given he already has the potential to become a quite solid rider. I'm assuming he had a single season as a stagiaire but wasn't renewed. He has never managed anything overly impressive at the WT level but had a decent time at last year's Giro, including a Top 10 on Stage 15. I've worked from his original design, trading off some MT for a serious increase in SP.
Daniil Marukhin [1999] is not currently in the database but 
Roger Adria [1998] a contract with BORA-hansgrohe. The step up to the World Tour level has limited his opportunities this year, but 14th at Amstel Gold Race (1.UWT) and 5th at Eschborn-Frankfurt (1.UWT) is nothing to sniff at. Originally seen as a climber, it seems that Adrià's finishing has become more prominent with time, making him a perfect candidate for Pedrero's successor.
