There is a saying: "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Well last year we managed to break what didn't need fixing. It just goes to show that even as I enter my 8th season in the Management Game running this team, there are still so many things to learn.
At this time last year we were riding high after a very successful debut season in the Pro Tour. That feeling made us a bit too overconfident and complacent. While it was always the plan for us to invest in our two local leaders Tadej Pogacar and Ivan Siric, and those two both in a vacuum proved that they were worth the investment. But for the team and the entire project to thrive we have to find a better balance.
On the bright side our entire team is still relatively young. We aren't entering the season in a worse position and we have flexibility to go in many different directions. In the last few years we have always gone with a more depth scoring approach, but with the rise of Pogacar we have to reassess that, as well having to acknowledge that a bigger portion of the wage budget will be used up by him.
With another season in the Pro Tour all our sponsors are still fully behind us and our project. Despite an underwhelming season on the whole last year, there were some outstanding results. Our sponsors were delighted with that level of exposure for their brands, so the expectation is to continue the success in that particular aspect.
Spoiler
We plan to hold another press conference after the renewal process. There we will discuss the ins and outs of the team in more detail, as well as answer your questions about the upcoming season.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of CedevitaEdited by redordead on 06-07-2026 10:37
Will be interested to see if the approach changes for the coming season, with a more difficult second season in the PT behind you. Still being in the same division for the third season is all that matters though and you definitely have a great base to build on!
Will be interested to see if the approach changes for the coming season, with a more difficult second season in the PT behind you. Still being in the same division for the third season is all that matters though and you definitely have a great base to build on!
I'll try building instead of (unintentionally) tearing down this time
We are pleased to announce which riders have renewed their contract with the team. It's always a quite hectic and stressful period of time, but this isn't our first time renewing contracts. The experience gained throughout the years certainly came in handy. Everyone is back with the team apart from Giulio Ciccone who never really found his footing with our team. As such we are starting with a large squad of 25 riders and some cap space to hopefully reshape the squad into a more cohesive and successful unit.
With that I present the current Cedevita squad and open the floor up for questions.
Renewals Update
2024 Wage
2025 Wage
Change
Tadej Pogacar
475,000 €
700,000 €
225,000 €
Tao Geoghegan Hart
450,000 €
270,000 €
-180,000 €
Ivan Siric
140,000 €
210,000 €
70,000 €
Santiago Buitrago
240,000 €
150,000 €
-90,000 €
Steven Lammertink
180,000 €
160,000 €
-20,000 €
Daniel Hoelgaard
120,000 €
125,000 €
5,000 €
Daniel Habtemichael
140,000 €
125,000 €
-15,000 €
Dusan Rajovic
115,000 €
130,000 €
15,000 €
Milos Borisavljevic
105,000 €
105,000 €
-
Kristjan Hocevar
50,000 €
90,000 €
40,000 €
Michael Christodoulos
70,000 €
83,000 €
13,000 €
Giulio Ciccone
170,000 €
0 €
-170,000 €
Riley Sheehan
235,000 €
135,000 €
-100,000 €
Matic Groselj
65,000 €
75,000 €
10,000 €
Robert Power
120,000 €
65,000 €
-55,000 €
Fred Wright
50,000 €
65,000 €
15,000 €
Yevgeniy Fedorov
150,000 €
85,000 €
-65,000 €
Miha Poljanec
50,000 €
55,000 €
5,000 €
Gasper Katrasnik
75,000 €
70,000 €
-5,000 €
Izidor Penko
50,000 €
50,000 €
-
Veljko Stojnic
65,000 €
50,000 €
-15,000 €
Logan Currie
150,000 €
85,000 €
-65,000 €
Husein Selimovic
70,000 €
50,000 €
-20,000 €
Dorde Duric
50,000 €
50,000 €
-
Aljaz Jarc
50,000 €
50,000 €
-
Aleks Bechkov
50,000 €
50,000 €
-
2024 Total
2025 Total
Total Profit
3,485,000 €
3,083,000 €
402,000 €
Q:Tadej Pogacar got a big raise this off-season. He's quite clearly the top earner in the team. No one expects that to change, so how do you go about building a squad around him after a fairly disappointing season?
Mervar: To be fair we've had Eddy Beltran on an even higher wage in the past and not long ago Tao was also on a similar wage. Tadej and Eddy are different riders though. I think we have to trust Tadej in his races while very much focusing on how to do better in all the other races.
Q:Tao Geoghegan Hart and Ivan Siric both return as 2nd/3rd tier leaders. What are the plans for both of them, especially the former after a another significant wage reduction?
Mervar: Ivan had a very good season and his position doesn't change. We just need to decide if it's feasible to invest more into his training. With Tao we still believe he's a good stage racing counterpart to Tadej. There's a chance we change up his racing calendar a bit for this season.
Q:How content are you about the training of the regional talents? Will they be in contention for further training?
Mervar: Individually both Tadej and Ivan showed they were worth the investment. The other parts of the team around them didn't function well enough. Both for sure are in contention for more training, but at this point the team's success is more important compared to our approach last year.
Q:Regarding your need to improve. Is there a third terrain focus that you envision after stage races and northern classics?
Mervar: I do think having a good leader for a third terrain is one of the surest ways for us to improve. I don't think we are necessarily in a position to be picky about the terrain, as long as we acquired the right rider we should be in good shape.
Q:Last year you spent a significant portion of your wage budget on developing riders such as Sheehan, Fedorov and Currie. But in the last couple of years promising young riders like Ardila and Govekar have moved on. What is the plan for this trio going forward?
Mervar: As romantic as it sounds to keep all three as notable scorers for years to come, we still have to be pragmatic. We will judge the market and see whether the best choice is for them to stay or go. It is also true that the team around Tadej and Ivan is slowly aging which is something we have to look at.
Q:You are known for the Balkan focus and have been training talents from many countries in the region. Is there still a (or multiple) nations missing in your 'repertoire'? What Balkan nation has been lacking talent?
Mervar: There are a bunch missing. But if I had to single out one nation it would be from our title sponsor, in Croatia. There aren't many talented riders from Croatia so when one finally pops up on our radar we have to try to sign them.
Q:Who is the next big Balkan talent the management have their eyes on?
Mervar: He's still some years away, but Jakob Omrzel from Slovenia is the rider that's making a name for himself in the junior races. He is someone we will keep a close watch of.
Transfer Availability
Rider
Level
Age
Pot
OVL
Wage
Availability
Tadej Pogacar
4.100
27
6
79.70
700k
Tao Geoghegan Hart
4.100
30
5
77.13
270k
•••
Ivan Siric
4.100
27
6
76.72
210k
Santiago Buitrago
4.100
26
5
76.24
150k
•••••
Steven Lammertink
4.100
32
4
76.20
160k
•••••
Daniel Hoelgaard
4.100
32
6
75.99
125k
•••••
Daniel Habtemichael
4.100
28
4
75.93
125k
•••••
Dusan Rajovic
4.100
28
3
75.49
130k
•
Milos Borisavljevic
4.100
31
6
75.25
105k
•••••
Kristjan Hocevar
4.100
26
5
74.83
90k
••
Michael Christodoulos
4.100
28
5
74.68
83k
•••••
Riley Sheehan
4.62
25
4
74.49
135k
•••
Matic Groselj
4.100
29
4
74.43
75k
Robert Power
4.100
30
3
74.35
65k
•••••
Fred Wright
4.100
26
4
74.34
65k
•
Yevgeniy Fedorov
4.52
25
3
74.18
85k
•••
Miha Poljanec
4.100
30
2
73.82
55k
Gasper Katrasnik
4.100
30
5
73.79
70k
•••
Izidor Penko
4.100
29
5
73.68
50k
Veljko Stojnic
4.100
26
4
73.46
50k
•
Logan Currie
4.74
24
5
73.07
85k
•
Husein Selimovic
4.68
24
3
73.03
50k
•
Dorde Duric
4.54
25
2
72.88
50k
•
Aljaz Jarc
3.99
26
4
71.04
50k
•
Aleks Bechkov
3.99
26
3
69.59
50k
•••
• looking to keep | ••• open to offers | ••••• looking to sell
This is just a preliminary list of availability. More in depth information about our transfers as well as loans will be posted before transfer season starts in the adverts.
Bostjan Mervar,
team representative and general manager of CedevitaEdited by redordead on 13-08-2025 08:12
Probably the most excited I've been for a list so far. A fantastic team and very interested to see so many high availability riders. If all of them depart, I'll be watching closely to see which direction you take the team this year.
We're for sure going to have some talks in the off season. A super interesting list of riders, which is needed when you need to fund Siric and Pogacar's training!
Those availability dots should make for a fun transfer season for you! Should be lots of interest, at least Hope you figure out where to go from here, and how to prioritize. If raising money for training is your main priority, surely all those riders for sale will bring in lots of money.
Decent renewals for you, in particular with Tao's wage getting more reasonable now. Somehow the previous engine didn't like him, but I'm sure he can still be of big value for you - be it by scoring or by generating some transfer revenue
I wish Lammertink already had these 5 dots last year, as you now how reluctant I am to go for 32y.o. guys Might still be worth an inquiry, we'll see how transfers go... I think we had lots of discussions in recent years, but no deals - time to change that?
Good luck anyway
Some interesting available riders, even though they might not fit a CT squad :/
Pogacar and Geoghegan Hart is a great start for a great team, and you have great climbing and time trial depth to build and support them! (Unless you sell Hart that is)
Tour of Tasmania
Volta a Portugal
Classique du Grand-Duché
Copenhagen-Malmo TTT
Vuelta a Colombia
Franceville Classique
GP Liechtenstein
GP Moscow
Tour of East Java
GP Kigali
Ras Tailteann
Japan Cup
Philadelphia International Championship
Daniel Habtemichael
Michael Christodoulos
