Good luck in March mate, surprise to even see you in Corsica with this B lineup (but i have also weak squads for some of HC races). We will meet there and in Kenya, Popovych says hello.
I think your March will be all about Taiwan, Efimkin should be one of top favourites against anyone.
Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Good luck in March mate, surprise to even see you in Corsica with this B lineup (but i have also weak squads for some of HC races). We will meet there and in Kenya, Popovych says hello.
I think your March will be all about Taiwan, Efimkin should be one of top favourites against anyone.
Didn't think it was worth sending Caruso, as he'd get smashed by better climbers anyway. Will hope for a good daily form in Kenya to score some points.
Definitely looking forward to Taiwan the most. Hopefully we wont have to face the whole top tier of puncheurs. The victory should be within reach then.
I also hope that in Taiwan there is not an invasion by top puncheurs .. Mehr-Wenige wants to fight again for a top10 and it helped that some names left out. Again Efimkin will be there for us to make it even harder the task.
fintas wrote:
I also hope that in Taiwan there is not an invasion by top puncheurs .. Mehr-Wenige wants to fight again for a top10 and it helped that some names left out. Again Efimkin will be there for us to make it even harder the task.
Top 10 shouldn't be much of a problem for DMW, I think. As long as the uphill finishes cause some selection, that is.
valverde321 wrote:
Just realised what an opportunity I passed up with Zaini for Taiwan, it being part of the Asian Tour
Well good luck to you, I hope Hatanaka can compete there, but I doubt he will be as effective as Zaini could have been
I hope you do well, everywhere but Taiwan and Langkawi (as an Asian Tour rival, afterall)
As expected, neither Dyachenko nor Osella had the climbing legs to hang with the best on Tour of Langkawi's queen stage finishing up in Genting Highlands after a daunting climb. Better climbers broke clear early on the climb and were never seen again, with ING's Carlos Castaño using the bonus seconds from the stage win to take also the overall victory a few days later.
Dyachenko and Osella meanwhile finished 9th and 10th, respectively. It didn't look like it would be enough for any notable GC result at first, but a brilliant performance from the former on the following hilly stage moved him up to 7th in the GC, which is pretty much as good as it would ever get for us.
Osella unfortunately wasn't paying as much attention and dropped down to 17th. Luckily that was made up for by Milka-loanee Josh Atkins, who joined the successful breakaway on the very same stage and placed an excellent 3rd.
And to top an already successful race, Possoni went into the break the next day and dropped his two companions with a powerful attack in the final kilometers to win the stage solo ahead of the storming sprinters.
Compared to last year's race, where Caruso crashed away from an overall podium and one of our goals - this race was a huge success!
More struggling for Caruso in the Kenyan mountains
Already in Trentino, it became obvious that this season is going to be difficult for Caruso. The combination of decline and a stronger climbing field in the PCT is making it really hard for him to achieve results similar to last year's.
In Kenya's brutal oneday-race he was placed in trouble already with roughly 5 km remaining, and got dropped together with the likes of Dario Cataldo (Vespa), Igor Anton (CSC) and Andrei Kashechkin (Repsol), while quite a lot of riders still remained in contact with the front group.
From there, he maintained an own pace up to the finish to avoid cracking completely. The result ended up being 13th, a massive three minutes behind race winner Rein Taaramae (Bouygues Telecom).
We can only look forward and hope for better results later in the season. After discussions, we've already decided that Gianpaolo will be leaving at the end of the year. His over-the-top salary is obviously the main reason.
The pressure on Alex Efimkin to deliver was very high as the season continued with Tour of Taiwan, where our sponsors were looking for the overall victory. With top class puncheurs like Francesco Ginanni (Vespa) participating, it looked like an almost impossible task ahead of the race. Boy, did Alex prove us wrong!
Already on the first hilltop finish, he founded a strong overall campaign by timing the sprint to perfection and speeding past Ginanni in the final meters.
The trend continued onto the next stage, as he once again waited and saved the legs for just the right moment to jump past Ginanni just before the finish for a second day in a row. Tour Down Under rival Alex Dowsett (Jaguar) was the closest at the line this time around.
A time gap over race leader and top sprinter Allan Davis (Hollister) made the day even better, as Alex also overtook the yellow jersey.
After defending the jersey through a break-dominated stage 5, only the final test on day six's uphill finish stood in the way of completing the goal. Our worries turned out to be unnecessary however, as the man in yellow used the climb as a springboard to leap to another stage win instead of a place to lose time.
His lead thus increased to almost a minute over all others, thanks to bonus seconds and new time gaps. With only a flat stage for the sprinters remaining, overall victory was therefore all but sealed!
The final stage luckily passed without problems, and Alex wrapped up the overall title while also accomplishing our goal. The domination also gives us a great position in the Asian Tour, which is another goal of ours. If the hilly races continue like this, we probably wont have to worry about relegation!
Ever since Tour of Taiwan and Russian puncheur Alexander Efimkin's domination came to an end in late March, not much has been heard of the Cisco team. Admittedly, the Kazakhstani outfit has been racing a bit more lightly than earlier, but the good results are still fewer than you'd expect in such a long period of time.
What is the explanation for that then? Well, the fact that the team is relying far too much on Efimkin and, a so far, undeperforming Gianpaolo Caruso is surely one of the reasons. However, another explanation might be the squad's presence in the first GT of the year - the Giro d'Italia.
It was obvious right from the start of the season that it was a risky move from the team management to sacrifice results in non-World Tour races during practically all of May in favour of a visit to Italy and the Giro. Certainly a great experience for the nine riders who represented the orange Cisco colours, even though it might result in relegation from the Pro Continental division at the end of the year.
Over three weeks dominated by a close fight for the overall victory between USA's Taylor Phinney (Wikipedia) and Spain's Angel Madrazo (Santander), the Cisco riders focused on breakaways and the occasional mid-stage attack.
Unfortunately for them, they missed the early breakaway on several of those days where the escapees made it to the finish. Therefore, the closest they got to a stage win was Efimkin's third place on a rolling stage 5. The Russian also spent a number of days in the blue KoM jersey and took a 4th place on stage 11 to Chieti.
Apart from that, Cisco didn't get much out of the race. Dmitriy Gruzdev caught a successful break in the race's final week, but gambled on a solo attack and got caught and passed by all of his companions to finish in 6th. In the overall, their best rider was Gianpaolo Caruso, in an anonymous 16th place.
With the Giro now over, the team has returned to the Continental Tour again - so far without much success. Their position in the team ranking is starting to look more and more critical in terms of relegation. PCT or CT for 2014? That's the main question, as the season continues...
I'll try to keep the thread a bit more up to date from now on...
Make or break for Cisco Cycling as Efimkin prepares for autumn classics
Sitting third from last on the Pro Continental Tour ranking table at the end of June, Cisco Cycling have been dragged into the fight for survival after a few poor months, and the threat of relegation to Continental status is becoming bigger with every passing race.
In an exclusive interview with the Kazakhstani team's head manager Mr. Pelli, Cyclingnews discusses why the squad got into this situation and what their plans are depending on what happens during the last couple of months of the season.
Below you'll find some of the more interesting parts of the discussion.
CN: So, Pelli, what's your theory explaining why the season isn't really going the way you hoped for Cisco? Aside from the direct reason; lack of results, obviously.
PL: Well, as you say - the guys simply haven't been able to compete for the top spots in many races. The quality level is constantly increasing in all divisions, meaning that the competition becomes more difficult every year.
However, I believe the root of our problems goes all the way back to the foundation of the team, just before the 2012 season. It happened too fast, we weren't very well organised. No clear plan. I was still relatively new in the business, so perhaps we could've used a more experienced manager during our first year or two. Unfortunately, there's no way to go back and change that now. I believe I've matured a lot since then, and overall the entire team works much better.
CN: Very interesting. It certainly sounds like you know what needs to be done in order to get this enterprise back on the right track again, is that correct?
PL: Yeah, I should think so. It's a bit hard to plan ahead in much detail yet, since we still don't know if we'll be racing in PCT or CT next season, but I've done some basic work that'll be useful in any case.
I can promise that the team's future is secure.
CN: Great news for your fans. Does that mean your current main sponsor, Cisco, remain confident in you and the team?
PL: Actually, I'm quite sure Cisco will be leaving, or at least stepping down in terms of status a bit in 2014. They're obviously not overly fond of the results, but that's not the main reason. They simply don't think cycling is the right market for them to invest in.
But no need to worry, we've got a number of potential replacement investors negotiating with us. I can't give you any names before everything is signed, but I can reveal that we're likely to be financed by some companies from our home country, Kazakhstan.
CN: Alright, we've talked a lot about next season. Let's not forget that there are still a couple of months left of the current one. What are your thoughts about the remaining months' racing?
PL: Well, I obviously hope we have a good run of results to lift us above the relegation zone. Gianpaolo [Caruso] only has Sibiu Tour, Volta a Portugal, Tour de Vineyards and Milano-Torino left on his schedule, so it's mostly up to Alex [Efimkin] to get us the results we need.
CN: Ah yes, Efimkin. He was quite the major transfer for you during the transfer season, but he has really proven to be worth the money, hasn't he?
PL: Definitely. Some people raised their eyebrows a bit when they saw the transfer sum, but his experience and strength is what has kept us going - just look at the Tour of Taiwan, for example!
His next stop from now onwards is one of the most important races all season, Taldykorgan GP. It's on home turf for us, so we obviously don't want to disappoint the fans. After that, he's doing Nelspruit Classic in Africa, the Clasica San Sebastian, Zagreb-Ljubjana, Milano-Torino, Giro dell'Emilia before finishing with the season's last race, Japan Cup.
It's a solid number of races, so hopefully he'll bring us a good load of points. He's currently building form at home in Russia, hoping to be in form for practically the rest of the season. In particular Giro dell'Emilia and Japan Cup, since those are races our sponsors have earmarked as extra important.
CN: Thanks for the answers. I guess all I can do is wish you the best of luck behind the wheel for the remaining races and hope to meet you again at some point next season!
I'm also hoping to avoid the top stage racers in Portugal, so that Caruso can go for a decent GC. If that works, and we also manage to get some other good results through breakaways as in East Java, we might have a chance.
Cisco receives well timed delivery from rich boy Caruso
A couple of weeks ago, Cisco Cycling manager Mr. Pelli discussed his team with us here at Cyclingnews. Among other things, he talked about how he believes that Russian puncheur Aleksandr Efimkin is their key in staying clear of relegation to the Continental Tour.
However, in the middle of this stressful time, Cisco have received unexpected aid - from no one else than aging Italian climber Gianpaolo Caruso. Currently in Romania racing the 5-day event Sibiu Tour, alongside most of the other big stage racers in the Pro Continental Tour, Caruso seems to have found his old climbing legs again, as he managed to break away for a mountain top finish stage win on the second day of the race - also seizing the race lead.
It is of course no secret that the Italian is a very capable climber, but the 33-year old has had major difficulty producing results in a stronger-than-ever PCT field. That is why some people surely raised their eyebrows when the red- and orange-clad man made a big jump from a select group of climbers a few kilometres from the altitude finish in Paltinis.
A gap of a few seconds was initially formed, but after a strong chase from Estonian superstar Rein Taaramae (Bouygues Telecom), Caruso had to settle for stage win and yellow jersey, but no extra advantage over the rest of the favourite group. Interesting to note is that both former Tour de France runner-up Thomas Dekker (Vueling) and race leader entering the stage; David Abal (CSC-Orbea), failed to finish in the lead group and lost well over a minute on the day.
Happy days at the Cisco HQ without doubt, but unfortunately for them, Caruso's reign in the race lead was cut short when the team failed to do better than 15th in the following team time trial.
Instead, it is now Thomas Lövkvist (Swedbank-PEAB) who is wearing the distinguished race leader's jersey, while Caruso sits in 4th. He is however only 6 seconds away, and will certainly try to strike again when the road goes up again on stage 4.
In order to update an otherwise disturbingly inactive HQ, I thought I'd follow the recent trend of presenting some renewals plans. Some of these could still change, depending on whether we'll be in PCT or CT next year.
I'd like to point out that no rider is completely off limits, but it would take an extremely good offer for me to consider letting some of them go!
Staying
A. Efimkin
A. Dyachenko
A. Shushemoin
D. Gruzdev
F. Taborre
M. Pozzo
M. Possoni
N. Clesen
T. Giogieri
Efimkin will retain his captain's role in the squad; hopefully joined by at least one new strong rider after the transfer season. Main helper Taborre will therefore also stay, together with a returning, now maxed out Shushemoin.
Shushemoin will also be an important rider in the mountains, where he, Dyachenko, Pozzo and Possoni make up a solid force. All that's missing is a top class-climber for these to help out. Young Albanian Giogieri will also be part of this mountain train, to improve for future seasons.
Finally, there's also the time trial duo of Gruzdev and Clesen. They've done a brilliant job saving us from complete embarassment in team time trials this year, and will therefore keep that role for another season.
Undecided
C. Salerno
G. Caruso
M. Osella
Surprised to see Caruso here, and not in the leaving-category? Well, he's on the edge, really. I'll try to renew his contract, but only if he is willing to accept a gigantic paycut! He'll strengthen our climbing-core if that were to happen.
On the other hand, Salerno and Osella are leaning towards staying. I'd consider letting them go if an interesting offer pops up, but I wouldn't really mind keeping either of them.
Leaving
A. Manfredi
L. Sterbini
M. Kochetkov
N. Umerbekov
R. Senyenov
S. Agostini
U. Galiev
Quite a few riders on their way out! All seven are part of our talents-program, which I feel needs to be cut down in order to boost the squad with some riders capable of producing results.
Agostini and Sterbini are still a little in between, however. They've been with us since the team was founded two years ago, and could eventually be rewarded for their loyalty. A decision will be made before the end of the seaosn.
Looking for loan
E. Girardi
E. Favilli
E. Battaglin
These three riders of Lv. 3 (Battaglin) and Lv. 4 (Favilli, Girardi) will look for a PT-team to ride for next season.
Looks like you part ways with a lot of Kazakh youngsters, but I still think you'd be the ideal team to take Shishelov on loan
Maybe I even have to let him go completely.
Favilli might be interesting as part of a loan swap, but he needs to take a significant wage cut.
N. Clesen
T. Giogieri
