I moved it to 29.9 in my third career year I believe, so I think it may be down to that. Although I think I remember that it didn't work in the second year already and - I could be of course wrong - I didn't change the date yet. Pretty sure it's a sloppy programming by Cyanide too, but maybe there's a work around.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Altough Romania is a big country, the cycling culture is really underdeveloped. The only CT team we have is the Tusnad Cycling Team. In 2014 - Two young guns - Serghei Tvetcov and Eduard Grosu stormed the PCT scene, and put our contry on the cycling map. Their performances inspired many even younger riders that they can pursue a carrer even in our country.
It was the end of the year, and I finished an obscure semi-amateur race in my hometown, in Romania. The race was designed for pure climbers, but Edi Grosu, who participated as a guest, showed a great feat of strenght and won the race. I was dissapointed that I couldn't fight with him, but my tears of frustration turned into tears of joy after the race. My phone was ringing.
Edi called, that the Italo-Japanese Vini-Fantini Nippo (Grosu's Team) is intrested in me. After the race, Grosu told the team that i am a raw talent and with the correct guidance I can be the next Romanian legend. I could not belive what i heard. This was my chance. Altough the team had it's doubts - as I was jumping from the amateur scene directly to the PCT they gave me the opportunity in the 3 Cyanide cup races to show my powers. He performs - he stays - were the race directors exact words.
In the first race I came in a stelar 9th place, battling with the big names of cycling, and the team was so shocked the contract was on the table by dinnertime. The race effor had it's toll thou, and I struggled afterwards getting into shape, and delivered some mid peloton finishes. The Herald Sun Tour was first race after many the race where I showed my true strenght, by winning the KOM jersey. Stage 4 breakaway saw me, battling for points, and the cat. 2 and 3 climb on the road was enough to win it. Since I was still adapting to the pro-scene i focused on training hard, instead of winning, to get prepared for my biggest objective this season: Volta ao Portugal en bicicleta - a massive 11 stage-race with 2 mountain-top finishes a Prologue and a Time-Trial.
The Volta had some massive names and teams on the start. Rein Taarame, Yuri Trofimov, Esteban Chavez and Frank Schleck were the main favourites for winning the general classification. I was eager to show my strenght to the big names of the World Tour, after a rocky first season.
The image is from a previous PCM game - but the stage profiles are accurate.
The first stage a prologue saw me in a respectable 21th place - 6 seconds behind the winner Taaramae. The 2nd was a hilly - Ardennes-like stage which does not suit me well. Trofimov attacked, and it seemed that I can go with him, but my legs blew, and fell back into the favourites group. The won the stage easily, gaining a massive 1 and half minutes on everybody. The main bunch of 15-20 riders contained all the favourites. The 3rd a sprint stage was won by Ewan, easy job for him.
The 4th stage was the first stage where i fought for victory. The hilly ups and downs, saw me catching the wheel of Felline, from Trek. I tried my best, but he had a teammate to lead him out, and i dont have the explosion, so he beat me. I came 2nd, but didn't gained time on the favourites.
The 5th stage was the true challenge. One of them. After the climb started the main group split up. I was in the first group of 15 favourites. Chavez made a move with some 8km to go. I was feeling the pressure, as the guys stormed near me. But i kept my cool. I slowly upped my tempo, dragging them back, and i joined the Yellow Jersey group of Trofimov, Taaramae and Schleck. As the last km approached Chavez was gone, so the battle for 2nd was between us. But i made a rookie mistake. I sprinted too early, and ran out of gas. I was 5th, same time to the 2nd group. I found myself 5th at GC, 1'30" down to Trofimov, and 54" down on Chavez for the White Jersey.
The next and the 8th stage were a bunch sprint, nothing happened. But on the 7th, the effort had taken it's toll on me, as i didn't react to an attack by - eventual stage winner Trofimov, and the 4 guys in front of me in the GC gained a massive 33" on me.
It was down to stage 9 and 10 to make a mark. I had a considerable advantage in the GC against the 6th place Chernetsky, so i switched to offensive. The last climb was a 20 km+ monster, and the pace was relatively slow. I attacked two times but Katusha neutralised my attacks. Felline then jumped from the bunch and since he opposed no treath to the GC, he won the stage easily. I was exhausted from the attacks, and i couldn't fight for my place as i finished 9th, and slipped in the GC to 2'40", but still in 5th. Schleck was 4th, 30" in front of me, and the Time Trial was one of my strong points, so i was confident. Chavez was 2 minutes down, so the White Jersey slowly slipped away.
The Time Trial was intense. 32,6km, in a brutal portugese sun. The only goal in my mind was to give my best, push myself beyond the limts. It is the time to man upand repay the team for their support. Chernetsky, who started before me, was leading in the first checkpoint. As i rolled trough my radio set on fire. PUSH! - you are 6" behind. I was in reach of my first ever win. The guys behind were off. Schleck was already behing my in the virtual GC, Taaramae had a bad day, Chaves and Trofimov were also off. As i reached the last km, every muscle of mine was on fire. The russian finished. The clock ticked slowly. 200m - full gas. 100m - a bit more. The finish. My time? I was leading by 8s. Did i just won? Schleck came with Taaramae - he was caught. Taaramae 45" off. Chavez 2'25" Trofimov 1'45". I won. My first win. I jumped from 5th to 2nd in GC. I was in White. Almost beat the russian. It was a huge morale boost and win for me. The last stage was just a formality. After the celebration the Damiano Cunego called me - From now on, i'll teach you to win on mountains.
After the Volta a much needed break in place. There are some Autumn Classics left, and the journey has just started.
To be continued
*Note: So, i'm new here, but i enjoyed so much reading your stories i tought i'll try my own. For the next part, I will try to make some printscreens. If you read it thank you for your time, and share your opinion
Rider Type:Man for the Monuments Training:Northern Classics Age: 26
As World Champion and Monument winner, Kayser was one of the names most associated with success in cycling. Last year was a rampage, additional highlights being three stage wins at le Tour and the Velo d'Or. Now at his new team, Kayser was determined to fill the role of legacy
Season 2021 - Mapei-Bianchi at 93.000 until 2022
At my new Team Mapei-Bianchi I felt immediately confident and comfortable. I spoke with Mapei manager Squinzi and he has reminiscing about the 90ies and his love for the classics and how much he loved seeing his famous jersey on the road to Roubaix. I was confident that I’d be a worthy world champion for the team and we agreed to a schedule that would include representing it both in Italian and Benelux races and of course also joining up for the fight alongside Pinot at le Tour.
Tour of Dubai and Tour of Qatar marked my season start. Due to the Team Time Trial that Mapei-Bianchi won, the whole squad finished high up in the GC. I took 2nd behind my teammate Teunissen. At Omloop, I came third a few days later, losing Stuvyen in the sprint.
I myself then debuted at the Strade Bianche for the first time and it’s a race I always loved to watch so was happy to be included. Inside the last 20 kilometers, there was still a large group around and so I decided to make an attack over the gravel hills. I made it stick and got a quality gap that I defended on a bunch of chasing guys, including world class puncheur Ciccione. As I entered Sienna, it got close but the ramp up, I stayed away from them and could celebrate my first win as World Champion in one of the most beautiful towns.
I continued my Italian campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico where the team was really strong again. Ulissi finished second, Pinot 10th. I was in the sweet spot and finished 5th overall. We showed a class performance over the hills, however did not achieve a stage win and in the end Ulissi came a few seconds short against Alaphilippe.
At the end of the Italian races, Milano-San Remo was obviously the big score. I came here as defending champion and as the World Champion, I was a marked man. I tried a little move over the Poggio but not too much since my legs were not that good that day. Sagan had my wheel though and we went down the Via Roma, I knew my situation was bleak for the sprint. Ulissi came upside to me and offered his wheel, I got some protection and was one of the first to head into the Via Roma. My only shot was to make the race fast, unfortunately it didn’t work out and I finished 9th as Ditweg won the race.
I had still a lot of hard training left and I was running a bit behind schedule. Despite good results, I was afraid I wouldn’t hold up at the Classics. My team helped me a great deal at E3 and Gent-Wevelgem though, especially my target transfer Roelandts who had grown old but had plenty experience was a help. At E3, it was a fairly large group that came out of Hellingen, I refused to work since Lotto-Soudal and Etixx had as usually the upper hand and a numbers advantage. I thought about getting away but eventually a reduced sprint would make the result and there was no beating Sagan. I finished 3rd behind my arch-rival Benoot, who was quickly becoming my man to beat in the run for fame next to an ageing Sagan, I feared.
I did not like my passive racing at Gent-Wevelgem, that’s why I opted a more aggressive approach. After we left the last hills on the road to Wevelgem, Benoot and Lampaert made several moves that impressed me. The sprinters like Degenkolb and Sagan got it covered though, also Sky in the form of Stannard and 22 year old, incredible, crazy good northern classic/sprinter talent Hales. When Benoot and Degenkolb made repeated moves, I saw my luck and only Benoot could follow me there inside the last 10k. Hales came up to us too, which made the situation complicated for me. I couldn’t fathom how fast he was, I pulled the most of the way and we got a gap, although Lampaert came from behind. However, the Belgian Lotto rider could not contest for the sprint, instead it was down to Hales, Benoot and me – and whilst I got the better of Benoot this time, Hales was the way faster finisher and I came second. A missed opportunity to finally win Gent-Wevelgem.
At Ronde, I feared I had overtrained. Much of the media discource was on my duel with Benoot, however the SKY duo of Stannard and Hales was a dangerous combo to beat, plus Lotto Soudal had at least four riders capable of escaping. Degenkolb’s solo of last year was still present in our minds, too. Squinzi promised me to get me better support for next year, for now I had to expect to be alone at some point.
In Belgian and general cycling media, much talk was about the rivalry to Tiejs Benoot. Both of us had finished E3 and Gent-Wevelgem on the podium and appeared as the new great class since Cancellara and Boonen. Ronde van Vlaanderen turned soon into a rainy feast, which demanded the qualities of true hard men. As a result, Stannard and I got away from the Etixx & Lotto Soudal superpowers 50 kilometers out. In a good move, Benoot caught up to us. Lotto-Soudal for Vanmarcke and Lampaert and katusha for Sagan, where chasing but the trio of us were strong enough to get a gap. Soon the splits behind us occurred and thus this favored our lead greatly. Going into the last 25 kilometers, it was bound that one of us three would get the win, and honestly, right there Ian Stannard looked the strongest. However when we went into Kwaremont the last time, Stannard had a puncture and we both were alone then.
I hesistaded at the Paterberg and refused to cooperate with Tiesj but also wouldn’t attack. In the last five kilometers – our gap was large enough to all other riders – we were playing cat and mouse, until Stannard joined us. Benoot went with an attack into the last 5k, I answered and opened up the sprint. There, he overtook me in the end and I narrowly lost the Ronde in the final meters..
My form was well enough but I wanted to win in Paris-Roubaix. Unfortunately, the pace of the race was very high, little selection happened on the day due to favorable wind. This meant that no elite group manage to form itself but I was involved up until the end. Around 8 riders went into the Velodrome where Lotto-Soudal – a famed team of cobblestone expertens – finally got the big one in form of Yves Lampaert winning it, Benoot finished second, I came third.
Despite an impressive statistic of finishing from Gent-Wevelgem to Paris-Roubaix each race on the podium, I severely lacked a big win.
With Giro winner Fabio Aru, Fleche and Tour third Geoghan Hart and of course former World Champion and two times Doyenne winner Alaphilippe in the ranks, Team SKY fields the greatest Ardennes squad for the third time now. The Ardennes is becoming increasingly an affair of Kwiatkowski against Alaphilippe, although you can’t deny the strength of the dutcies in form of Kelderman and Van der Poel. The polish rider did well in changing his squad to Acciona, formerly Movistar, where he can rely on superior support for his campaign to repeat victory at Doyenne. Coming from a successful flanders campaign, it’ll be interesting how Kayser can manage his fatigue and freshness in his final week of spring racing.
I changed my strategy a bit for the Ardennes and it seemed to be pay off then. At Brabantse Pijl I was racing against Wellens and his armada of Lotto-Soudal helpers. I took on the challenge and attacked out far, when I was caught I still had reserves to follow Wellens at the decisive moment and easily outsprinted him to win Pijl.
Due to the SKY dominance and Kwiatkowski all-around dangerous versatility, the Ardennes campaign is always a mix of cunning racing and bluffing. Amstel Gold Race turned into one of a kind for me though; the last 25 kilometers consisted of laps around the Cauberg with a special focus on a slightly downhill finish. I knew that I could keep others off my back if I first went over the Cauberg. As an elite group of five formed, I was part of the group alongside some other names. Behind us, Tinkoff was chasing for Van der Poel and they reached us in time for the final ascent up the Cauberg. However I had expanded little energy and was able to keep a high pace going up. Over the ‘berg, I launched my sprint far out and kept them all of my back, winning my first Ardennes Classic.
Strategy wasn’t so important when going into Fleche, which is mostly decided upon pure strength in the final ascent. Although there were numerous, significant splits up till the end, I was again mostly in the right groups but ultimately lacked the legs and the ability to do the Muur de Huy really fast and effective. As a result, I finished 5th, a bit in no man’s land, caught between the leader guys and the first little chasing group.
With my win at AGR and the good showing at Muur de Huy, I was on the short list for Liege. It was an hectic race that started with bad weather but let some sun in for the final 50ks and some. Alaphilippe and Van der Poel formed a group with me, Lopez and Poels at some point and whilst I had to let the former two go for the moment, we soon caught them again. The Ardennes are always a very team-domainated race, most notably SKY in the form of Alaphilippe, Geoghan Hart, Aru and Van Garderen. This let me sit on my wheel in this 12 men strong group that later formed and would contest for the win.
Over a hill, Alaphilippe tried to go away again but I kept him to the group. His SKY lieutnants made some pace and I was the only who shared in the relay work with 10k to go, albeit only pro-forma, barely wasting energy. I knew that I had to be upfront for Ans if I wanted to win here, frankly my legs were great too, and I still hadn’t wasted much energy despite me following some moves and the slipstream when they attacked. Those attacks were gone and I felt good for the sprint, Van der Poel came up beside me. Benoot and VDP are probably my great rivals since I turned pro, he had already had some fine results here in Ans too, unlike me. In doing a Valverde-2015 type of thing, I was leading up Ans, looking behind me. SKY had strength in numbers but at times, you could use their strength for your own gains. It was a fast pace but it wasn’t killing anyone and so all 10 riders left new that it’d be a sprint to Ans. Fortunately, Alaphilippe hesitated and when I started it from before the corner,
I knew I couldn’t lose it this time around and so I turned my nervosity into power, adrenaline came out of all the worrying. I would not screw it up, so I sprinted.. And in fact, it so came. I won my second monument. After the great but close misses at Ronde and Roubaix, here was my second monumental victory. In the rainbow jersey. For my new team.
Traditionally, I took a break after the Ardennes campaign. As a preparation for le Tour, I showed off my jersey in Luxembourg at the Skoda Tour, however I was out of form and had nothing to show for. I used the race well enough to come into form and whistl GP du Canton d’Argovie was to o soon yet, I found great legs in time for Ronde van Limburg where I won.
The Luxembourgian Championships gave me another second place, unfortunately I lost out on Kirsch very closely. But things looked well enough for my taste for le Tour, less so for Pinot. The 4-Time tour winner also competed in the Giro d’Italia where he came second behind Landa. He know wanted to attempt his fifth triump at Champs Elysses but Mapei-Bianchi lacked great climbers, evidently shown in the lack of support at Il Giro. Pinot wasn’t happy either with me getting a free role. Whilst I took good advantage of that one day, where I made a late attack and got my SEVENTH total Tour de France stage win, he had lost several minutes on Romain Bardet in the first two weeks.
t was impossible to get it back and Bardet won le Tour, Pinot came third. I showed some good will but too little really to help him much. Frankly, my legs were not that great unfortunately but I got a taste for the high mountains. It's no place I exceel at but maybe I can still put in a solid domestique role of these days.
With lots of race rhtytm, I was confident in Spain’s classic and set myself apart at the final climb with a strong attack. Latour wanted to follow my wheels but I dropped the few chasers on the top with another acceleration, heading into the downhill to San Sebastian. With enough time to celebrate, I got my third Clasica San Sebastian triumph.
I decided to save my energy for the later part of the season and made some breaks. Originally I wanted to show up at a ton of Italian semi-classics however I got pulled out and there were rumours of me having to start Vuelta and Eneco Tour later, eventually I was left without much race days at all.World Championships were a rather flat affair in Portugal and I was feeling still not too well. However a week earlier, I won for the first time the Montreal race with a late attack against the best like Kwiatkowski and Kelderman. I was less fortunate in Quebec where I missed the vital split.
Regardless of a weak Il Lombardia showing (29th, crash midway in the race), I finished for the first time on the top of the UCI rankings and won it by quite margin onto second-placed Latour. 720 points are nice tally, mostly down to my exceptional complete classic campaign. As a result of my showing and my various classic wins in the world champion jersey, I received my second Velo d'Or.
PCMCE Results
Dubai Tour
03-Feb
2nd Overall
Tour of Qatar
08-Feb
11th Overall
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
27-Feb
3rd Overall
Strade Bianche
05-Mrz
1st Overall
Tirreno - Adriatico
09-Mrz
5th Overall
Milano - Sanremo
19-Mrz
9th Overall
E3 Harelbeke
25-Mrz
3rd Overall
Gent - Wevelgem
27-Mrz
2nd Overall
Ronde van Vlaanderen
03-Apr
2nd Overall
Paris - Roubaix
10-Apr
3rd Overall
Brabantse Pijl
13-Apr
1st Overall
Amstel Gold Race
17-Apr
1st Overall
La Flèche Wallonne
20-Apr
5th Overall
Liège - Bastogne - Liège
24-Apr
1st Overall
Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg
01-Jun
29th Overall
GP du Canton d'Argovie
09-Jun
42nd Overall
Ronde van Limburg
12-Jun
1st Overall
Luxembourg Championships ITT
27-Jun
5th Overall
Luxembourg Championships RR
30-Jun
2nd Overall
Tour de France
02-Jul
53rd Overall - 1 Stage wins
Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
30-Jul
1st Overall
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
09-Sep
10th Overall
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
11-Sep
1st Overall
Giro dell'Emilia
24-Sep
12th Overall
World Championships
29-Sep
43rd Overall
Il Lombardia
05-Okt
29th Overall
Short Season Summary
Giro d’Italia
Tour de France
Vuelta a Espana
MSR
Ditewig
Landa
Bardet
Latour
Ronde
Benoot
Barguil
Meintjes
Robbins
Paris-Roubaix
Lampaert
Pinot
Pinot
Power
L-B-L
Kayser
Ravasi
Lopez Miguel
Petilli
Il Lombardia
Goodwin
Brkic
Dumouli
Betancur
WT ITT
Dumoulin
World RR
Bonifazio
Velo d’Or
WT Leader
WT Team
Rank CQ
CQ Team
Kayser
Kayser
SKY
2nd (Latour 1st)
4th (SKY 1st)
Santos
Pais Vasco
Pologne
AGR
Vattenfall
Aru
Van Garderen
Whiteouse
Kayser
Coquard
Paris-Nice
Romandie
Eneco
Fleche
Plouay
Dumoulin
Aru
Biermans
Kwiatkowksi
Bouhanni
Tirr-Adr.
Dauphine
E3
San Sebastian
Quebec
Alaphilippe
Landa
Sagan
Kayser
Theuns
Catalunya
Suisse
GW:
Montreal
Robbins
Jungels
Hales
Kayser
DB PCMDaily 2016
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Rider Type:Man for Big Moments, Small Stage Racing Training:Northern by heart Age: 27
Pinot left the team, Van Poppel did too. However, no love lost. Mapei built a strong core of northern classic riders such as Van Barrle and Honigh to help Kayser achieve definite glory in the spring. Barguil would be their new top climber whilst a slow transition to an Italian core was instigated with the signings of Malori, Sbaragli and Petilli.
Season 2022 – Mapei-Bianchi at 93.000 until 2022
Mapei wanted me to perform in my new role as undisputed leader of the team. I was fine with that and we travelled to Down Under. I got a call after the first stage straight in which they congratulated me: I had won the opening stage of the year. My great early form continued throughout the race and by holding on up a longer climb I was in contention for the overall GC. At Old Willunga Hill, my team was drilling at the front and with some great punch I was keeping checks on the field up the Willunga climb. From the front I started out my final push to the finish line and won the second stage. GC and Points were mine too for bragging rights. In fact, this was my first World Tour stage race victory to this date, it was a great feeling to start off the season with a debut success. Herald Sun Tour days later saw my strong sprinting continue after a decent prologue showing. On the final climb on the last day, Thys did some amazing work for me and I was able to finish the team’s work by winning the stage and another GC ahead of Mühlberger. Down Under was a success story by anyone’s standards really.
A little cold got me during training but I recovered in time for Omloop. A nice opening to the flanders classics and I continued my streak there, winning the race in a reduced bunch sprint. I was maybe a little bit too overconfident because of my winning streak and attacked from far out in Strade Bianche; I bonked eventually and had to settle for a random Top 20 result.
This time around, I decided to skip the World Tour stage races and instead rode Nokere Koerse as prep for Milano-San Remo. My teammate Teunnisse won the race, and I was fit for the Poggio. There I made again a decisive attack but I couldn’t get enough gap in the downhill because Kwiatkowski was chasing me hard and the peloton was on his wheels. Thus, the race was won in a reduced sprint and I finished in the Top 5.
Still I was ready for flanders classics and E3 saw another aggressive showing by me and Benoot. We had to shake off 23-year old Hales (FL: 81, CBS: 81, SP: 80, ACC: 83) but none of us succeeded in that. When Benoot attacked again, I was unwilling to chase for Hales and told him to do the work. He refused initially but then decided to chase. It was too late as Benoot was already on his way of winning, I finished third. I skipped Gent-Wevelgem then, Yves Lampaert won the race.
At Ronde van Vlaanderen I already knew that I didn’t time my schedule perfect. I had to train hard to feel that I had the best fitness and thus was fatigued a little getting to the startline. Still I forced my luck at Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg and made the favourite group exlode. Benoot had a very bad day and had to quit around the first Kwaremont. I wanted to drop Hales but the chasing group got back inside the last 10k. None of us wanted to work in the nine man group and little attacks were immediately covered by everybody. I knew I had better chances by forcing a fast pace inside the last kilometers and put myself at the front. Unfortunately Stannard managed to hold my wheel, he finished second, whilst young dutch rider Castelen won with his fast sprint. I came third and got a better result than I thought when they caught me after the Paterberg.
Paris-Roubaix should have been finally my moment of glory but I bonked in the finale and my legs gave up. I was just empty. Fans say that I am not good enough on the flat hard pavé of Roubaix against the likes of Hales, Castelen and Benoot. This time they were right. Belgian champion Benoot took his second Roubaix win in a 1vs1 Hales, an unexpected sprint triumph against the young American.
I wanted to do better at the Ardennes races. Alaphilippe (SKY) was injured and thus a major player was missing. The races started out well at Brabantse Pijl where I got back my confidence with a late solo win.
Then came the best week of my life so far. First, Amstel Gold Race saw a split of a group. I was close to giving up but then I decided to do my own chasing, escaped from the peloton. Alongside Neil Vickers and Vincent of BMC, I came to the group 5 kilometers out. Up the Cauberg, I was aiming for a prime position. I was fairly at my limit but I was also riding with some anger. In the final sprint, I opened up early and only Van der Poel could hold my wheel. I won the race with some seconds lead on the rest of the group.
The trend continued at Fleche Wallone. It was a dull race as Fleche always is. Thus it endedi n a sprint up the Muur. My teammate Barguil did the most brilliant job at positioning right at the front and I was lucky to head into the Muur with some position advantage on my rivals Eiking, Kwiatkowski et al. In the final hundred meters, there was no stopping me and I got my first Fleche Wallone victory.
Liege – Bastogne – Liege saw me as a favourite due to my previous win and the recent success in the Ardennes races of course. My team was good at controlling most of the race, little attacks throughout the race meant it was easy to control. Much like Valverde back in the days, I could relay on my sprint to finish off. However I did not want to.
At the penultimate climb, I forced the pace and dropped the riders of the 20 odd men group. I went into the downhill in direction of Ans with some lead of around 15 seconds. Would it be enough? Qantas was chasing hard for Kelderman and up the Ans I felt how they were reeling me in again. The Belgian fans on the sidelines cheered for me furiously though, and when I turned my back, I was looking straight at anynonmous chasing group that was on my wheel. I turned around the corner in the rain and started my sprint from far out. As a result, I won from far out my second Doyenne. Second in a row. Ardennes Triple accomplished. The first since 11 years. Third in history. I couldn’t believe I made it.
As per usual, I did a few weeks off. However the team needed me soon enough back and I had to race some races in USA and World Ports Classic. I got a stage win at my home Tour in Loxembourg and won the GP Canton d’Argovie for another time. A few days later, I also won Ronde van Limburg for the second time. I crownded my solid preparation for le Tour with the win at the Luxembourgian Road Race.
The first week was not good for me at le Tour. I felt undertrained and lacked fitness, however during the second week I got form through racing so at the end of it I won stage 13 from the breakaway, and stage 14 I won from a bunch sprint with two small hills preceeding the sprint finish shortly before. An ideal finish for me obviously that I was very happy I read right. The GC fight was hard with british young talent Andy Robbins claiming yellow jersey and thus sidelining his teammate and Tour defender Romain Bardet. The Froome is strong in this one surely. The roles got cemented when Bardet crashed and lost precious time. From there on out, it was a fight of Pinot against Dimension Data, since Pinot presented himself as the worthy 4 time Tour winner and only challenger to Robbins’ first Tour victory at the Mont Ventoux stage. Eventually, there was little chance that Pinot had since Dimension Dat fielded a too strong squad. Two stages wins for me at least meant that Mapei had a solid Tour despite Barguil not quite living up to his credentials.
With solid form, I raced of course Clasica San Sebastian again. The race is without a doubt one of my favourite of the year and again, I triumphed. It just suits me that good. Inside the last 10k I split away with an attack and held enough ground to celebrate my fourth victory!
I took a break then afterwards and returned to racing a couple of weeks later, doing some small dutch and Belgian classics. With some solid Top 10, I was going good to get some decent form again. At GP Ouest, I was beaten fair and square by Hales, the young superstar of SKY. I opted to skip the Canadian Classics and wanted to extend my latest forte, World Tour stage races. Eneco Tour turned into an incredible experience. Two stage wins were great, however the way I won the race was even nicer. Up to Huy, I lost significant time on Ciccione but I was determined to claw my way back and so I attacked on the last stage to Geraardsbergen and although Vanmarcke won that stage, it was quite enough for me to win Eneco Tour and take the points classification.
Between some Italian classics that I did for the time as a farewell, I also rode the World Championships. It was a flat race and I played no role, Hales became World Champion though. I remained without a win in the Italian classics, with a second place the best at Emillia.
Andy Robbins won the Velo d’Or, I came second. But I won the World Tour and CQ ranking with quite a lead. I decided to join Etixx on a two year contract due to their brilliance in support quality and focus on Classics. Benoot left Etixx and joined Lotto Soudal. Unfortunately some more names were hired too. Illusive names that could make life difficult for me. But with a record number of 20 wins this season, I was hopeful I could continue my leading role.
PCMCE Results
Santos Tour Down Under
19-Jan
1st Overall - 1st Points - 2 Stage wins
Herald Sun Tour
03-Feb
1st Overall - 1 Stage wins
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
27-Feb
1st Overall
Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne
28-Feb
2nd Overall
Strade Bianche
05-Mrz
12th Overall
Nokere Koerse - Danilith Classic
16-Mrz
5th Overall
Milano - Sanremo
19-Mrz
6th Overall
E3 Harelbeke
25-Mrz
3rd Overall
Ronde van Vlaanderen
03-Apr
3rd Overall
Paris - Roubaix
10-Apr
11th Overall
Brabantse Pijl
13-Apr
1st Overall
Amstel Gold Race
17-Apr
1st Overall
La Flèche Wallonne
20-Apr
1st Overall
Liège - Bastogne - Liège
24-Apr
1st Overall
Amgen Tour of California
15-Mai
250th Overall
World Ports Classic
27-Mai
250th Overall
Boucles de l'Aulne - Châteaulin
29-Mai
15th Overall
Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg
01-Jun
16th Overall - 1 Stage wins
GP du Canton d'Argovie
09-Jun
1st Overall
Ronde van Limburg
12-Jun
1st Overall
Route du Sud
16-Jun
131st Overall
Halle - Ingooigem
22-Jun
54th Overall
Luxembourg Championships ITT
27-Jun
2nd Overall
Luxembourg Championships RR
30-Jun
1st Overall
Tour de France
02-Jul
53rd Overall - 2 Stage wins
Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
30-Jul
1st Overall
Druivenkoers - Overijse
24-Aug
10th Overall
Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France
28-Aug
8th Overall
Giro del Veneto
30-Aug
8th Overall
Eneco Tour
13-Sep
1st Overall - 1st Points - 2 Stage wins
Giro dell'Emilia
24-Sep
2nd Overall
World Championships
29-Sep
24th Overall
Giro del Piemonte
01-Okt
3rd Overall
Tre Valli Varesine
03-Okt
2nd Overall
Milano - Torino
05-Okt
49th Overall
Il Lombardia
09-Okt
20th Overall
Short Season Summary
Giro d’Italia
Tour de France
Vuelta a Espana
MSR
Ewan
Power
Robbins
Latour
Ronde
Castelen
Majka
Pinot
Poels
Paris-Roubaix
Benoot
Bardet
Lopez
Vickers
L-B-L
Kayser
Sepulveda
Bardet
Brkic
Il Lombardia
Eiking
Lopez
Van der Poel
Dennis
WT ITT
Pols
World RR
Hales
Velo d’Or
WT Leader
WT Team
Rank CQ
CQ Team
Robbins
Kayser
Dimension Data
Kayser 1st @ 3805 pts
Dimension Data 1st @ 10995 pts
Santos
Pais Vasco
Pologne
AGR
Vattenfall
Kayser
Kelderman
Egidio
Kayser
Manzin
Paris-Nice
Romandie
Eneco
Fleche
Plouay
Bardet
Bardet
Kayser
Kayser
Hales
Tirr-Adr.
Dauphine
E3
San Sebastian
Quebec
Pinot
Pinot
Benoot
Kayser
Kelderman
Catalunya
Suisse
GW:
Montreal
Robbins
Yates S.
Lampaert
Haig
DB PCMDaily 2016
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Titus Vendredi came on the scene from a small town near the astonishing Etna. Riding up the volcano so many times, soon gave him nicknames of the Vulcano. It was fitting. His speed, acceleration, determination all helped him right hit the ground running. In his debut season at Nippo Fantini, Vendredi came right on the scene like an vulcano eruption: With a stage win at his first race as a neo-pro, taking the last stage of Tour de San Luis. Italy knew there that he was one to look out for.
In the following competitions he wasn’t less impressive, taking the youth jersey at Ruta del Sol and claiming the win at Classic Sud Ardèche. Unfortunately at the Settima, he crashed out and was injured for a month. Struggling with his form in the following months, he was slowly building up his legs to muscle the hills of the Italian Championships.
There he took a surprising newcomer victory and claimed the jersey against Ulissi and Felline in a reduced sprint. He refused to cooperate and work and preferred to save the energy, obviously this tactic worked to his advantage but didn’t give him the best reputation right away. But who cares when you get to wear the Italian National jersey as a Neo-Pro?
Vendredi closed the season with a stage win and the young rider jersey at the Arctic Race of Norway and some Italian fall classics. He renewed his contract with Nippo Fantini for one more season.
Tour de San Luis
18-Jan
21st Overall - 1 Stage wins
Herald Sun Tour
03-Feb
30th Overall
Ruta del Sol - Vuelta a Andalucia
17-Feb
12th Overall - 1st Young
Classic Sud Ardèche
27-Feb
1st Overall
GP Industria & Artigianato
06-Mrz
32nd Overall
GP Nobili Rubinetterie
17-Mrz
10th Overall
Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
24-Mrz
250th Overall
Grande Prémio Internacional Beiras e Serra da Estrela
13-Mai
4th Overall
Grand Prix de la Somme
22-Mai
34th Overall
Trofeo Alcide Degasperi
02-Jun
13th Overall
Philadelphia International Cycling Classic
05-Jun
6th Overall
GP du Canton d'Argovie
09-Jun
9th Overall
Tour de Slovénie
16-Jun
6th Overall
Italian Championships (ITT)
27-Jun
15th Overall
Italian Championships
29-Jun
1st Overall
Trofeo Matteotti
17-Jul
5th Overall
Post Danmark Rundt
27-Jul
12th Overall
Arctic Race of Norway
10-Aug
3rd Overall - 1st Young - 1 Stage wins
Tour du Limousin
16-Aug
3rd Overall
Tour des Fjords
31-Aug
22nd Overall
Tour du Doubs
11-Sep
7th Overall
Coppa Sabatini
22-Sep
14th Overall
Giro dell'Emilia
24-Sep
10th Overall
Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
25-Sep
2nd Overall
Spoiler
Lately I've been playing a bit as relaxation. I don't know how long i'll be playing but I thought about keeping tabs on the career. Unfortunately due to the World Championships-bug in the Kayser gameplay, I have little interest to continue this career at this time anymore
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Vini-Fantini Nippo (Grosu's Team) is intrested in me. After the race, Grosu told the team that i am a raw talent and with the correct guidance I can be the next Romanian legend. I could not belive what i heard. This was my chance. Altough the team had it's doubts - as I was jumping from the amateur scene directly to the PCT they gave me the opportunity in the 3 
Cyanide cup races to show my powers. He performs - he stays - were the race directors exact words. 
The Herald Sun Tour was first race after many the race where I showed my true strenght, by winning the KOM jersey. Stage 4 breakaway saw me, battling for points, and the cat. 2 and 3 climb on the road was enough to win it. Since I was still adapting to the pro-scene i focused on training hard, instead of winning, to get prepared for my biggest objective this season: 
Volta ao Portugal en bicicleta - a massive 11 stage-race with 2 mountain-top finishes a Prologue and a Time-Trial. 
Rein Taarame, 
Yuri Trofimov, 
Esteban Chavez and 
Frank Schleck were the main favourites for winning the general classification. I was eager to show my strenght to the big names of the World Tour, after a rocky first season.
