After hanging on to the Top10, Isostar set their goal in repeating that success in Pro Tour. There were ideas to using him to create space for another big stage racer, but our offer just wasn't good enough. Instead, we kept our Slovenian core, basically changed domestiques and swapping Thomas Faiers out for a much better Stage Racer and real second option in Martijn Keizer.
But that's not all of the story. Some movements and a lot of loss in depth enabled us to train Matej Mohoric. While being still eligible for u25 racing, Matej Mohoric has tuned himself up to 83 Hill at just 25 years of age. That makes him a contender in the Top5 for hilly classics, and will ensure a bright future for him no matter the opponent. On top, we hope that with this investment there is a new Slovenian star in the world of cycling, that can offer us consistent big time results.
What do you think we can achieve with the squad this season. Where do you think our strengths and weaknesses are? Let us know!
An excellent squad that should definitely improve on your position last season. Mohoric looks like the next big puncher star with the big guns declining already or soon enough!
@Yellow Jersey: Yeah Keizer and the Mohoric training are the real differences from last season, hopefully they pan out well.
@bbl: What a shame otherwise I would've gone higher for Pogacar
@SotD: The cobbles weakness was part of a roleplay move to ensure space for Per and Polanc to develop. Also I can guarantee you that from two years on Per will face massive training, so only a short-term leader would've really made sense. Flat sprints indeed are a weakness, we got Van der Sande at least for damage limitation there but Kump will surely focus on other sprints. Vuelta f.e. could be his main target this year.
Resistance seems like it has an impact, but not many pure puncheurs are much better. Mohoric training also mainly had roleplay reasons. But I think he should be a top5 scoring puncheur now.
@AbhishekLFC: Thank you very much. His main rival now seems like Lutsenko and Kinoshita for the future, both fairly young and both trained in offseason. Thank god Kinoshita is PCT. We work hard on living the dream of course
As it has been tradition for the Pro Tour circus, the season started in China at the Badaling International, taking place on a circuit from Beijing to the Great Wall region, back and forth. Same as last year, Matej Mohoric was our captain. This time he did loads of work in offseason to make sure that this time Estonian Martin Laas wouldn't steal his show. Oh, and Laasu left for Popo4Ever anyway to seek some more racing freedom.
The race saw us taking the initiative, chasing the break with the likes of Viatcheslav Kusnetzov and Jetse Bol. However, when the big attacks went flying also our team went missing, and Matej could not compete in the decisive move, having to chase his way back alongside compatriot Toms Skujins of Latvia.
While the duo made contact alongside several others on the finishing climbs, they surely had to spend a lot of energy on making it back. At the end of the day Mohoric finished top of his group and took in several riders on the final drag, but not enough to reach seven riders including the winner, main favourite Edvald Boasson Hagen.
At the end of the day the 8th place is kind of okay as it was the minimum goal to reach the Top 10. However, it is necessary to step up the game in the next races if we wanna compete with the best of the best. Especially depth score has to pick up, as the team showed an underwhelming effort after positioning Mohoric with no rider in the Top50 besides our puncheur star.
Probably the best day in Isostar flat racing history has happened at Stage 1 of Tour of Qatar, where the Isostar-scouted and developed rider, who now is home on loan again, Gasper Katrasnik took an enormous win from the breakaway. What a show of power, determination and guts to attack with the heart in the hand, then push to the limits and then just hold off both breakaway companions and sprinters for the win.
For one last time one of the most mysterious yet flashy teams lined up this season. It was the Giro del Lombardia, the closing race of the 2019 season. A fourth place was still at stake, not at all what the team aimed for in the last season.
Isostar was well known as being an ambitious squad before, and with the PT title being well in reach looking at bookings it was meant to be the Slovenian masterclass. Lining the best of Slovenian cycling up in one team meant to have a big responsibility, but at the same time a big opportunity. There was the superstar, the formerly best rider in the world and for many still the best: Simon Spilak. Then there was the star puncheur, the one who was meant to be the next Edvald Boasson Hagen. The leader of a new generation: Matej Mohoric. And finally there was Marko Kump. World Champion, team legend, Top3 hilly sprinter in the world. Jan Polanc, the best climbing cobbler in the world. David Per, a young and coming cobbler to sidekick Polanc. Martijn Keizer, the stage racer that excelled in those TT-heavy races. Everything was set.
They were so wrong. Pretty early the team looked to be very well set: Katrasnik was a very good addition for Qatar. Simon Spilak took the biggest win in team history, winning the pink jersey against the allmighty Silvio Herklotz. But inevitably the team faded. And what's worst: The team faded in all those races they once took their pride in: The hybrid races. Those enthusiastic prospects like world champ Kump, Polanc, Mohoric. They all faded away. At times it was more likely to finish outside the top10 than anywhere at the top. Closer to the end the team managed to drag itself slightly up, coming closer to the Top5.
Initial goals of a podium, dreams of winning the division, were long gone though. Too disappointing was the season until that date. Still, the team wanted to say goodbye with one last hooray. One big win in the last race, at Il Lombardia. The team was set. Simon Spilak was the pre-race favourite, Mohoric was the best #2 on any team. With Polanc, Pernsteiner, Jaramillo, Frankiny, Guerreiro and Augustyn the team had a star supporting cast to support the old Slovenian superstar and the one that was meant to be the new one.
Favourites
MON
HIL
STA
RES
ACC
Spilak
84
81
79
80
73
Bakelants
74
83
80
77
77
Ponzi
73
84
77
72
80
Hagen
70
85
81
74
79
Sagan
74
83
78
74
76
Lutsenko
73
83
76
73
81
Pluchkin
85
75
78
78
74
Morton
84
76
79
78
67
De Bie
71
83
77
76
75
Guldhammer
81
77
74
75
76
Van Garderen
72
82
78
75
79
Skujins
70
83
80
77
76
Lopez
78
79
74
73
76
Mohoric
71
83
78
72
77
Preidler
80
78
71
77
69
And right from the beginning it was game on with Isostar taking responsibilities and working in the chase, having our domestiques go all the extra miles needed to control the break of the day. As so often this season, Mohoric and Spilak decided to let the engines drag the peloton for them.
At first glance it looked very good. The team was attentive over the climbs, always well positioned. But then disaster struck. Mohoric was gone already 55km out. It obviously wasn't the climb, as several strong puncheurs were right at the front. That didn't leave Simon exposed, but a clear Top10 candidate was gone when there was 40 men left.
Still the team pushed on, Spilak still was considered the favourite, so there was no other option obviously. On the last 25 Kilometers, the group thinned out more and more, Simon grabbed his heart with his hands and attacked. Surely a strong move, and he got a small gap with Bakelants and Guldhammer. On the other hand, he questionably decided to attack on what was more of a false flat than a climb. Interesting tactics...
As expected, the opponence made it back and Spilak had wasted loads of energy while not receiving support. Less fresh than other contenders he approached Bergamo Alta, the often decisive factor of this race. The attacks went off, and Spilak didn't even try to counter the move, instead sat in the pack trying to close an unclosable gap. Instead Spilak sprinted for 4th, as he did so often outside the Giro. He ran out of steam though, finishing 6th at the very end.
What a perfect finish to sum up the season. Spilak would move on to finish somehow in contention of some middle-top10 spots, but when it mattered he didn't even sat on the table of the riders battling out the win. Even more of a display was the finish of Mohoric. The rider that was meant to be Slovenias next superstar finished 34th, behind Polanc and not far ahead of Jaramillo and loan-in Frankiny. At the end of the season he would finish 40th in the final rankings, downgrading both in terms of points scored and ranking spot from last season, despite receiving some valuable training.
Pos
Last
Rider
Nat
Team
Total Points
1
1
Silvio Herklotz
GER
Team Puma - SAP
2198
2
4
Rein Taaramäe
EST
Aker - MOT
2166
3
5
Taylor Phinney
USA
Grieg - Maersk
1993
4
7
Edvald Boasson Hagen
NOR
Air France - KLM
1992
5
6
Simon Spilak
SLO
Isostar - LimeBike
1949
36
61
Martijn Keizer
NED
Isostar - LimeBike
746
40
39
Matej Mohoric
SLO
Isostar - LimeBike
658
77
82
Jan Polanc
SLO
Isostar - LimeBike
416
89
85
Marko Kump
SLO
Isostar - LimeBike
372
101
93
David Per
SLO
Isostar - LimeBike
338
134
125
Gasper Katrasnik
SLO
Isostar - LimeBike
259
161
151
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
IRN
Isostar - LimeBike
204
162
157
Kilian Frankiny
SWI
Isostar - LimeBike
204
184
212
John-Lee Augustyn
RSA
Isostar - LimeBike
175
192
177
Geert Van der Sanden
NED
Isostar - LimeBike
169
200
184
Peeter Tarvis
EST
Isostar - LimeBike
160
233
221
Ruben Guerreiro
POR
Isostar - LimeBike
131
238
233
Daniel Alexander Jaramillo
COL
Isostar - LimeBike
130
243
224
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
RUS
Isostar - LimeBike
126
275
267
Hermann Pernsteiner
AUT
Isostar - LimeBike
110
280
275
Jetse Bol
NED
Isostar - LimeBike
105
309
309
Dusan Kalaba
SER
Isostar - LimeBike
92
389
376
Aleksandar Roman
SER
Isostar - LimeBike
67
392
387
Julien Vermote
BEL
Isostar - LimeBike
66
The team behind Isostar did everything they could to promote Slovenian cycling since the foundation of the team four years ago. Starting with Brajkovic, Mezgec, via self-developed riders like Polanc and Mohoric to proven stars like Kump and Spilak: The team has fulfilled their achievement to create the probably best Slovenian team that ever existed in the world of cycling.
Pos
Last
Team
Total
RD
PpRD
Proj
1
1
Gazelle
7575
191
39,66
7575
2
2
Grieg - Maersk
6741
191
35,29
6740
3
3
Team Puma - SAP
6598
191
34,54
6597
4
9
Air France - KLM
6545
191
34,27
6546
5
5
Isostar - LimeBike
6477
191
33,91
6477
Now however it seems like the peak has passed. Winning the Giro with local hero Simon Spilak on a Slovenian team seemed to be the peak of what is possible with this approach. The management clearly is happy with the state of Slovenian cycling right now.
And what's better: With Swisslion there is a regional team that the torch can be passed on to. 4 years the team worked hard to make the envisioned future to become the present. In the name of Slovenian Cycling, for both fans and riders. This fo so long anticipated present is now. Almost everything that has been fought for has been achieved. It's the perfect time to move on. It is the perfect time to finish the chapter.
Would hate to see Isostar wrapping up as a team. But if that happens, I'm sure you'll be back with a great new project to take the PT by storm.
As far as the season is concerned, 5th is still a great result but I know it is not as good as you had wanted. Winning the Giro in your 4th season is a huge achievement and having gone from CT to PCT to PT survival to 5th in the world is one hell of a ride.
Peeter Tarvis - The last winner for the #meninlime!?
With Isostar - LimeBike failing to challenge for the title in the last season, it's of major importance to the management to finish the book on a high. Therefore it was a joyful moment to see Peeter Tarvis finally winning the Estonian Championships, the second most important country for the team in it's bright history.
Rumors have it that the team is to fold completely, as major funding partners have now confirmed to be gone. However, this win fuels rumors from Pärnu, Estonia, that the team may head towards a restart in the Continental Division under the Estonian flag. With the next generation of Markus Pajur, Rait Ärm, Madis Mihkels, Joonas Kurits and Gleb Karpenko already ride for the team's u23-feeder-team Balticchaincycling.com, there is a chance that this change may become the main focus of what a month ago most likely loóked like a clear disband from the MGUCI cycling federation.
Head of management Kristijan Brajkovíc did not want to confirm those rumors, instead stated that he's keen to take a step back from the cycling world. Whether this means the end to the project or a rebrand is up to guesses, as well as implications of Brajkovícs' aim to take a step back in the virtual cycling world to other aspects of the cycling community. Reportedly negotiations are in the closing stages and may close very soon.
Actually, I hadn't noticed you got Keizer, amazing rider and your GC team is really strong to tackle the GT's.
otherwise I would've gone higher for Pogacar 
