Christina reports: We have had our end of season board meeting.
The management has been very impressed with our results this year. Some of the result they have especially mentioned was:
Winning the Championnat de France, Top 3 in Australian Championship
Overall win in Langkawi, Sibiu, Sarthe – Pays de loire, Coppa Agostoni.
Podiums in Coppi e Bartali and Bayern Rundfart
2 riders in Vuelta Espana top 25, and a stage podium.
Two stages in Qinghai Lake, 1 stage in Österreich Rundfart, 1 stage in Turkey.
The most important result is this:
Promoted to world tour: Lampre & Christina Watches
Relegated to Continental Pro: AG2R & Europcar
Promoted to Continental Pro: La Pomme
Relegated to Continental: Jamis
Christina reports: Before we move in the goals of the team and the coming season, I will first mention the riders that we had to let go.
This is a list of riders no longer with the team:
Daniele Aldegheri 25 year old from Veneto – Italy (av.68)
Daniele have been with us since 2013, his best result was winning the 2013 Ljubjana – Zagreb
Next year he will be with Bardiani Valvole
Sebastian Black 27 years from Sweeden. (av.68)
Sebastian have been with us since 2013, his best result was 9th in 2013 Zuid Oost Drenthe Cl.II
At this point he has no contract for next year.
Simon Bigum 22 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.65)
Sebastian have been with us since 2013, his did not get any notable results.
At this point he has no contract for next year.
Angelo Furlan 38 year old from Veneto – Italy (av.64)
Angelo have been with us since 2012, is the 2013 season he had several fine results, and won stage 4 on Baltic Chain Tour.
At this point he has no contract for next year.
Frederik Wilman 30 year old from Sør-Trøndelag – Norway (av.68)
Frederik have been with us since 2012, his best result was winning the 2013 Baltic Chain Tour.
Next year he will be with Joker Merida
Christina Reports:
The management discussed the goals and intensions of the coming years:
First of all we want the team to be able to stay in the World Tour.
We also want to clearly state that this in a Danish Team, and do our best to attract the best Danish and Scandinavian riders, and continue to sign young Danish riders, to give them the opportunity to make it within professional cycling. The changes we have done to the team this year does not reflect that clearly, but we will do our best to improve on that.
This is a presentation in the 2016 Team:
Leaders:
Kenny Elissonde 24 year from Alsace, France (av.75)
Kenny is our top climber and our strongest hope for the Grand Tours, but we will have to use him wisely looking for the tour with the least time trail, as that is his weakness. He is improved slightly over the last year, but not his climb. His contract runs out in 2016.
Sonder Holst Enger 22 years from Vestfold, Norway (av.75)
Sonder is our top sprinter, he has improved significantly over the last year, not only his sprint but also his acceleration and flat. Sonder is also rather strong up-hill, giving him extra possibilities in many situations. His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWTony Gallopin 27 years from Parisian Region, France (av.76)
Tony is a very skilled all-rounder, puncheur and fighter, his specialty is the spring classics, very strong on the hills and at the same time able to ride on cobbles, but there is more to Tony than that, he can also be a strong helper in the mountains or a perfect lead-out for a sprinter.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Lieutenant / Co-captains:
Davide Malacarne 28 years from Veneto, Italy (av.73)
Davide is a climber with ability’s almost similar to Kenny, his time trail is slightly better, but with a slower recovery he might be weaker in the Grand Tours. His climbing has improved over the last year.
His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWLawson Craddock 23 years from Texas, USA (av.74)
Lawson is a very strong all-rounder, even though his climbing is not as good as our best, his time trail makes up for it and he is very strong on hilly stages, absolutely a rider able to fill a leader role in many races. His contract runs out in 2017.
NEWRiccardo Zoidl 27 years from Linz, Austria (av.74)
Riccardo is an all-rounder, able to do well in many types of races, with a fine time trail and climbing skills he can act as a race leader as well as a strong lieutenant.
His contract runs out in 2017.
NEWKristian Sbaragli 25 years from Toscana, Italy (av.74)
Kristian is one of our top sprinters. With a very good flat ability he can also provide a good lead-out for Sonder in the very important races.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Yves Lampaert 24 years from Flanders, Belgium (av. 72)
Yves is our best on flat cobbles sections, but with an average uphill best in races without to many hill’s. Yves has improved his cobbles and several other skills over the last year.
NEWRasmus Quaade 25 years from Nordjylland, Danmark (av.72)
Rasmus is a time trail specialist, with a good flat making him also useful as a lead out.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Stefan Schumacher 34 years from Baden-Württemberg, Germany (av.72)
Stefan is a puncheur, with a fine time trail, formerly one of our top riders but Stefan’s skills are slowly starting to decline.
His contract runs out in 2017.
NEWMike Teunissen 23 years from Limburg, Netherlands (av.72)
Mike is a cobbles rider with a very good flat and with ok hill ability, making him good from the classics as well as a lead-out for a sprint.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Patrick Clausen 25 years from Copenhagen, Denmark (av.72)
Patrick is a sprinter, his sprint has not improved, but he has improved his hill and other skills over the last year. His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWLars Ytting Bak 35 years from Midtjylland, Denmark (av.72)
Lars is a strong fighter, able to do well on flat, cobbles and time trails. Lars is a well-known rider in Denmark attracting some media attention. We have signed a one year contract.
Lasse Bøchman 32 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.72)
Lasse is an all-rounder, a strong helper in the stage races with a fine time trail. Lasse has improved his time trail and restitution over the last year. His contract runs out in 2017.
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay 23 years from Canberra, Australia (av.71)
Mitchell is a puncheur, able to do well in a breakaway on hilly terrain or as a strong helper. Mitchell has developed significantly in many areas over the last year.
His contract runs out in 2017
NEWBjörn Thurau 27 years old from Bayern, Germany (av.71)
Björn is a cobbles/fighter type rider with a very good flat, making him good for the classics as well as a lead-out for a sprint. He is very weak in the mountains.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Mads Würtz Schmidt 21 years old from Copenhagen, Denmark (av. 71)
Mads is a good cobbles rider with a fine flat, making him good from the classics as well as a lead-out for a sprint.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Martin Pedersen 32 years from Copenhagen, Danmark (av.70)
Martin is a puncheur and fine breakaway riders or helper. He has improved his flat over the last year. His contract runs out in 2016.
Morten Høberg 27 years from Copenhagen, Denmark. (av.70)
Morten is an ok sprinter and he has improved his sprint and flat over the last year. He is ok as a lead-out sprinter in the smaller races. His contract runs out in 2018.
Water Carries:
Philip Nielsen 28 years from Nordjylland, Danmark (av.69)
Philip is a fine sprinter, but he struggles if the terrain is just a little uphill. He has improved a little over the last year, but nothing very useful.
His contract runs out in 2016.
Anders Bjerregård 23 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.68)
Anders is a sprinter, his sprint and flat abilitys have improved fine over the last year, but he is very weak up hill. His contract runs out in 2016.
Lasse Christiansen 22 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.65)
Lasse is a sprinter, he has improved on a broad spectrum this year, but he has a long way to go to become a competitive rider on a top level. His contract runs out in 2016.
Anton Grøn 22 years from Midtjylland, Denmark. (av.61)
Anton has proven to not improve fast compared to his age, we have no plans for him.
His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWJens Juul 20 years from Nordjylland, Denmark. (av.59)
Jens is a fighter, we have no idea what to expect from him. His contract runs out in 2018.
Edited by Tamijo on 07-05-2016 12:34
Kiserlovski01/sutty68: Clearly a stronger team compared to last season, but hard to say how much they can achieve with the much harder competition we will face on the world tour. Time will tell.
Rasmussen reports: Before we actually start the season, I am here in Ballarat, Australia to support Mitchell Lovelock-Fay in the Australian Championship. Later the squad for Tour Down Under will join us, but Mitchell will not take part in the race.
Mitchell came 3rd. last year from a breakaway, he will most likely try something like that again.
Profile:
It is 28°C and cloudy with little wind, the morning break is Mark Renshaw (Orica) Daniel Braunsteins (Joker)
As it starts to rain there is some crashes, but the raining is soon over. David Jai Crawford (Orica) is the first to hit the tarmac.
Orica is in control of the peloton, and with a rider out in front, they won’t let anyone get away. With about 50 km to the line Mitchell Lovelock-Fay decides to but pressure on the peloton, trying to split the Orica domination. Eventually it ends with a group if 6 riders pursuing the break.
The breakaway is long gone, Mark Renshaw wins the Australian Championship, but at least Mitchell secured at top 10.
The only major challenge, besides the fact that it is likely to be extreme hot this time a year, is the stage to Old Willunga Hill 26/1, passing over the hill twice finally as an uphill finich, 3 km with an average of 7.6%, that will most likely hand over the GC possibility from the Sprinter to the Puncheur. A successful breakaway might change everything.
Our sprinter favorite is a split between Pacheco and Sbaragli, they will be up against Cavendish, Viviani ect; Our GC favorite is Gallopin, he will face Ulissi, Kreuziger, Gilbert ect.
Young Jens Juul with have his professional debut in this important WT race, what a start!
Rasmussen report: We are here on Prospect Road, in the center of Adelaide, for the start of stage one. Originally populated by The Kaurna people, South Australia became a British colony in 1836.
The City is named after Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover.
Prospect Estate Park, Prospect Road:
We expect the stage to end in a mass sprint finish. The train setup will be decided when we know who has the best legs today.
It is unbelievable hot today, 33°C in burning sun, with very little wind. The morning break is 3 riders.
Jos Van Emden (Argos) wins the KoM sprint, securing the jersey overnight.
Rasmussen: Very fine start in South Australia, with two in top 10. Also like to mention Jens Juul showing enough determination to provide water to everybody all day, without losing time.
Rasmussen report: We are in Mount Barker a town of about 15.000 people. The town is named after the nearby peak, again named after officer and explorer Collet Barker killed by Aborigines in 1831. The town started settling from 1844 onwards based around a steam flour mill.
Mount Barker:
The stage is classified as hilly, due to the Cat.1 Corkscrew Climb just 10 km before the finish. In a perfect world we get Pacheco over the top in the first group, with his great downhill sprint, but it is more likely that Gallopin will be fighting it out against the other hill specialists.
The temperature has fallen to a more reasonable 28°C, there are some breakaway from the start of the race, but they don’t get more than 3 min. It is Katusha pulling very hard to protect Kristoff’s Ochre jersey. This results in young Jens Juul having a much harder stage today, having to hand the water responsibility over to Lars Bak.
A much more serious attack happens, on the two small hills with about 35 km to the line. Three strong riders get a gap of more than a minute. It is Sonny Colbrelli (Cannondale), Wout Poels (Argos) and Samuel Sánchez (Banco Santander)
Just before the Corkscrew Climb, Roman Kreuziger (Saxo) crash, he will lose a devastating 2’18 today. Over the top only Sonny Colbrelli is left in front, he got about 45 sec.
Sonny Colbrelli win the stage to Rostrevor with 30 seconds to the next group, taking over the Ochre leader jersey.
Kristian Sbaragli has pretty good legs today, and manages to hold on to the 2nd group of 20 riders passing over the top. Getting close to the line he has a good feeling and starts a long sprint 1,7 km out. He takes 2nd position in front Philippe Gilbert (Coca Cola).
Rasmussen: Sbaragli with a podium finish on his 2nd stage for our team, and 2 riders in top 5 of the GC. That is just a perfect result.
Jens Juul felt the step from amateur to World Tour, he lost 10'22.
Daniele Aldegheri 25 year old from Veneto – Italy (av.68)
Sebastian Black 27 years from Sweeden. (av.68)
Simon Bigum 22 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.65)
Frederik Wilman 30 year old from Sør-Trøndelag – Norway (av.68)
Kenny Elissonde 24 year from Alsace, France (av.75)
Lawson Craddock 23 years from Texas, USA (av.74)
Riccardo Zoidl 27 years from Linz, Austria (av.74)
Francisco José Pacheco 33 years from Castilla-La Mancha, Spain (av.73)
Yves Lampaert 24 years from Flanders, Belgium (av. 72)
Stefan Schumacher 34 years from Baden-Württemberg, Germany (av.72)
Mike Teunissen 23 years from Limburg, Netherlands (av.72)
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay 23 years from Canberra, Australia (av.71)
