This Tour in southern Portugal was one of the race goals we were given by the UCI. Interestingly we were expected to do well in the general classification, not just the sprints. With this aim in mind we sent Gediminas Bagdonas, since he is strong on hills, time trials and sprints. Gediminas was doing well, but unfortunately a mess up from the race organisers meant that it had to be restarted.

After the restart, Gediminas came 9th and 3rd on the first two sprint stages. Donato de Ieso also tried to get in the breakaway, but was unsuccessful. Bagdonas was 6th on the hilly stage and lost less than 2 minutes on the time trial. Despite a disappointing final stage, Gediminas did very well to finish 6th overall.

In general, the Algarve treated us well in both editions. A 6th place overall is a fantastic result for a sprinter's team. The fact that we also got a podium in the sprints is even more incredible. Technically, we failed the UCI goal set for us. However, we never expected to succeed in that anyway and to even be close is incredible.

The Tirreno Adriatico was arguably our biggest goal for this season part. It is the major Italian short stage race, including time trials, mountains, and, most importantly for us, a few flat stages too. The team we sent couldn't have been any stronger, fronted by Elia Viviani, who was supported by Bardiani's finest. It was always going to be tough to win a stage, especially up against the mighty BMC train, but we had confidence in our riders to deliver us a win.

Stage 1 was a Team Time Trial, so unsurprisingly, things did not go well for us. We ended up as the 16th best team, although it did not matter too much as we had no GC leader. Stage 2 was unfortunately not much better for us. Alexander Wetterhall got in the breakaway, but unfortunately, he was not successful. To make matters worse, Elia was dropped on the climbs and so no one contested the sprint.

Stage 3 was a vast improvement. Elia stayed at the front of the pack and latched himself onto the back of the BMC train. When Adrien Hanzen launched too early, it put Viviani fighting with fellow Italian Mario Guido for the stage win. Unfortunately Mario had a slight headstart and Elia did not have quite enough speed to come around him.

Stage 6 was a big improvement. Elia again took advantage of Hanzen to spring off the wheel. This time he not only timed it perfectly but also had the speed. Elia held off all the other sprinters and headed home an all Italian top 4 in Italy's biggest one week stage race. To be part of such a great result was amazing, but what was more amazing was to succeed in our goal to win a stage in Tirreno.

The other stages were not sprints, so we didn't really feature. Overall, Tirreno Adriatico was a great race for us. We came to the race, aiming for a stage win, and on the final flat stage we succeeded. For any Italian team Tirreno Adriatico is one of the season's most important races. We are very proud to be able to say we secured a stage win in one of our 3 big goals for the year.

La Primavera was one of the big 3 races for us this season. Any team wants to do well here. As an Italian team, that desire is heightened, which is why we made Milan San Remo one of our biggest goals for the whole year. Unfortunately the course does not quite play into our hands. It is a bit too hilly for our liking. Despite the tough profile, we sent a strong team, led by Elia Viviani.

The nature of Milan San Remo makes it hard to control. This meant our only hope was to try and keep a steady tempo, then pin our hopes on Elia for the sprint. Unfortunately for us, the race was full of attacks and excitement. The chasing pack was forced to chase hard, and the high pace put Elia out the race. He struggled to hold on to the front groups over the final few hills. In the end he was way out of it and did not even crack the top 25.

Looking back, our Milan San Remo was not in anyway spectacular. In fact, we did not feature in the race at all. However, it is hard for us to be disappointed when the race did not suit us at all. It was a good experience for the whole team to participate in the race, which included one of the best fields we will see all year. It is sad to fail our goal, but we cannot be disappointed.

This race in Belgium had several flat stages, making it good for us. The issue was that many of them also featured cobbles and small hills. Despite this, we sent a strong team, hoping to do well in the sprints, and perhaps even a lucky result in the overall. Our team was led by Sacha Modolo, but Elia Favilli was also there for the cobbles.

Unfortunately stage 1 was decided by the cobblestones. Stig Broeckx got in the breakaway, but could not stay till the end. On stage 2, Sacha was caught behind, perhaps by wind. Our only saving grace was Elia Favilli's decent performances in the breakaway. Despite stage 3 containing no cobbles and only lasting for about 500m, Sacha still managed to come 19th. The time trial was understandably disappointing.

Unfortunately De Panne was one of our worst races all year. On 3 of the stages none of our riders had the strength to put in even a half decent performance. On the one stage where the team managed to deliver Sacha to a sprinting position, he couldn't even get close to the top 10, never mind the podium.

Our race choices have been confirmed, so now we can announce to you our goals for the upcoming season part.

Easy: Stage Win Tour of Turkey
Medium: Top 3 Scheldeprijs
Hard: 2 Stage Wins Giro d'Italia

We feel these goals are both achievable and challenging. Turkey is often seen as a good stage race for the sprinters, so as a sprinters team it is only natural for us to try and perform well there. It is also traditionally part of the build up for the Giro, which is our big goal for the year. We hope therefore to get a stage win, although there is still hope we could do more, even though our sprinters are yet to fire this year.

We also hope to do well in another classic sprinter's race, the Scheldeprijs. Its pan flat profile makes it a favourite of most sprinters teams, and we are no exception. However the flat course means it is also likely to be a strong field. Therefore we think that a podium is a reasonable expectation.

Naturally the Giro d'Italia is the biggest race of our season. Our whole team is built around the Giro, and as such we naturally have a goal there. It will have one of the strongest fields all year, but we will also send a strong team. Two stage wins might sound easy, but based on past experience we feel it is a fair goal to set.