Roubaix is a race we've been deeply connected with ever since our first wildcard in 2015. This year it is Ovsyannikov who is leading us on the cobbles and his skill set is suited for the flat cobblestones. If the top favourites hesitate to work together and a larger group gets into the Velodrome, he has the potential to surprise.

We go into the Giro with a dual focus. Ovsyannikov is our leader for the sprint stages and he got a little leadout train to go with him with Ansons and Kurianov as strongman sprinters / rouleurs.

On the other side, this is the opportunity for Tobias Foss to once again prove his abilities as a GC leader. Back-to-back 12th place finishes in this race prove his abilities and he trained his climbing abilities further in the off-season.

Additional opportunities come from Calmejane and Arndt as stage hunters as well as Alekss Krasts as a potential guy for the under 25 classifications.

This might come as a surprise to many but in Liechtenstein we are lead by Luke Plapp and Pascal Eenkhoorn. As much as Lecuisinier would enjoy a chance for revenge, he unfortunately didnt have enough race days to add another classic to the three stage races that are on his schedule this year. So it is up to Plapp and Eenkhoorn to save the day for us and hope that they can fight for a top 10 or at least a top 15.

A proper flat classic - of course we are sending our flat rouleurs group - hoping for late attacks as always. But this year we also have a strong sprinter and we are hedging our bets by bringing Ovsyannikov along. One option for the sprint and multiple possible late attacker make us very hopeful that we can get some sort of result in whatever way possible.

When you have Lopez in your squad, any Ardennes race is a highlight. While a regular top 6 finisher in this race, Lopez has yet to win here. We are hoping to see this change this year.

April is a super interesting month for us. Only, Amstel is a proper premium race for us but every other race we have intriguing options and hopes to perform nicely. Especially, it's another month for Ovsyannikov to shine as his opportunities as a sprinter will come into focus before his schedule quiets down a bit afterwards.

It's Lopez country. 2022 winner, 2023 winner and 2024 winner Miguel Angel Lopez is back to attempt the fourpeat. Rune Herregodts and Nikias Arndt further strengthen the support lineup of Calmejane and Adria. Success creates pressure and there are few races where Lopez had more success in the past so hopes are sky-high.

Long-time followers will know what this race means for us: This is our white whale. The biggest race we have not yet won and the race that is preventing us from completing the Big 9 (3 GTs, 5 monuments, Worlds RR). Lopez is a standout leader for that and we further improve our Fleche lineup by including Luke Plapp as another domestique to control the race. We recognize that the route might not suit Lopez as much as Fleche but there is no race we are more desperate to win.

The other "Lopez race". In each of the last four years, Lopez finished in the top 2 including three victories. Can he secure a fourth victory? The support squad is slightly weaker with only minimum wage riders assisting him here. Still Calmejane, Adria and Arndt should provide him with a good chance to defend his title here.

We resisted the temptation of sending Ovsyannikov here and are trying to focus all of our forces behind Rune Herregodts as our leader here. We believe in him and think he has the skill set to possibly even get a top 5 result here if he can survive the cobbled stage in a larger group of favourites. For that we need undivided attention on carrying him over the stage. If that doesnt work out in our favor, we could be in for a very low scoring race here.

May is a short month with only two stage races and two classics but it has the potential to be one of our very best months. It is the most important month for Lopez with three races where he could be considered the top favorite as well as a stage race where we have an intriguing dark horse outsider. The goal is to be the monthly top scoring team.

SotD wrote:

Massive month for you, on paper atleast. I fully trust your instincts in Herregodts for the TONE GC fight. Kiriakidis have done well in the past with that sneaky mid-60's COB stat. Herregodts is a better rider in every way so I could very well see him take on the top 5 battle. I kind of hope the cobbles is a bit more decisive so Cavagna will have the upper hand, but not too decisive

Fingers are crossed that you land the LBL win finally! It would be such a brilliant history. Although I must say, that winning the PT should be an even bigger white whale - calling it The Big 10

knockout wrote: