TheManxMissile wrote:
Voeckler? waste of a race day in my opinion.
and tha Sprinter classification was unnecessary as he'll just be a team-mate for Tommeke
Okay, that's your opinion. 1 Race day doesn't do any harm I guess
He has to do something with his cobbles ability
And I know that the sprinter classification was unnecassary, just wanted to put it there
@Luigi Yes I know, but maybe you were interested though Edited by Jesleyh on 18-01-2013 16:08
ING - InBev can finally say that they've completed the schedule! They already had a schedule ready for their goal races, the first races, the GTs and all the leaders. Now everything is complete.
Of course, it will not be made public, but it will get public partly with the prizes at x views, and of course we announce startlists just before the races start.
Now we speak about prizes, there's one coming up.
When we reach 3750 views, a new prize will be there, just like the previous one. We can say that we can now offer better prizes than last time, since the whole schedule is done. Of course, there might be a rubbish choice among them, but that's just fun.
SSJ2Luigi claimed the prize, and chose for the option with the French flag. So now we have to give him his prize, a link to the Wikipedia page about French:
Spoiler
Kidding
No, we will give him his real prize. He might have hoped for the Tour de France squad, but I guess that that's too big, although it might return in later prizes, when it's a little bit closer to July.
But the real prize is that we will now reveal the Paris - Roubaix squad. It's one of our major sponsor goals, and we're there with the strongest team possible.
Team Leader
Tom Boonen
Free Roles
Lars Boom
Thomas Voeckler
Sprinter
Stefan van Dijk
Domestiques
Grega Bole
Maarten Wynants
Johnny Hoogerland
Tom Leezer
Hello, here is a new edition of the ING Cycling Magazine. Already the 7th, time flies when you’re having fun. Our team roster is complete. We have some sad news about a leaving rider, some sad news about a leaving team, some good news about our schedule, and some good news about the season. This edition will be focussed on the team roster. A big review is waiting for you.
Also, we have an interview again. This time not with one of our riders, but with Van Avermaet, our ex-rider.
Part 1: Latest news
Part 2: Rivals
Part 3: The last signing
Part 4: The team Roster special
Part 5: Interview
Last News
There’s plenty of news. Plenty of things happened this week.
A team leaves
We’re sad to say this, but, Sporting club de Portugal left the Cycling sport. They were wanting to join very much at the start of the season, but it wasn’t meant to be.
They weren’t the strongest, or most promising team, but they were definitely a good team for the CT. Rumours say that they had some arguments with the UCI. I don’t know if that’s true. It’s not sure what will happen right now. Dutchies Veelers and Westra are also on the team. What will happen with them? I wish they could go to us, they were both on our shortlist. More news about this next week.
Greg van Avermaet leaves
Greg van Avermaet, who secretly told us earlier that he wasn’t really happy at this team, left us. He didn’t saw many opportunities here, at ING, and decided to move to Allianz – BMW. We’re very unhappy with this, especially since he had a 3 years contract. We hope he’s happy at Allianz.
Our schedule
We’re proud to say that our schedule is 100% finished. As you know, we give away prizes sometimes, and those mainly include parts of our schedule. I must say that it’s an interesting one. I can assure you one thing: There’s at least 1 GC where we don’t go for a GC Top 3/Top 5. But which one is that?
It almost starts
It doesn’t take too long until the season starts! That’s great! Now that every team roster is complete, everyone just has to finish the schedules and has to get in form by for example a training camp, and then we’re ready to go! First up: Santos Tour Down Under. Startlists will be revealed a few days before the start.
Rivals
Of course, we’re not the only team in the WT. As you know, we have a rivalry with two other WT teams. Lierse – Pizza Ullo are our ‘sponsor region’ rivals. They aim for Belgium, just like we do. They grabbed some riders away from us, most noticeable Gilbert of course.
We’ve done a big review on them, you can find it here:
Our other rivals are Motorex – Credit Suisse
They will be our rivals on the cobbles. With Cancellara and Pozatto, they will be a strong one. Although I think that Lierse is slightly better, since Lierse is a bit more allround.
We also did a review about Motorex, but it’s not yet posted. If it gets posted, it will appear here:
The last signing is a good one. We were a bit surprised that he wasn’t signed earlier, since he’s pretty good. I guess it’s because his age, that’s why he got a one-year contract.
It’s Bram Tankink(33)
Bram Tankink is a puncheur, who’s also a strong climbing domestique and a good cobbler. He’s 33 and therefore signed for 1 year. He can’t replace Greg van Avermaet of course, but he’s a strong domestique.
He has never been a superstar, but got a Top 5 on E3 last year, which is pretty good. He also won a stage in ‘Deutschland Tour’ in 2006, which was a big race back then. We hope he enjoys his stay at ING, but we probably won’t renew.
Team Roster special
Well, as promised, we’ll do a big article about our team roster today.
At first, the nationalities.
The sponsor wanted us to have at least 11 Dutch riders and at least 5 Belgian. We succeeded in that. We even got 12 Dutch guys
These are our nationalities:
As you can see, we’ve got plenty of them. 10 nationalities. So an average of 2,9 per nationality.
Our average age is 28,06.
Our average contract length is 1,9 years.
Our squad contains for 27,6% of climbers,24,1% of sprinters, 17,2% of Puncheurs, and13,8% of fighters. 10,3% are cobblers, 6,9% are stage-races, and (just) 3,45% are pure time-trialists.
Note:
Pietropolli & De Kort counted as punchers and Bole counted as both a sprinter and puncher
Team review
We did a big review of our team, here it is: Mountains/GTs
As you can see, our GC men aren’t really good against the clock. That means that our TdF win/Top 3 ambitions might be over. Ruiter is one of the world’s best climbers, but a mess against the clock. He can possibly do something at the Vuelta or the Giro, since there are less TT kms in Italy and especially Spain. With Fränk Schleck, ING has a guy who’s both solid in the mountains and hills. He’s not that good against the clock, but at least better than Ruiter. We’ve also got a big talent for climbing. He’s named Nairo Quintana. He’s just 21, and can be a contender for the young riders jersey. The support
We’ve got plenty of climbers support. John Gadret(76MO) and Thomas Voeckler(76MO) can possibly ride for themselves, since they’re very good climbers.
Besides them, we’ve got De Greef(74MO), Hoogerland(74MO), Zaballa(73MO), Pauwels(73MO), Pietropolli(73MO), Roy(72MO), Karpets(71MO), Tankink(71MO) and Goos(70MO). Pretty strong support I think. Climbers/GT rating: 7,5 We’ve got enough climbers, but we’re just lacking in TT ability. Nevertheless, we think we can get a Top 5 at a GT, and in the other GTs, we will aim for stage-wins.
Basically, all of those can win one of the Ardennes classics. The problem of Mathijs is his stamina, which means that he won’t win MSR, Amstel or LBL. All other hilly races are fine for him though. With Schleck, but even more Voeckler, we have serious Ardennes contenders. Voeckler is a very aggressive rider, and will try to attack until he reaches the finish in front, at his own. If necessary, he got a finishing sprint too. Schleck is also an aggressive rider, but needs that, since his sprint is rubbish. I think they’re both in the Top 10 of hilly riders in the world. Definitely a strong hilly team. Support
The support for the hilly races is just astonishing. We can name them all, but that would just cost a lot of energy. Let’s name the ones who are not capable of a good hilly ride:
Rasmussen(60HI), Van Dijk(66HI), Markus(66HI), Leezer(67HI), Boeckmans(67HI) and Goos(69HI) are the only ones without a good hill ability. Although Goos can still do a decent job. So the support is just great. Puncher rating: 8,5 Our Punchers squad is just great, live with that
Sprinters
Johan Veenhof, 28.(79SP, 78ACC, 76FL, 72HI)
Tom Boonen, 31(76SP, 77ACC, 81FL, 73HI)
Kris Boeckmans, 24. (75SP, 75ACC, 74FL, 67HI)
Our sprinters squad is decent. Nothing special, but absolutely capable of some wins. Veenhof is one of the 10 best sprinters of the world, and can get the team at least 1 or 2 GT stage wins. He’s also kind of good uphill. Boonen used to be the best sprinter, but transformed in more of a cobbler. He’s still a great sprinter, and his flat ability really helps him. An uphill sprint is his favourite profile. On the other side, we’ve got Kris Boeckmans. No uphill sprinter, but very young and talented. He won’t win anything big, except some CT stages, but keep him in mind, he will do big things in a few years. I hope he renews. Support(leadouts)
There are plenty of sprinters available. Bole(75HI, 74SP), Pietropolli(75HI, 73SP) and Kocjan(73HI, 73SP) are great uphill sprinters. But on the flat, we’re even better. We’ve got Van Dijk(74SP), Dumoulin(73SP, and also 73HI), Markus(73SP), Rasmussen(73SP)Leezer(71SP) and De Kort(70SP).
There will be enough leadouts, that’s for sure. Sprinters rating: 7 It’s not a great sprinters squad, but with Boonen & Veenhof, we can get some wins. And don’t forget the enormous amount of available leadouts, that will surely give our sprinters a boost.
Our cobbled squad is really, really good. It’s a shame that Van Avermaet left, since he was also great, but still, it’s a nice squad. Boonen is the best cobbler of the world(maybe along with Spartacus) and also got a very strong sprint. He can surely win a few cobbled classics. Boom is also capable of winning a classic, although not as easy as Boonen. Boom can most likely stay in the front group for the whole race, and can help Boonen with taking the win by working for him. After Boom, there’s Wynants. Not capable of a win, but capable of a good finish. Will be a great helper for both Boom & Boonen. Support
The support got weaker now that Van Avermaet is gone, but it’s still good.
Voeckler(73COB), Hoogerland(72COB), Bole(72COB), Leezer(71COB), Van Dijk(70COB), De Kort(70COB) and Tankink(69COB) are the support. Don’t forget that you include Boom(78COB) and Wynants(75COB) too, since they will all be working for Boonen. Cobbles rating: 9 Yes, we admit here that we are a little bit less than Motorex(We gave them a 9,25) But still, our squad is very strong, and this can provide us with quite a few wins. And don’t forget that Boonen got a sprint, and Cancellara doesn’t have a strong one.
Others
With others, we mean TTing, fighting and prologue riding.
TT+PRL
We don’t have very strong TTists/prologue riders.
Boom(76TT, 77PRL) and Rasmussen(76TT, 77PRL) are good though. After that, there’s Roy(74TT, 73PRL) and Karpets(73TT, 72PRL). And Boonen(70TT, 74PRL) can ride a good prologue. That’s about it. TT+PRL rating: 5: Our weakness, we just don’t have a world-class TT man.
Fighting
We have very strong fighters. Voeckler(85FTR, 73FL) is maybe the best of the world. He’s so aggressive! He can also attack up mountains and hills very swiftly. Beside him, we’ve got Roy, who doesn’t think about anything else than attacking, as you saw in an earlier interview(83FTR, 70FL). Dumoulin(79FTR, 73FL, 73SP) is someone who can win a sprint in a breakaway. Other great fighters from ING are Hoogerland(78FTR, 70FL),Zaballa(77FTR, 68FL) and Bellemakers(77FTR, 69FL) Fighter rating: 9 We can send somebody in the break in Every stage we enter.
Overall
Overall, I think this team is very strong.
We’re pretty allround, and got some great talents(Quintana, Boeckmans, Lindeman, Markus). The only thing that’s worrying is the average age: 28. That’s a bit high. Luckily, most of the contracts of the old guys are just for 1 year, and our squad for next year will be very refreshing. The only weak part of the team is the TT, although the sprinting could’ve been a bit better too. If you look at the cobbled, hilly and fighters part, this team is one of the best. There’s also a lot of support on any profile, so that’s very good.
Overall rating: 8 I think that we’re among the five best teams in the WT! Isn’t that great?
Interview
This week, we’ve got an interview with Greg Van Avermaet. He signed with Allianz – BMW. We will find out why today.
Thijs Zonneveld: Hi Greg.
Greg van Avermaet: Hi.
TZ: Well, let’s start with the most important question: Why did you leave?
GVA: Well. It wasn’t easy. I just thought that I could learn more from Rodriguez. Also I wasn’t really happy with the salary, and it was higher at Allianz – BMW. But it was mainly the learning part.
TZ: Just be honest, it was the money wasn’t it?
GVA: No, I didn’t get enough opportunities at ING and the squad is…
TZ: Stop right there. Do you seriously think that you get more opportunities in a team with Rodriguez, S.Sanchez and Scarponi?
GVA: Okay, right, money was part of the decision, you got me.
TZ: Right, now that’s done, we will talk about other things. Obviously the Ardennes will be part of your goal, but what else?
GVA: I’m not really sure yet, but I think that I will focus on some smaller stage races too.
TZ: Which team is better, Allianz or ING?
GVA: Climbing wise, Allianz is better for sure. Allround it’s ING.
TZ: What do you think about the fact that Allianz doesn’t even have a website
Spoiler
HQ
left?
GVA: I admit, that’s ridiculous. I will ask the manager to make one.
TZ: Okay, thanks for the interview
GVA: You’re welcome.
Tommy
Now that the season starts soon, Tommy is really excited and full of energy. Therefore, he had some friends playing with him.
He really liked them, and it tired him out a bit. At least he wasn’t running through the HQ, destroying things etc. Everybody loves Tommy
Next up in ING Cycling Magazine
- A prediction of the WT standings
- (possibly) the TDU startlist
- An interview
- Latest news
- And much more!
Edited by Jesleyh on 19-01-2013 21:33
ING decided to reveal their Santos Tour Down Under startlist very early. What's very notable is that it's very strong. After the revealing of the startlist, many interviewers had a question. The most urgent one was of course the question that an interviewer of Eurosport asked to Jesleyh: ''Why do you send such a strong squad to Australia?''
Jesleyh answered: ''We want to start the season with a bang, and we want to lead the rankings as soon as possible. Plus that quite a few riders couldn't wait to start the season, and this was the first possiblity.''
Here's the startlist: Team Leader
Thomas Voeckler
Sprinter
Johan Veenhof
Free Role
Dirk Bellemakers
Domestiques
Koen de Kort
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Kris Boeckmans
Maarten Wynants
Team Goals: GC Top 3(if possible GC Win) + 1 or 2 stage win(s)
Edited by Jesleyh on 20-01-2013 17:07
You're right, I actually had 7 riders 'on paper'. Don't know why I included Zaballa, probably Mislooked, since Wynants is placed above him on the schedule
Hehe, ok he's not bad, but there are better sprinters out there. And as TMM isn't ready yet with his custom riders adjustements, can't be too sure about him yet
Ollfardh wrote:
Hehe, ok he's not bad, but there are better sprinters out there. And as TMM isn't ready yet with his custom riders adjustements, can't be too sure about him yet
Well, there are better sprinters out there, but will they show up? I expect Guardini or Degenkolb from SGL, since they just have great sprinters, but I don't think Cav or Greipel shows up...
+ I don't expect too many adjustments for Johan, since he's not a beast(yet)
Ollfardh wrote:
Hehe, ok he's not bad, but there are better sprinters out there. And as TMM isn't ready yet with his custom riders adjustements, can't be too sure about him yet
Well, there are better sprinters out there, but will they show up? I expect Guardini or Degenkolb from SGL, since they just have great sprinters, but I don't think Cav or Greipel shows up...
+ I don't expect too many adjustments for Johan, since he's not a beast(yet)
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
are our ‘sponsor region’ rivals. They aim for Belgium, just like we do. They grabbed some riders away from us, most noticeable Gilbert of course.
(for now)
