At the end of last season, it was clear that we needed a third stage racer in the team, to cover the races where neither Plaza or Gesink will not be able to show up. At the top of our list were Gomez Marchante and Denis Menchov, but after negotiations with both of them failed, we were forced to look into other riders as well. That and the news that Ardila might leave Festina came in perfect timing.
Not long after that Jack Wolfskin and Festina came to an agreement for Ardila's move, whose position in the team isn't very clear yet but one thing is certain: he will lead us at the Vuelta a Colombia, as the races returns to Pro Tour status.
Last year we started building a team specialized in team time - trials and even though it wasn't as strong as we hoped to be, we still managed to win the Eindhoven TTT and a stage in Tour de Romandie.
This year, none of our main time - trialist left the team and we even signed three more: Rosseler, Vandewalle and the newest on the that list: Denis Van Winden. Van Winden, who also seems to be our only new Dutch rider for this season, will be a key part in our train as he was in the last two season for La Gazzetta. At Jack Wolfskin he will find his former team - mate, Joost Posthuma and the two together with Cornu should lead the team in the 5 TTTs of the season.
In other news, Van Huffel has leaved the team and from now on he will be riding for Bimbo Nutella, while Welle Jallays has been loaned in for one season from Team BPost.
The transfer season has now officially come to an end for Jack Wolfskin with the late signing of Haimar Zubeldia. The Basque climber is past his best days but we believe that he can pull out one last good season before start thinking about retiring.
Last year the National Championships were quite good for us and next season we will have one national champion for each of the 3 main countries that we are representing: Posthuma will wear the Dutch ITT jersey, Cornu the Belgian one, while Martens will be wearing the German RR jersey.
Posthuma's jersey is the same as last year, Cornu's Belgian jersey is a little bit different, while Martens will be wearing a brand new edition of the German NC jersey.
Last year, Ruben Plaza was Jack Wolfskin top scorer with 3 victories and a brilliant Vuelta a Espana even though everyones eyes were on the team's superstar - Robert 'Bob' Gesink.
With a few months left before the start of the new season, Plaza took a short brea from his training to answer a few questions put by a local journalist.
You joined the team last year, what were your first feelings from the inside? Ruben Plaza: It was a little bit hard for me at first to get used to a completely new team after a few seasons spent with Virgin Media. But as days passed I started to feel more and more like home and that could be seen in the first race - Volta a Catalunya - where I kept the JW colors at the top.
You had quite a season in 2011 being the team's best scorer. Do you think you can repeat that? Ruben Plaza: Last year things were a little bit different. I had almost no pressure as everyone was looking at Gesink and Cornu to bring in some good results. Now a lot of people see me at the same level as Robert, which puts some pressure on my shoulders, but hopefully that won't affect my season.
In last year's Vuelta you lost a place on the podium for only a few secons. Do you think you can improve that result or is the competition tougher this year? Ruben Plaza: Every year the competition is though, especially in a Grand Tour. Even so La Vuelta was my best race last year with a fourth place and a stage win and of course I'd like to improve that result. But it's not going to be easy at all as the route seems to be more mountainous than last year and it could favor the pure climbers such as Contador, Schleck or Madrazo. But in the 8th stage, I think, there's also a giant team time - trial and with the support of the rest of the guys, I could win there some important time over my rivals in that particular stage.
You mentioned the team time - trial. Everyone sees Jack Wolfskin as the best team in that terrain. How do the riders feel about that? Ruben Plaza: Well, we know we are the favorites for the team time - trials this year, but there's not going to be easy in any of them. Last year we were told that we had to win Eindhoven, which we did and at this points that's the team's biggest win. With the transfer of Denis Van Winden, we feel that now we really have what it takes to do really well in those type of races.
Just a couple more questions. Who do you see as the strongest teams in the Pro Tour this year? Ruben Plaza: That's a though one as there are a lot of good teams this year. There's the former champions of Vesuvio and Sony Ericsson, but there's also Festina or Wikipedia, and of course us, as we will be looking to improve last year's 9th place. From the new comers, Bacardi and Santander are looking quite good.
And finally, since this is your main goal of the season and your home Grand Tour, who do you think will win La Vuelta 2012? Ruben Plaza: Ruben Plaza. Now seriously, there's a lot of strong guys out there, but if I'd have to pick a name I think that would be Angel Madrazo.
With almost everything done before the start of the new racing season, it's, of course, time to present the old and the new riders that will ride for Jack Wolfskin in the 2012 season. But before that, lets have a look at some interesting facts of our race planning for the upcoming season:
• 8 seems to be the magic number for Jack Wolfskin this year and you'll see why. Hopefully it will be a lucky number.
• The eight riders that will compete in Copenhagen-Malmo TTT will also ride in the Tour of Oman in the start of the season. We expect some real fireworks in those 2 races.
• After finishing 10th in last year Tour de France, Robert Gesink decided to have a break from Grand Tours this year. Instead he will focus on classics and one week stage races.
• Tour de France stage winner, Benoit Vaugrenard, is the only Jack Wolfskin rider to start in all the three Grand Tours this year. 8 riders will start in two GTs.
• Eight riders will use all their race days. After winning the German Champions last year, Paul Martens, will have now plenty of days to show his jersey as he was given all the race days that he was allowed to ride - 100. The other seven are: Gesink, Plaza, Posthuma, Florencio, Chavanel, Ten Dam and Vaugrenard.
• Except for the Tirreno - Catalunya clash at the start of the season, Ten Dam and Xavier Florencio will be riding exactly in the same races in 2012.
• Our main sprinter, Michel Kreder, will have the support of Marcel Sieberg in every single race he will enter in the new season.
• Dominique Cornu, Joost Posthuma, Dennis Van Winden, Jason Donald, Benoit Vaugrenard and Koen de Kort are the 6 riders that will ride for us in every single TTT this year.
• The exact same 8 riders will represent Jack Wolfskin in the cobbled classics this year: Marcel Sieberg, Laurens Ten Dam, Klaas Sys, Bas Giling, Xavier Florencio, Koen de Kort, Sebastien Rosseler and Welle Jallays.
• The only 2 races where Jack Wolfskin won't enter a full squad are Paris - Nice and Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.
Edited by alexkr00 on 25-07-2011 20:19
B&O might bring the big favorite to take the GC home in Alex Pluchkin, but since JW are bringing their A-team in Oman, there's no way they're not starting the TTT as the big favorites, even with the strong opposite from the Danish team.
The Dutch superstar will lead the Jack Wolfskin squad for another season in the Pro Tour. Last year, despite his victory in Tour de Romandie, Robert didn't have his best season missing out the top 10 of the best riders in the Pro Tour, mostly because of a mediocre result in the Tour de France. This year he won't be riding in any Grand Tour, focusing instead on classics, one day and one week races, with Oman and Amstel Gold Race being the main goals of the season for him.
Jack Wolfskin's highest scorer from last season is also back to defend the Dutch team's colors for another year. The Spaniard will start his season early in Oman, where he will ride as a super domestique for Robert Gesink, and then move on to his Vuelta preparation with races like Catalunya and California, where he finished on the podium last year.
Schedule: Tour of Oman, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Vuelta a la Region de Murcia, Tour of California, Vuelta a Espana, Crieterium du Dauphine, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, GP LiechtensteinEdited by alexkr00 on 26-07-2011 18:26
The King of the Continental Tour in 2010 didn't have the greatest season in 2011, but still got an amazing stage win in La Vuelta a Espana. This year he will be one of key riders in the time - trial train as he returns for another year in La Vuelta as well as making his debut in Il Giro. His main goal will came late in the season as he will try to win yet another Belgian time - trial National title.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Paris - Nice, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, Chrono des Herbiers
Joost Posthuma
Same as Cornu, Posthuma will be looking for another National title at the end of the season, but before that he will join the Belgian rider in an amazing combo for the time - trials. But unlike Cornu, Posthuma will receive some possibilities to ride for himself in Tirreno and Tour of Northern Europe, where he could finish on the podium, seeing that the cobbled stage will be hilly this year.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Tirreno - Adriatico, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, Tour of Northern Europe
Dennis Van Winden
The last and the most important addition for the time - trial train in 2012, Van Winden will be seen in more races than Cornu and Posthuma, but his presence in the TTTs will still be as important as the others two. Dennis is one of the riders that could stop Posthuma's supremacy in the Dutch time - trial Championships, as he dreams to win the red, white and blue jersey.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Vuelta a la Region de Murcia, Amstel Gold Race, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Criterium du Dauphine, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, Chrono des Herbiers
Jason Donald
Donald place in the team was unsure until the last moment, but in the end his performances from last season counted a lot and now we will see him with Jack Wolfskin for another year. He won't get a lot of chances to ride for himself, but the American is happy to ride as a domestique for our team - leader and be a very important part in our TTT train.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Paris - Nice, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Tour de Suisse, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, Vattenfall Classic, Chrono des Herbiers
Koen de Kort
Koen is one of the team's oldest riders and one of the most important domestiques as well, as he is a valuable rider for any team in a time - trial, a cobbled or a flat stage. He's hoping to peak for Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, but the 2 Grand Tours where he will be riding are also very important.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Tirreno - Adriatico, Omloop Het Volk, East Midlands Cicle Classic, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaandere, Paris - Roubaix, Vuelta a la Region de Murcia, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT
Benoit Vaugrenard
2011 was an amazing year for Vaugrenard as he wore the green jersey in the Giro and won a stage in the Tour. This year it will be very important for him as he is set to perform in a lot of race, and probably the most important aspect of his season, he is going to ride in all Grand Tours of the season which isn't an easy thing to do for any cyclist in the World.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Paris - Nice, Vuelta a la Region de Murcia, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Copenhagen - Malmo TTT, Tour de France
Kristof Vandewalle
After one year spent with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Vandewalle returned to Jack Wolfskin, where he had his best performances as a cyclist so far. And he returned in a perfect moment to complete our amazing TTT train as he will be a very strong rider in three of the five TTTs of the 2012 season, especially in Il Giro and La Vuelta.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tirreno - Adriatico, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Criterium du Dauphine, Classique du Grand - Duche, Seine - Marne - Seine, Vuelta a Colombia, GP de Fourmies, Tour of Northern Europe
Sebastien Rosseler
After a late departure from Warner Brothers, Rosseler received a very good contract at Jack Wolfskin and the guarantee that he will be riding two Grand Tours in 2012. And the fact that he is very much a De Kort type of rider also means that we will be seeing him in cobbled classics and one day races as well.
Schedule: Tour of Qatar, Tirreno - Adriatico, Omloop Het Volk, East Midlands Cicle Classic, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix, Vuelta a la Region de Murcia, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Criterium du Dauphine, Vattenfall Classic
Jos Van Emden
Unlike last year, in 2012, Jos Van Emden won't be part of our A-team for the team time - trials, but his sprint and time - trial abilities make him a very valuable team mate and an important rider in our team chemistry, as this is his third season with us.
Schedule: Tirreno - Adriatico, Milano SanRemo, Rund um Koln, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Tour de Romandie, Tour of California, Criterium du Dauphine, Vattenfall Classic, GP de Fourmies
Paul Martens
The surprising win in last year's German National Championships assures Martens of a very important spot in the Jack Wolfskin roster. He'll have plenty of chances to show off his brand new jersey as he will be riding in plenty of classics and one week races, as well as making his debut in the World's biggest cycling race - the Tour de France.
Schedule: Tirreno - Adriatico, Milano SanRemo, Rund um Koln, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone, Liege - Bastogne - Liege, Tour of California, Tour de Suisse, Classique du Grand - Duche, Tour de France, Seine - Marne - Seine, Vuelta a Colombia, FBD Eire Tour, GP de Fourmies, Tour of Northern Europe, GP Mendrisio, Giro di Lombardia
Welle Jallays
Jallays will be riding only one year for us as he is under contract with the Continetal Tour team, BPost. Even though he will not be riding in any Grand Tour he will have plenty of possibilities to gain some valuable Pro Tour experience and more important, as next year he will return to Team Bpost, he will enjoy some cobble action as he will make his debut in Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris - Roubaix!
Schedule: Tirreno - Adriatico, Milano SanRemo, Omloop Het Volk, East Midlands Cicle Classic, Rund um Koln, Gent - Wevelgem, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix, Vuelta a la Region de Murcia, Fleche Wallone, Liege - Bastogne - Liege, Tour de Romandie, Tour of California, Criterium du Dauphine, Classique du Grand - Duche, Seine - Marne - Seine, Vattenfall Classic, FBD Eire Tour, Tour of Northern Europe, Giro di Lombardia
The third best climber in the team, after Gesink and Plaza, Ardila won't rider too many races in 2012, but that's not necessarily bad news for him as he will get to be our general classification rider in Il Giro and Le Tour. Also, he will lead the team in his home race, as everyone expect him to show his excellent climbing abilities at this year's Vuelta a Colombia.
Schedule: Giro d'Italia, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France, Vuelta a Colombia, GP Liechtenstein
Haimar Zubeldia
Zubeldia joined the team quite late, but he was and is a very good addition to our climbing department. He's not as young as he used to be and you can see that in his recent performances and even though he will be missing from this year's Vuelta startlist, he'll be looking for one last show-up at the Tour de France, in July.
Schedule: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France, Vuelta a Colombia, GP Liechtenstein, GP Mendrisio, Giro di Lombardia
Wout Poels
One of the most talented Dutch climbers out there, Wout Poels, is very close to reach his full potential now. This will be his last year where everything will be about gaining experience, as from next year he is expected to become a very loyal domestique to our super-star, Robert Gesink. The race that he will most look forward to is, like for any other Dutch rider, Amstel Gold Race.
As shown at last year's Tour de France, the German beast is one of the best lead - out riders in the World. His main job this year will be helping Kreder getting used with the position of the main sprinter of the team and help him get a few podium spots in the mass sprints. Sieberg will get a chance to ride for himself in the cobbled classics, but it doesn't look he is going to repeat the awesome season of 2010, when he won the GP Herning. Also, at 1.98 meters, Marcel is the tallest rider in the pack this year.
Schedule: Paris - Nice, Milano SanRemo, Omloop Het Volk, East Midlands Cicle Classic, Rund um Koln, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix, Tour of California, Tour de France, Vuelta a Colombia, FBD Eire Tour, GP de Fourmies
Michel Kreder
After Van Stayen and Dekkers departures from the team, Michel Kreder is now our main gun for the sprints. The Dutch rider is still young and has still a lot to learn, but having Sieberg in support during the mass sprints should make things easier for him. A dream goal for him would be a stage win at the Tour de France, but we will have to see if he will be able to follow in the footsteps of Michael Van Stayen.
Schedule: Paris - Nice, Milano SanRemo, Rund um Koln, Tour of California, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France, Vuelta a Colombia, FBD Eire Tour, GP de FourmiesEdited by alexkr00 on 30-07-2011 14:03
Chavanel is not only a very good puncheur, but he is also a brilliant stage racer, being able to go over mountains and perform in time - trials as well. But a little bad news for him is that he will spend most of the 2012 season as a super domestique for Robert Gesink. Still he will get a few chances for himself as he will be leading the team at FBD Eiro Tour and also the dream would to see him winning a stage at the Tour de France.
A brilliant rider on any terrain, Laurens Ten Dam is one of the most important riders in our team as he can be a very helpful team - mate to any of our team leaders. Last year, as well as in 2010, he wore the King of the Mountains jersey in Le Tour and this year he will return to France as he hope to see him in the polka dots once more.
Schedule: Tirreno - Adriatico, Milano SanRemo, Omloop Het Volk, East Midlands Cicle Classic, Gent - Wevelgem, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone, Liege - Bastogne - Liege, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France, Vattenfall Classic, GP Liechtenstein, FBD Eire Tour, Tour of Northern Europe, GP Mendrisio
Xavier Florencio
Same as Ten Dam, Florencio is a very good domestique on any terrain and he will be the startlist of many various type of races this season. He can't time - trial as good as the Dutch rider, but he has a nice sprinter and we might see him featuring in some of the hard finishes this season.
Schedule: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Milano SanRemo, Omloop Het Volk, East Midlands Cicle Classic, Gent - Wevelgem, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone, Liege - Bastogne - Liege, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France, Vattenfall Classic, GP Liechtenstein, FBD Eire Tour, Tour of Northern Europe, GP Mendrisio
Klaas Sys
Sys is a rider mainly made for the northern classics, but he's a good rider on other terrains too. This season he will aim for a top 20 in one of the northern classics as well as a good show off at the late season race in Tour of Northern Europe
Bas Giling
Giling is one oldest rider in the team and that will pay off for him as he will get to ride in plenty of the World's most important cycling races in 2012. The big hope for him is that he will part of the team that will lead Robert Gesink to victory in this year's Amstel Gold Race, in April.
And this is it guys. Those have been all the 23 riders that will represent Jack Wolfskin in 2012 in our attempt to break into the World's top 5 Cycling teams.
Following the new trend among the ManGame teams, the Jack Wolfskin manager had decided to create a twitter account himself. https://twitter.com/#!/alexbuck93
As many expected, Jack Wolfskin put all their money for the first race of the season on the opening stage from Qatar. But the TTT was just too short for us to show our true power in those type of races, or at least that's our only excuse.
Vandewalle, Van Winden, Cornu, Vaugrenard and Donald were the last 5 riders left in the train, leading us to a disappointing start of the 2012 season.
After the disappointment that followed the opening stage in Qatar, 6 of our guys lost the contact with the rest of the pack in the second stage after a wind split in the pack. That meant that the end of the second stage saw only Rosseler and Posthuma still having a shot at a good GC placing.
The next days were more calm as the wind didn't break the pack. Dennis Van Winden was seen in a few breakaways, as well as Benoit Vaugrenard.
The last stage though, made some changes for Jack Wolfskin as Rosseler lost control of his bike, crashed and missed a place in the overall top 20. Half of the team dropped back to help him but they had no chance to rejoin the pack. Posthuma was our best rider, finishing 23rd.
Shortly after Qatar, we moved to Oman, with 2 changes in our roster - Vandewalle and Rosseler were replaced by Gesink and Plaza. The two new riders will be our main guns in our attempt to achieve our first goal of the season, a top 3 in Tour of Oman.
Benoit Vaugrenard started the race in style, going in the BotD in both the first and the second stage. Then, in the third stage we had the team time - trial that everyone expected and where he had to take our revenge.
And this one we managed to win, even though it was only for 2 seconds in front of Pendleton's Twicer. Thanks to the bonus seconds of the intermediate sprints, Vaugrenard became the new leader of the race, with Gesink and Plaza both in perfect positions ahead of the Green Mountain stage.
