Vuelta a Mallorca was our first race of the season. Cardoso took 4 top 5's in 4 stages and finished 5th in the GC. A good start to the season for the hilly Portuguese sprinter.
Volta ao Algarve
The biggest race of the season for the sponsors. We needed a good performance here and we got it from Rui Costa. 2nd on the hilly stage 3 and a win of the final stage TT was enough for him to win the GC and the Green Jersey.
Clasica di Tirreno-Adriatico
We did not have high hopes in the first one day race of the season as they are not our speciality. Ponzi, Cardoso and Felline were hoping for a good result and they delivered it. Cardoso taking a huge win in Italy in a very close sprint. A great win for him and the team.
Paris-Nice
An important race because we need to show ourselves in stage races. We did just that. 3rd on the first stage, 2nd on stage 3, 5th on stage 5 and 2nd on stage 6 for Velits. The final stage TT saw Pellizotti finishing 2nd and Velits 6th. Velits took 3rd in the final GC and with it he won the Green Jersey. But the highlight of the race was Mikel Landa's breakaway stage win on stage 7.
Criterium International
This interesting three stage race saw Velits as our lone leader. Sprinter Simone Ponzi took 4th on stage 1. Velits took 4th on the stage 2 Time trial. The deciding stage 3 saw Velits finishing 11th in a group of 8 behind 3 riders who were too strong. Velits still took 5th in the Final GC which is not a bad result.
Vuelta ciclista al Pais Vasco
We had to do well here and we did just that. Pellizotti finished 4th on stage 1. He then took a great win on stage 3 and one in the Yellow Jersey on stage 4. Costa took 2nd on the final stage TT and Pellizotti did enough to take the win ahead of Cunego and Majka. A great win for the old Italian and with it he won the Green Jersey. Costa also doing well finishing 6th in the Final GC.
Comment:
The sponsors and the team manager are currently very happy with the results the team has managed so far. 4 stage wins, 2 GC wins and a One Day race win is a very good start to the season. We are on top of the CT rankings but must hold off the advances of the Bulgarian team with a funny name. We have some big races coming up but currently the sponsors could not be more pleased with this situation. They just look forward to seeing the team churn out more results and want to continue seeing Portugal in the top 15 of the World Prestige rankings.
In the past month of April and May, Liberty Seguros – Würth has dominated the headlines of International Cycling League. Of course, the team is very proud to have had such a fantastic early season, and steps are already on the way to ensure the longevity of this project.
With a decent showing at the spring classics, the team snatched some unlikely points in Flanders. The core team of puncheurs meanwhile concentrated themselves on the Ardennes. They started off furious with Joaquim Rodriguez winning the Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallone.
In such a shape, Bertie was considered a prime favourite for the Giro d’Italia. There he raced against local favourite Vincenzo Nibali and young upcoming superclimber Nairo Quintana. Regardless, of their prowess in the mountains, Contador could rely on his strong Liberty Seguros – Würth squad. With guys like Kangert, Samu Sanchez and Castroviejo, the team put in a one-in-a-kind Team Time Trial performance. They distanced second-placed Team Shell over a minute on the 42 kilometers from Marathon to Athen. An important milestone for overall victory and maybe neutral cycling enthusiasts already sighed at Contador’s time adventage. And it was enough lead for Contador to not get anxious at every attack of Nibali and Quintana. He managed to extend his lead to over 4 minutes in the continuing three weeks with solid performances in the mountains and the time trials. Second place went to Quintana, third to Nibali. 4 stage victories, the points jersey and a ton of World Tour points are the results. 21 days in pink for Liberty Seguros – Würth.
In his podium speech, Contador thanked his teammates and ICL Manager Shonak, whom he described as the coolest person alive. Going into June, Alberto Contador & Joaquim Rodriguez are both in the Top 3 of the World Tour rankings, whilst the continuous great performances of them and the team ensure Liberty Seguros - Würth on the first place of the World Tour rankings. Closing in on this amazing first half of the premier ICL season, Liberty Seguros looks forward to the next challenges and the ultimate goal of winning le Tour this year.
Edited by Shonak on 25-06-2014 12:01
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
" After that great start to the season, where Gilbert could do no wrong, it is fair to say we hit some setbacks when it came to the Ardennes. Yes Gilbert did get on the podium there but we could just not match the might of Liberty Seguros. However, we are better from the experience and come the end of the season we shall make adjustments to enable us to be even more fervent in our challenges."
Jonas Vangenechten winning a stage in our debut GT.
" We must also look to the positives since my last talk, the main one being a great win by Vangenechten from a bunch sprint at the Giro. Jonas Vangenechten is really coming to the fore when it comes to riders we can count on, expect to him to flourish in our team, like he would be able to in no other, as the ICL develops. This season he also has ambitions of winning another GT stage, this time at the Vuelta. Down the line he may well become a challenger in one day races such as Milan San Remo."
" The speed of the ICL has dropped in recent weeks, however, Prorace Cycling have spared some funds, similarly done by CarbonSports and Liberty Seguros, which should enable the reporting of the ICL to increase its production in the coming weeks."
We have reached the end of a season in new heights. Liberty Seguros – Würth has proven its outstanding class and pre-season favourite status, by coming first in the World Tour Rankings with a lead of over 1000 points. With Joaquim Rodriguez and Alberto Contador, the team holds two of the most successful riders this year, ranked 1st and 3rd respectively in the WT & Prestige Rankings. In the Prestige Ranking, Liberty Seguros – Würth finished a two hundreds down on Carbon Sports on second place.
Since Contador’s Giro Win, Liberty Seguors – Würth has been at the forefront of media, public & fan attention. During three exciting weeks in France, the team has claimed for some time the yellow jersey in form of Alberto Contador. And whilst our best Spanish Grand Tour racer looked comfortable throughout the weeks, one off-day was all that it took to put him out of contention. An attack by Quintana was initially covered by him, but he seemed to go in his red zone at that time. The three weeks of the Giro came crushing down on him in that moment. With a big time loss that day, Contador still managed to secure 3rd behind Quintana and Chris Froome.
Later that year, Liberty Seguros – Würth came to the Vuelta with the goal of winning the race. Joaquim Rodriguez was our man and he was eager to land his first Grand Tour win. Soon however, it was clear that his big rival Chris Froome had a bit of an edge over him in the tough mountain stages. However with a record-breaking 7 stage wins, Joaquim Rodriguez put in a spectacular hunt and won many hearts along the way. No day went without a fight and probably delivered the most exciting Grand Tour battle of this year. Eventually, Rodriguez finished second on the podium, behind Chris Froome and ahead of Andrew Talansky. He also got the Points Jersey.
Other noteworthy performances of our two Matadors include Purito’s performances at Bucaramanga Classic (1st) and Il Lombardia (3rd). Thanks to Contador’s win at Milano – Torino, the team also came close to cutting out Carbon Sports in the Prestige Ranking, but ultimately failed.
Benat Intxausti and Tanel Kangert delivered some nice results in stage races too, whilst Castroviejo came a bit surprising to a 4th place at the Tour of Northern Europe, despite the cobblestone stage, thanks to his excellent TT skills.
For the upcoming season, Liberty Seguros – Würth looks to build up its U25 Team, whilst also keep its core strength and dominance in mountainous and hilly races.
Highlights of the season include the podium places, including the win of the Giro d’Italia, in all three Grand Tours (1st, 3rd, 2nd). Additionally, the Ardennes treble (Purito – AGR, Purito – Fleche, Contador – La Doyenne) has been another exciting and incredible result for the team and our riders. With a 2nd place at MSR and a 3rd at Il Lombardia, Rodriguez and the team have also performed in two other monuments of the season. The team was close to completing the Autumn Treble (Bucaramanga, Milano – Torino, Il Lombardia) but closely missed out.
Overall stage race victories include Vuelta a Mallorca by Intxausti and Vuelta a Tachira by Purito Rodriguez.
The entire Prestige Rankings of our riders. Entire list can be found here. 21 of our 23 riders have scored points in this season. What a team consistency!
The season is over and what a season it has been for Prorace Cycling. We managed a tally of 14 wins: which includes wins at all three GTs and the victory at La Primavera. Such results propelled us up to finish 3rd in the team prestige rankings. Not bad considering we built this squad with a more focused view on future seasons.
Season Highlight: The team winning the TTT, in style, on stage 5 of the TDF.
The main highlight of our season has to be the whole first week of the TDF. This week saw Wiggins take the race lead on stage 1 and wear the leader's jersey on stage 5 where the team went on to put in an awe-inspiring performance to win by '41 seconds.
1. Phillipe Gilbert
2. Jonas Vangenechten
3. Bradley Wiggins
4. Sylvain Chavanel
5. Thomas de Gendt
The figurehead of our team, Philippe Gilbert, really had an exceptional season and we will be putting in a big effort to ensure he stays with us for the next season in the ICL. Some of his competitors may be declining, but Gilbert may be stronger than ever.
Jonas Vangenechten, with three victories throughout the season, showed what a great rider he is and can be. With expected heavy investment expect him to shine, like never before, in season two.
Bradley Wiggins proved himself to be one of the elite riders in the time trial discipline, with consistent performances throughout the season. We have enjoyed his time with us but he is likely to be leaving us at the end of the season.
Sylvain Chavanel proved he is a great all round rider, not only did the French TT champ show well in the cobbled classics but he also achieved one of our three season goals by finishing second in the Tour of Northern Europe.
However, it was not all roses, by any means, for Prorace this season. Notably we didn't win any stage races. Granted we were consider the team of the classics, however, with the riders we had we certainly expected to win at least one stage race. All the more chilling is the fact we didn't even win a jersey, of any classification, all season long!
But, the past is the past. We have never been as excited about the team's vitality as we are now, going into the off season. We were to continue into season 2, once again, as Prorace. However, late on we agreed that a co-sponsor would be brought on board, as their enthusiasm in the team and their offer was simply too good to refuse (as they say!) .
This co-sponsor will be Camtel, the Cameroonian based company has expressed sincere interest and a ferocious desire to make our team a real force to be reckoned with. We will be setting up a dev. team, where the main focus will be the countries of the Sub- Saharan area, not possible without the support of Camtel.
It will be out with the fuchsia livery and a new light blue jersey will be donned by the team next season ......
We look forward to more healthy competition with the active ICL teams in season 2. Sure, there may be harsh opinions and words aired, but isn't that what makes the ICL so special? We also look forward to the coming weeks and will be looking to do some transactions with many of the other ICL teams. Special thanks to Bikex and long may the ICL stand.
La Antarte: First Season Update 
Phillipe Gilbert
Bradley Wiggins
Sylvain Chavanel
