Easy Goal: Top 10 Tour of Oman
Medium Goal: Top 10 overall Paris Nice
Hard Goal: Win Points Jersey Tour of Langkawi
Edited by JoeArmstrong13 on 23-01-2015 19:07
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Hey Fab,
We at the team management were hoping you would be interested in riding in the Tour of Gabon (7 days), Tour of Qatar (6 days) and Tour of San Luis (7 days). That makes 20 days of racing.
Hope thats ok
Joe
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concerning my race schedule, I'd like to race Tour de San Luis and Volta ao Algarve as a nice season opening. Both races have some nice hills and mountains and getting some race kilometers in my favoured discplines, should be a welcome chance for 2015. I'd also like to ride Strade Bianche.
I'm not sure how the team stands so far in terms of Wildcards for Grand Tour events and other World Tour races. I'd like to race Catalunya, Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico; either one of the three will do. I think it's vital for my progress as a rider to show myself in World Tour races.
However, the early season part runs, we'll see if I'm fit for a Grand Tour, or if we should wait.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Season Planning has finally begun and I'm looking forward to a season, which will be very big for me personally. I will race many big races this season and considering my age, this is something that I'm seeing as the greatest challenge of my life. Here is my new Rider Tab, which will be updated whenever I do a remarkable result or if their is points included.
Sören Berg
[IMG-r]https://i.imgur.com/STvK1rj.png[/IMG-r]
Age
19
Role
Time Trial
Rider Type
Time Trial
Birthday
24 March 1995
Goals
Giro d'Italia
2013 Team
-
2014 Team
Team Columbia
Stage
Race
Placement
Category
Points Gained
-
-
-
-
-
FL
MO
DH
CO
TT
PRO
SP
ACC
END
RES
REC
Hil
FIG
69
62
61
55
75
73
55
63
65
65
66
66
62
If the team is going to ride the Giro, my main job will be to carry the team through the Team Time Trial and helping Mario in the sprints, other than that I will hunt down breaks and set the pace on the final kilometers in the flat. Other races I've shown great interest in are :
Tirreno - Adriatico Tour of Qatar Tour de Langkawi Milano San Remo
concerning my race schedule, I'd like to race Tour de San Luis and Volta ao Algarve as a nice season opening. Both races have some nice hills and mountains and getting some race kilometers in my favoured discplines, should be a welcome chance for 2015. I'd also like to ride Strade Bianche.
I'm not sure how the team stands so far in terms of Wildcards for Grand Tour events and other World Tour races. I'd like to race Catalunya, Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico; either one of the three will do. I think it's vital for my progress as a rider to show myself in World Tour races.
However, the early season part runs, we'll see if I'm fit for a Grand Tour, or if we should wait.
Hi Gorka I think the races sound good and you will be team leader in the Algarve if you wish? As for the world tour races we have applied for wildcards in all three stage races and will find out on Monday if our applications have been successful, so we'll keep you posted
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Hi Soren,
The team managemnt are happy with all your race selections, and as we told Gorka the rides in Tirreno and Milan San Remo will depend on wildcard applications, however we hope to be accepted as we believe we have a lot to offer to the races.
Joe
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As the worlds media took their seats, the lights in the auditorium dimmed, and a small man gracefully walked onto the stage like a man born to climb, and the man who was able to climb up an alpine climb without breaking a sweat. The announcer's voice came to life, "Here he is the man who took the climbs of the alps and Pyrenees in his stride, the winner of the 1987 Vuelta and the first Colombian grand Tour winner, a triple Tour De France Stage winner the spectacular, LUIS HERRERA! The small man steps to the front of the stage and the spotlight falls on him as a montage of photos plays on a screen behind him.
The man is handed a mic and says, "Hello everyone, I am Luis Herrera and head manager and directer sportif of Team Colombia, and it is a real honor to speak to you today and to be a part of this revolutionary cycling team. We at Team Colombia aim to develop the best of Colombian talent, however this year we have extended out into aiming to develop the best talent in European cycling, when we first set out towards forming this years team we didn't expect to get the quality of riders that we received this year, we thought that because we were a smaller team we wouldn't be spoken to by the hottest talents, we planned to try to develop the talent of the riders that have slipped through the cracks of professional cycling, but we were wrong we spoke to a number of riders and they were all positive about what we were trying to do, so that's a great sign for the future of our team. When we chose the line up for our team we tried to make sure that it was an all round group of riders that were capable of winning races, and those that had a serious amount of talent that we knew we had to have on the team. So Let's meet them! Here are our riders for the 2014 season.
A spotlight appears on the side of the stage and one by one 30 riders walk onto the stage in full Colombia team kit, the audience start to clap as the team lines up on the stage, but who are these riders that are on the stage being cheered by the audience made up of journalists, fans and familys.
The Team.
Gregory Bernard
The first of the teams 6 new young riders, Gregory is a Luxembourgian neo pro that signed for our team in the hope as developing as a rider that can win races like Amstel Gold and Fleche Wallone, with a strong kick and a decent time trial ability Gregory may also be suitable for racing for overall victory at some week long stage races. As Gregory stepped forward as his name was read out to the crowd Luis said, "Gregory is the type of rider that we love to watch racing an aggressive racer who loves it when the going gets tough, this is why we wanted him on the team and we hope he can be very successful in his role.
Mario Guido
The young Italian Stallion is now at Colombia, after a year at MTN where he grew into the rider we see today before us, he is here to win and hopefully win big. Mario will be our leader in all sprint finishes he comes to, but he is also a key rider for us in terms of sponsors as we have a strong footing in Italy with our team base and some of our key sponsors being in Italy. As the handsome Italian stepped forward to the front of the stage, team manager Herrera said, "Mario is our guy for the sprints, as some of you may know Colombian riders aren't historically suited to sprinting, so we knew that to be able to compete in this area we had to bring in someone that would be effective and also that would make the sponsors happy, and as we all know if the sponsors aren't happy then the team has no money. However before the sponsor told us their requirements we knew we wanted to sign Mario, we saw from his ride at Milan San Remo that he wasn't afraid to have a go, and to see that from a sprinter is rare so we knew that he was a talent that we need to keep an eye on and to see him win a stage at Hainan was a confirmation of his talent."
Alex Dowsett
Alex Dowsett joins the team from Movistar, after a swap deal for Colombian climber Fabio Duarte, which many people have siad was stupid and risky, but we were very much satisfied with the deal that went through, although it almost didn't, even though we may have lost a rider we gained three strong riders. Alex is the British national road race champion, which he won with an impressive attacking ride, which really caught our attention as we love to watch attacking races, as we know that thats what the fans want to see, so we want to give them that enjoyment, and to encourage future athletes to take up the sport. Meanwhile at the presentation Herrera said, "Alex is a rider we were very interested in as he is an attacking rider, but also he is one of the best time triallers in the world, so that means we can have riders that can fight out the win in races, such as the Tour of Qatar which is a flat race with a Time Trial. The fact that Alex is national champion is a bonus to us a it means that he is more recognizable to fans, and meaning when he goes for it he stands out, so they can see he is in a break, so the fans will be able to see our team is attacking and that Alex is having a go. Many people will say, why would you lose a strong Colombian rider for a British Time Trialler, well it was a hard decision to make, but we knew that we had to take risks, but we were very happy with the deal as it is a great positive for us as he will add to the team, and Alex is a great guy for the younger riders to look up to as he is a genuine nice guy, so that menas he is more appealing to fans and the media.
Fabrizio Harrini
Our second sprinter to be signed for he 2014 season is also the Moldovan road race and time trial national champion, when we first saw him in the pro ranks we knew he was a rider suited our team. He is currently one of the only professional cyclists from Moldova, and we hope that this year we can support him through his development as well as help him to promote the sport in Moldova, and to hopefully inspire the next generation of Moldovan cyclists. Anyway back to the rider himself, Fabrizio is a hot talent of the sprint world has had a strong first year with Cofidis, however with his team manager going missing half way through the year his potential wasn't fully developed, therefore this year with a fully alive manager we hope he can develop as a rider and take a few wins for the team. Back on the stage Herrera said, "Here at Team Colombia we want to develop the talents from those counties that maybe don't have the cycling history as those countries in Europe. We are hoping that Fabrizio will become the first Moldovan to ride a Grand Tour as we know that he has the talent to win Tour stages, so hopefully this year we will be able to give him he experience to achieve this. Fabrizio is also one hell of a sprinter, and when I went to meet him during negotiations I saw a rider that was determined, but also that was very grounded, so he is a great rider to have on the team as no matter what success we know he will have, I believe he will still remain the same determined and bubbly guy.
Esteban Chaves
Our first resigning for the 2014 season, we have managed to keep a hold of our hottest talent from last year the young Colombian climber, Esteban Chaves, towards the end of last year Esteban put in some strong performances with a win at the Tour of Austria on stage 5 of the race as well as a number of podiums at the Tour De Suisse, as he did what we as the team management loved to see, attacking racing with our riders fighting for the wins. As we said we are very happy to have kept a hold on Esteban after a number of teams tried to tempt him away, and when we were planning our strategy for the transfer period we knew that it was key that we kept Esteban on the team as we know that talent he has is so huge that it woulkd be stupid to get rid of him. Luis Herrera said, "Esteban is the same style of ride like I used to be, a rider that loves to climb and more importantly loves to attack, over this next year we want to try to make him into a GC contender by making sure he knows when to attack, and how to use his energy. Of course he needs to work hard to improve and his time trialling is a thing we need to train him on, but we have brought in Chris Boardman, the daddy of the time trial to try and teach Esteban how to ride a time trial efficiently and quickly so that he can gain time on his GC rivals, but he is young and his best years are yet to come, so the future seems bright for him.
Christian Muriel
Our main Colombian signing for the 2014 season, Christian is a great stage racing talent that has a powerful kick, meaning he can win sprints from small groups on mountainous stages, therefore we can see that he has the potential to become the type of rider like a Valverde or a Rodriguez, who can fight for the GC, but also fight for stage wins from a small group. Christian is also a great signing for us as last year he spent the year learning the ropes at AG2R in the service of Carlos Betancur, with his season culminating in 6th place at the Under 23 world championships. Herrera said of Christian, "When see a rider of Christians skill set it makes me feel positive for the future of Colombian cycling as he has a real talent, and I think that he can become one of the greats of cycling, I wouldn't be suprised to see him on the podium at a Grand Tour within the next few years, and hopefully that will be with us as a team, as for next year we will aim to build a team that will be able to help him to achieve what we think he can, and we are very much looking forward to trying to help him to achieve this.
Jens Voigt
The godfather of cycling is here, JENS VOIGT! The yellow jersey wearer and Tour stage winner is perhaps our best signing for the 2014 season. Jens is almost a cycling God in the eyes of all those who race with him. At the end of last year Jens was fired by Radioshack, which caused shockwaves within the world of cycling, however we realised that we couldnt let him retire without one final hurrah and we hope that he will get that on our team. When we first contacted Jens he seemed very keen to join the team, as he recognised what our team ethos was, and i mean we can't call ourselves an attacking team without having the world's most attacking rider on our team. Herrera said of Jens, "I have always respected Jens as he is a strong all rounder, who could of had a better career if he wasn't so determined to attack in every race he rides. However we knew when we saw he was available that he was a rider we needed on the team, and we managed to get him which was a great bonus for us."
The Rest Of The Team
Marcel Meisen is a 25 year old German sprinter who has the ability to get over small climbs, this year he will form a key part of lead outs for Mrio Guido, but also he will play a key role in the Ardennes Classics for leader Gregory Bernard. Soren Berg is a 19 year old Danish Time Trialling talent, who has the ability to become the next Tony Martin his year he aims to develop as a rider as well as form part of Mario Guido's lead out, as every lead out needs an absolute machine to power the lead out to the front. Gorka Nieve is a young Basque climber, who spent last season learning his trad at Orica, however he caught the attention of many after a powerful ride at the Tour of Austria, showed his potential as a Grand Tour winner as he performed strongly over all terrain. Sondre Holst Enger and Carlos Barbero, one is a 21 year old Norwegian, the other is a 23 year old Spaniard, however they both have the same type of riding style they are both sprinters who can also climb, that makes them perfect riders for lead out and for the Ardenne Classics. Jarlinson Pantano and Jeffry Romero have also resigned for 2014, however they both have very different styles of racing with Jarlinson being a punchy climber, who loves to attack, where as Jeffry is a strong sprinter who will be head lead out man as well as getting some chances for himself. During the transfer season Ivan Gutierrez was the third Movistar rider to join the team, and also the third Spaniard, Ivan is a time trailler who has been signed to help out on the flat stages as he has the ability to ride on the front of the bunch for hours on end and to still be able to help in the lead out at the finish. Bruno Pires a 33 year old Portugese climber, and Yelko Gomez a 25 year old rider from Panama, have been brought in to help improve our team when it comes the climbs as a lot of our riders are younger, so we wanted to bring in some experience for on the climbs, as a lot of our better climbers leave the team for a World Tour or more prestigious Pro Continental team, however we know that with the addition of Yelko and Bruno that will mean we are as strong as any team in the mountains.
Edwin
Ávila
25
COL
Juan Pablo
Valencia
26
COL
Robinson
Chalapud
30
COL
Dalivier
Ospina
29
COL
Heiner
Parra
23
COL
Juan Pablo
Suarez
29
COL
Marco
Corti
28
ITA
Michael
Rodriguez
25
COL
Duber
Quintero
24
COL
Wilson
Marentes
29
COL
Carlos
Quintero
28
COL
Juan Esteban
Arango
28
COL
Julio
Camacho
24
COL
And with that our team presentation was over, the riders left the stage to make the short walk to the press room where the journalists present would be able to ask the riders any questions they wished, however we had also allowed the fans to talk to the riders as we know that it is them that allows cycling to be a sport.
So we wish all our riders the best of luck over the coming year and we hope that you as the fans will enjoy watching our team attacking and hopefully winning!
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Hi,boss,it is me
I heard the team presentation and I was very happy about the presentations and my biggest dream is to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege.For the first season part
I want to ride:
Tour de Gabon(7)where I think I will lead the team for a GC win depending to the field.
Tour Down Under(6)where I think I will lead the team for a good GC result depending to the field
Paris-Nice(8)will be a big test with the big boys as this year's route is special with no mountains and TTs it has only flats and hills and I am a puncheur so this race will show my limit.
Strade Bianche(1)is a one-day race where I will look to have a good result.
And Milano-SanRemo(1)is a big race it will give me a big experience as I want to win this race one-day,and there are rumours that Pompeiana will be on the next editions so seeing the route and helping Guido in a possible sprint finish would be good for me.
That makes 23 race days for me in the first season part.I hope you accept it.
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan' Gracias Alberto.
We are proud to announce our applications for the Giro and the Vuelta have been accepted. Here is the plans for the races.
Vuelta
Ah the Vuelta, home of climbs, paella and attacking racing, what more can I say Spain is a great fit for our team. We love to climb, we love to attack and most importantly we love to eat paella. The team will be suited around Christian Muriel who is our super climber, he'll be backed up by a mix of experience and talent. Jens Voigt will be our team captain on the roads of Spain, a rider that attacks for fun, and is an absolute machine, he'll form a great part of any race he rides and he just wont die! As for the talent here at Colombia we have a great range of riders that can win races, our team sprinter will be Harrini a double Moldovan National champion and a rider that has one of the best kicks in the peloton, he'll be given a free reign to go for stage wins, although as he is young it is mainly for experience Jarlinson Pantano will form a key role for Christian in the mountains as his punchy style makes him a great climber and a great attacker, perfectly suited to the style of Spanish racing, the rest of the team will be made up of a number of neo pros such as Sondre Holst Enger, the hottest talent in Norway and Marcel Meisen who is perfectly suited to breakaways with his decent climbing and strong sprint. The rest of the team will be made up of riders who aren't afraid to attack.
Giro d'Italia
We at Team Colombia have always had a fascination of the Giro with its difficult climbs and climb heavy final week, we believe that we would be a perfect fit to the Giro as our mix of attacking climbers will light up the race, however with our new team we will be able to fight in all terrains. We have Mario Guido, who is THE hottest sprint talent on the market who has joined our team with a spectacular first season with MTN Qhubeka, he will be supported by powerhouse neo pro Soren Berg and Alex Dowsett, who last year won the British National Championships. In the mountains however we will be as strong as ever with young riders Esteban Chaves and Christian Muriel capable of getting a top 10 on GC, as well as stage wins. The rest of the team will be made up of a mix of powerful Colombians, such as World Points Race Champion Edwin Avilla and Jeffry Romero, who are the best Colombian sprinters. The team will also include riders that we feel best suit our ethos ATTACK! we will have 2 more spaces for what we like to call our wild cards two riders that can do everything, climb, attack, time trial and most improtantly win they will be Jarlinson Pantano and Michael Rodriguez.
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Tirreno - Adriatico
Tour of Qatar
Tour de Langkawi
