This Eritrean sprinter has been sought after by the team for a few seasons but with lower interest and his perfect suitability as Rowe's right-hand man, we brought him in. Experienced but still fairly young, he is a solid sprinter and a powerful rider on the flat who is suited to tough races and can even survive the cobbles ok, much like Rowe himself.

A very talented young Eritrean climber who excels in short and long climbs, Daniel joins us for his neo-pro season and we are excited to have him and to watch him grow for the next three years into a very capable rider who can perhaps even lead the team one day. With his talents on shorter hills and in time trials, we are not yet sure which direction he will take!

A very similar rider to his fellow new arrival, Fouche is a talented stage racer from New Zealand who is looking forward to joining up with the team, particularly countryman and very similar rider George Bennett. Whilst Fouché lacks a bit in top quality compared to Bennett he makes up for it with a solid TT that makes him more of an all-around stage racer than a HI/MO punchy climber as Bennett is. Again, max stats are provisional and may change.

@Abhi - Yeah glad I could secure a great duo of regional talents for not awful prices - though Inkelaar makes me think I've overpaid a great deal Yeah Habtom is very nice as well.

@YJ - Hell yeah

@redordead - Yeah happy with building on my young core, even Habtom just 28 is pretty sweet. Thanks!

@knockout - Yeah he's a pretty cool stage racer

The former mountain biker shows off his former skills from the off-road in his complete versatility as a rider, from cobbles to sprints to climbing to the TT-bike, he's a classic Xero domestique in the vein of the dearly departed Kossohorou. He will ride on every terrain for us this year but in particular will be a key lieutenant for Debesay in the cobbled classics, and brings so much to the team in his quality on and off the bike. Just 28 years old, we look forward to having him around for many seasons to come.

A man with a very South African name, Morne van Niekerk is a young rouleur who has come to Xero for the 2019 season. However, it will not be his first time in Xero colours, having rode with us in the 2018 Tour de l'Avenir, where he took a stage win in the time trial. We have considered him every season since he joined the peloton and we are happy to see him finally here. A great rouleur very powerful rider on the flats who can handle a hill decently, he specialises in individual time trial events though. Morne has 10 seasons of absolutely carrying our TTT train ahead of him, and for that must thank him and apologise in advance.

AbhishekLFC wrote:
Two cool pickups at good wage! Bester is really useful and Van Niekerk looks to now become a permanent fixture for a long time on your team

We are very pleased to announce the signing of Hugo Houle from the free agency. Maybe best known still for his surprise win on the Champs-Elysées a few years ago (above), he has become known as a very good leader for any division. He is a very versatile rider who is competitive on hills and flats, can handle a TT or even survive some cobbles and mountains. However at the end of any of these stages his talents lie in his sprint, and so he is a specialist in reduced bunch finishes in particular. Although the calendar doesn't suit his skills as much as it has in years past on first look, we are confident our new Québécois will deliver the goods.

The former Norwegian Champion (above) joins us from Netia - Vonin as our new leader in the hilly classics. Still just 27, he had a harsh elarning curve on leadership with them last year and is the better rider for it. An aggressive puncheur who can handle longer climbs as shown by some decent GC results in HI/MO races, and with a fierce acceleration, we are looking forward to having Dyrnes on our roster to lead us in the hills, and work with Bennett, Bazhkou and Houle in the hybrid races.

Tamijo wrote:
Nice riders incoming, good luck.

@Eden - Yep, glad with little fuss over him and Fouche! Thanks a lot, I too am interested in how Houle especially will go but also Dyrnes, especially as he's pretty young so could become a feature of our team going forward.

@redordead - Thanks a lot, I have tried to build my squad to be versatile with the domestiques I buy since day 1 and have enjoyed building a slightly unique and fun PCT squad the last two seasons!

@Croatia - Wow, big call on Houle but hope you're right. Would have absolutely agreed if he could rider a calendar like Kump did in 2017 but sadly races like Philly purely for those riders are gone. However I know Kump wasn't simple to plan and had to be creatively used and I hope my calendar for Houle will utilise the different half-chances he can get in this division well.

Thanks so much, daunting comparison but I'd be lying (like many of us down here would) if I said I wasn't inspired by your setup ever since I started planning for PCT 2 1/2 years ago. As you had, I have no rider 80+ in main stat (which is scary but I have confidence in my team still) and have tried to build a versatile hybrid squad and with the Bazhkou, the hilly sprinter, the all-around cobbler, the 78 puncheur etc I can see it for sure. And indeed, planning could be big for me.

However, I disagree that I will promote and certainly not directly as I'm missing a lot of quality and perhaps some favourable calendar structure compared to your team (though I don't mean to moan ) but I will certainly take the compliment! Thanks as always for your support.

The double Vietnamese national champion joins us on a stagiaire contract this year and will look to impress us enough to keep him for next year. Although designated as a sprinter, we see him as a potential punchy baroudeur with a good kick, useful in breakaways mostly but solid as a punchy sprint leadout for Houle.

FLA	MON	HIL	TT	STA	RES	REC	COB	SPR	ACC	FTR	DH	PRL
65	59	66	65	67	71	57	60	70	69	74	67	68
68	62	73	66	74	74	60	60	73	76	80	70	69

Alternatively, he could become a power sprinter/prologue rider:

71

59

69

66

70

77

61

60

77

75

74

68

75

A Uzbeki stagiaire joins us next and is a climber with a solid kick. Sunnatov, like Huynh and most of this list, will have to prove himself this year to be considered for a full contract, but we believe he has the potential to be a solid KoM hunter and domestique in the future.

The 25-year-old Dutchman is a late bloomer in terms of growth but that means despite his already useful qualities he still has a way to go to reach his potential. He is on a full contract and due to his fast finish and skill on shorter climbs he will be assisting Houle for most of the season. We see him developing both of these skills in the next two seasons, if he stays with us, to turn into a great leadout for a punchy sprinter.

Our Chinese stagiaire is a very solid climber with a lot of toughness and so in stage races and hard days is able to outperform himself a little bit. Another one that we are undecided on a contract past next season but we certainly consider him a bright talent as a future lieutenant if he proves himself.

Our newest climber has been there and done that, taking a stage win, the KoM jersey and 11th at the 2017 Tour de France. Still just 28, he brings a lot to the team and will be Bennett's right hand man in the mountains, as well as getting some opportunities for himself, most notably on one side of the Portugal/Osterreich clash.

Our fourth and final stagiaire is a young climber with a decent time trial in him, and so his development with us can go in two different ways (of course, very few of these maxed stats on this list are fully decided yet): as a climber with a good kick and solid on shorter climbs, or a stage racer with less punch but better skills in the time trial, a great mountain stage race domestique.

Our major talent for the season, Sergio Higuita is just 22 and has a very bright future ahead of him. Whilst not on par with the Lopez, Bernal or even our own Areruya, he will be a feared climber with some training or else a very solid racer in any division. We are still unsure on his final path but we like the same route as Areruya: pure climbing training, working on climbs big and small and especially his kick. We look forward to planning his development exactly and having him on our books for years to come.

AbhishekLFC wrote:
A great flurry of signings to close out the transfer window. Great pickup with Higuita and some intriguing stagiares as well. Grmay should serve you well as a domestique. You've taken a big step towards promotion with this transfer window imo